Urea as a thinning agent in olive: The influence of concentration and time of application

Urea was tested as chemical thinner on olive cv. Nocellara del Belice using three concentrations (2, 4 and 6%) applied at full bloom (FB), FB + 10 and FB + 20 days. Urea reduced fruit set significantly only when applied at FB + 20 days, the fruitlet stage. Final fruit set was reduced by about 50% compared with the untreated control (6% FB + 20 days). Crop load and fruit characteristics were both affected by the treatments.