# Tree Planting Density and Canopy Position Affect 'Cerasuola' and 'Koroneiki' Olive Oil Quality
## 4 Conclusions  
Given the relevance of harvest costs to the overall cost of olive oil production, tree density in newly planted olive orchards has been increasing steadily as part of the intensification of olive tree cultivation. Data obtained in this study showed that higher planting density increased yield per hectare of the Sicilian cultivar 'Cerasuola', which was proven to adapt to higher density orchards, without losing the quality and peculiar sensory attributes. Upper layers of the canopy were characterized by higher crop loads and more mature fruits with higher fat content. All the major variables had an influence on fatty acid, phenol, and volatile composition. Canopy position was the primary factor that influenced most of the measured parameters. The differences in production, fruit maturity, and fat content between upper and lower canopy layers increased at higher densities. On the other hand, treatment effects on oil quality did not follow the same trend in both cultivars, showing that genetic factors interacted with environmental conditions to influence oil quality. Taken together, the impact of the interactions between cultivar, planting density, and canopy position on oil quality and sensory properties established in this study provide new insights  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Cultivar** & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**‘Cerasuola’**} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**‘Koroneiki’**} \\ \hline
**Planting Density** & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**HD**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**MD**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**HD**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**MD**} \\
**Canopy Layer** & **Upper** & **Lower** & **Upper** & **Lower** & **Upper** & **Lower** & **Upper** & **Lower** \\ \hline Fruity & 5 & 6 & 5 & 5.5 & 3 & 3 & 3 & 2.8 \\ Bitter & 5 & 6 & 5.5 & 5 & 5 & 5 & 5 & 4 \\ Pungent & 6 & 5.5 & 6 & 5 & 5 & 4 & 4 & 3 \\ Artichoke & 3 & 3.5 & 3 & 3.5 & 2 & nd z & 2 & nd \\ Almond & 2 & 2 & 2.5 & nd & 1 & nd & 1 & nd \\ Grass & 2.5 & 3 & nd & 3 & nd & nd & nd \\ Green tomato & 2.5 & 3 & nd & 3.5 & nd & 1 & nd & nd \\ Banana & nd & nd & nd & nd & 2 & nd & 1 & 1 \\ Oregon & nd & 1 & nd & 2 & nd & nd & nd & nd \\ Chicory & nd & 1 & 1 & 1 & nd & nd & nd & nd \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} \({}^{x}\) nd = not detected.  
\end{table}
Table 4: Quantitative descriptive profile for sensory evaluation of ‘Cerasuola’ and ‘Koroneiki’ oils obtained from two planting densities and two fruit canopy positions. Numbers represent the median of the attributes (\(n=8\)) according to the international olive oil council (COI/T.20/DOC.15/Rev.10) standards.  
into the relationships between yield and tree structure in modern high and medium density hedgerow olive planting systems.  
Conceptualization, F.G., R.L.B., and T.C.; methodology, F.G., and R.L.B.; validation, F.G., R.L.B., and T.C.; formal analysis, F.G. and R.L.B.; investigation, F.G., S.S., and V.D.S.; resources, V.D.S., R.S. and T.C.; data curation, F.G., and R.L.B.; writing--original draft preparation, F.G.; writing--review and editing, F.G., R.L.B., V.D.S., R.S. and T.C.; visualization, F.G., and R.L.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research received no external funding.  
Not applicable.  
All data reported here is available from the authors upon request.  
The authors would like to thank [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON], and [PERSON] (University of Palermo) for their assistance with fruit harvest, and [PERSON] (University of Naples Federico II) for the assistance in GC/MS analysis.  
The authors declare no conflict of interest.