Nine Days to Release of CSOO

Today's Fun Fact from Chemical Story of Olive Oil (CSOO) 
Olive trees are rarely grown from seeds, but rather cultivated in nurseries from slips of parent trees.

In "Planting," Chapter 2 of CSOO,* you will read about the important work farmers must do in planning
for a successful olive grove.  The cultivar (cultivated varietal) must be chosen from over 1000 different varieties and must accommodate local soil, weather, and geographic constraints.  A most important consideration is the amount of sunlight the grove will get.  Our chemical story in this chapter focuses on Chlorophyll, the biological pigment that harvests energy from the sun and begins the process of photosynthesis, which ultimately creates the oil.

The trees are planted in roughly north-south rows, often in very beautiful places...




*You can pre-order The Chemical Story of Olive Oil now from The Royal Society of Chemistry.