Irbid, Oct. 29 (Petra) -- The Agriculture Directorate of Koura District confirmed on Thursday that harvesting olives manually remains the most effective method for producing high-quality olive oil.

Head of directorate, Abdel Elah Obeidat, told the Jordan News Agency (Petra) that a large proportion of local olive crops are gathered by hand. He noted that while manual harvesting entails higher operational costs, it prevents fruit damage and yields premium-grade oil.

Obeidat emphasized that harvest techniques should align with the intended use of the olives, calling on farmers to implement best practices prior to transporting their yields to press facilities. He advised using well-ventilated plastic crates instead of plastic bags and urged growers to schedule press times in advance to ensure processing occurs within 24 hours of harvest.

He added that if milling is delayed, harvested olives should be spread out in shaded, well-ventilated areas with temperatures not exceeding 15 degrees Celsius.

For post-processing storage, Obeidat recommended storing oil containers off the ground on wooden pallets to avoid soil moisture and away from strong odors, warning that transparent containers should be avoided as light exposure degrades oil composition and alters its color.

//Petra// AF