In this study, the drupes and virgin olive oils extracted from the Oliva Rossa landrace are characterized. Oliva Rossa is an old landrace part of the autochthonous Apulian olive germplasm for which only few data have been reported till now. During the study, the maturity patterns of the drupes had been followed. Four samplings per year were planned, one every 14 days starting from the middle of October. The pigmentation index, the oil content and the total phenolic content of the drupes were measured. Simultaneously, virgin olive oils were extracted at the lab scale and analyzed for the fatty acid composition, the basic quality parameters and the content of minor compounds. The pigmentation pattern of the drupes was different among the years and, despite this trend, at the third sampling time the stage of maximum oil accumulation was always over. The extracted virgin olive oils had a medium to high level of oleic acid. With colder temperatures, a higher level of monounsaturated fatty acids, oleic/linoleic ratio and antioxidants was observed. The phenolic profile was dominated by 3,4-DPHEA-EDA and p-HPEA-EDA while the volatile profile by (E)-2-hexenal and 3-ethyl-1,5-octadiene.
Keywords: antioxidants; harvest season; minor compounds; oil quality; olive landrace; ripening.