Olive farming weather in Tunisia
Current stage : Veraison
Production area
Sfax · Sousse · Monastir · Mahdia
48-hour application window
Hours when wind, temperature, humidity and incoming rain all line up.
Conditions are currently unfavourable for an application.
- · Wind too strong, drift risk
Wind 11 km/h · Temperature 28 °C · Delta T 5.6
Next favourable slot: 18:00 to 00:00 (7 h)
Gap between dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperature. Useful range: 2 to 8.
Risks over 7 days
- 🪰Olive flyHigh
Temperatures favourable to flight and egg-laying (30.4 °C) on Wed 23 Sept
Water requirement over 7 days
Evapotranspiration adjusted to the crop, compared with forecast rain.
17.1 mm
Deficit to cover
171 m³ per hectare
- Reference evapotranspiration
- 28 mm
- Crop requirement
- 18.2 mm
- Forecast rain
- 1.1 mm
Calculation: reference evapotranspiration multiplied by the crop coefficient 0.65, minus rain. Soil reserve and network efficiency are not taken into account.
Days without rain
7 days without significant rain
Soil at 6 cm
35 °C
Soil temperature drives germination and root activity. Below 8 °C, cereal emergence slows sharply.
7-day farming forecast
| Day | Min / Max | Rain | ET0 | Max wind | Humidity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 23 Sept | 23° / 30° | - | 3.8 mm | 12 km/h | 43-87 % |
| Thu 24 Sept | 23° / 27° | 0.2 mm | 3.6 mm | 15 km/h | 67-90 % |
| Fri 25 Sept | 21° / 29° | 0.4 mm | 3.9 mm | 11 km/h | 53-94 % |
| Sat 26 Sept | 21° / 30° | 0.5 mm | 4.1 mm | 17 km/h | 42-89 % |
| Sun 27 Sept | 21° / 29° | - | 4.5 mm | 17 km/h | 32-74 % |
| Mon 28 Sept | 21° / 28° | - | 4 mm | 19 km/h | 58-81 % |
| Tue 29 Sept | 22° / 28° | - | 4.1 mm | 16 km/h | 57-81 % |
Crop calendar
- Winter dormancy
- Bud break
- Flowering and fruit set
- Fruit growth
- VeraisonCurrent stage
- Harvest
Olive farming weather in Tunisia
Olive groves cover close to a third of Tunisia's cultivated land and support more than 300,000 holdings, mainly in the Sahel and the Centre. Their management hinges on three weather moments: flowering in April and May, when two days of sirocco can wipe out fruit set; summer, when supplementary irrigation decides fruit size; and autumn, when the olive fly resumes activity as soon as the heat breaks. This page brings those three readings together for the Sahel, the Centre and the North-West.
Frequently asked questions
- What time of day suits olive spraying best?
- Conditions are usually best in the early morning and late afternoon: wind between 3 and 19 km/h, temperature below 30 °C and a Delta T between 2 and 8. In the middle of a Tunisian summer afternoon the spray evaporates before it reaches the leaf. The hourly window on this page marks those slots over 48 hours.
- Does the sirocco threaten olive flowering?
- Yes. A hot, dry southerly wind during the April-May flowering dries the stigma within hours and cuts fruit set. The risk is flagged here as soon as the temperature passes 34 °C with humidity below 35 % and a southerly wind.
- When is the olive fly most active?
- Between 20 and 30 °C with high humidity, so mostly in September and October in the Sahel. Above 35 °C eggs and young larvae die, which explains the July-August lull. The indicator on this page tracks that thermal window day by day.
Indicators computed from Open-Meteo forecasts. They help pick a moment to intervene; they replace neither an official agricultural advisory nor a technician's judgement.