Salonenque
Encyclopedia
The Salonenque, carrying the name of Salon-de-Provence
Salon-de-Provence
Salon-de-Provence is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France. It is the location of an important air base.-History:Salon was a Gallo-Roman oppidum well positioned on the salt trade routes between Adriatic, Atlantic and Mediterranean seas, hence its name...

, is a cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...

 of olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...

s grown primarily in Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...

. Though it is used for producing oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...

, and gives a good yield, it is valued primarily as a table olive. It is produced as a so-called cracked olive, which means that the fruit is cracked to speed up the curing process.

Extent

The Salonenque is particularly common in Provence, especially in the Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône is a department in the south of France named after the mouth of the Rhône River. It is the most populous department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Its INSEE and postal code is 13.-History of the department:...

. In the Vallée des Baux it makes up over 60% of planted trees (as of 2004). It is also grown in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

, primarily in the area around Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

.

Synonyms

The cultivar is also known locally under several other names, including Courgeole, Plant de Salon, Salonen, Sauren, Sauzen, Selounen and Varagen.

Characteristics

It is a cultivar of weak vigour, with an erect growth form
Plant life-form
Plant life-form schemes constitute a way of classifying plants alternatively to the ordinary species-genus-family scientific classification. In colloquial speech, plants may be classified as trees, shrubs, herbs , etc...

. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 are short and narrow, with an elliptic-lanceolate form. The olives are of medium-high weight, and of an ovoid quite symmetrical shape. They are rounded both at the apex and the base. The stone has a rugose, or wrinkled surface, with a rounded apex, a pointed base, and a mucro.

For use as table olives, the fruit is harvested relatively early, around 10 September. For oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...

 production the harvest is later, in early November. When fully mature, the colour of the fruit is bright green.

Processing

The primary use of the Salonenque is as a table olive, more specifically as cracked olives (olives that are slit during the curing for the process to go faster). They cured olives are "fresh with a firm, meaty texture and a whiff of aromatic fennel
Fennel
Fennel is a plant species in the genus Foeniculum . It is a member of the family Apiaceae . It is a hardy, perennial, umbelliferous herb, with yellow flowers and feathery leaves...

". It is also used for production of oil, and gives a high yield (22–25%). The taste of the oil is sweet and delicate, and quite strong. The olive is freestone the stone does not cling to the flesh. The Salonenque is used in several officially approved appellations
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...

: such as "AOC Vallée des Baux" and "AOC Pays d'Aix".

Agronomy

Salonenque is considered a cultivar of high and constant production, but has a low rooting ability. The Salonenque is partially self-fertile, but it can take advantage of nearby pollinator
Pollinator
A pollinator is the biotic agent that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish fertilization or syngamy of the female gamete in the ovule of the flower by the male gamete from the pollen grain...

s, among which are the Grossane
Grossane
The Grossane is a cultivar of olives grown primarily in the Vallée des Baux and Bouches-du-Rhône regions of southern France. Though it can be used to produce oil, it is primarily used as a black table olive...

 and the Berruguette.

It has a high level of resistance to the major pests, with the exception of grubs of the olive moth Prays oleae
Prays oleae
The Olive Moth is a moth of the Yponomeutidae family. It is found in Southern Europe and North Africa.The wingspan is 11-15 mm....

and of the olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae. It has a good resistance also to cold, and can sustain temperatures down to −15 °C, but it is highly sensitive to wind.
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