Research activities - Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops

The Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops (CREA-OFA) is a research centre belonging to the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics. The structure brings together the centres previously referred to as fruit-growing centres (CREA-FRU Roma, CREA-FRC Caserta, CREA-FRF Forlì), citrus-growing centres (CREA-ACM Acireale) and olive-growing centres (CREA-OLI Rende/Spoleto).

Acireale office
In 1866 it was the seat of the “Comitato Agrario del Circondario di Acireale” and then the seat of the “Regia Stazione Sperimentale di Frutticoltura e Agrumicoltura”. In 1967, the Royal Station became the “Experimental Institute for Agriculture”. Since 2007 the Institute has become “Research Centre for Agronomic and Mediterranean Crops (ACM)". Since 2017 it is seat of the CREA Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops research centre.

Rende office
In 1968, the Institute for Experimental Olive growing was established in Cosenza, with peripheral operating locations in Spoleto and Palermo. From October 1st, 2004, the Experimental Institute became a Research Centre for Olive and Oil Industry with a directorate placed in Rende, instead of Cosenza. Later, Città Sant’angelo (PE) was added to the peripheral office located in Spoleto. With this reform the newborn Centre was able to reacquire some of the activities that it had gained in 1899, following the relocation of the ‘Regio Frantoio Sperimentale’ from Palmi.
Since 2017, the Centre has been part of CREA-OFA, to which the competences of Rende are related. Rende remains the seat of election for olive growing studies as well as the administrative seat of the whole Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops Research Centre.

Roma office
The CREA-OFA of Rome was founded as the Institute of Fruit Growing and Electrogenetics in 1927. In 1955 the Institute became the Experimental Institute for Fruit Growing in Rome, integrating the three peripheral sections of Trento, Forli and Caserta. The 1999 reform established the Council for Agricultural Research (CRA) which transformed the Institute into a Research Centre for Fruit Agriculture. The most recent reorganization of the research institution in 2017 gave rise to the creation of the CREA-OFA, to which the former Fruit Growing Centre of Rome currently belongs.

Caserta office
In 1860 it was the seat of the Agricultural Institute for the research and study of agricultural science and the Experimental Agricultural Garden and in 1939 of the Zootechnical Dairy Institute for Southern Italy. In 1967 it became an operative section of the Experimental Institute for Fruit Growing in Rome. In 2007 it became a Research Unit for Fruit Growing and in 2015 it was organized as a Research Unit for Fruit Growing in Caserta (CREA-FRC). Since 2017 it is one of the five offices of CREA-OFA.

Forlì office
In 1872 it was the seat of the Agricultural Experimental station of Forlì and in 1910 of the Self-sufficient Laboratory of Agricultural Chemistry. In 1967 the Laboratory was turned into the Peripheral Operative Section of the Experimental Institute for Fruit Growing in Rome.
In 2007 it became a Research Unit for Fruit Growing, in 2015 a Research Unit for Fruit Growing in Forlì (CREA-FRF) and since 2017 it is one of the five CREA-OFA offices.