KATO DRYS
Country: Cyprus
Purpose: Dual-purpose (table and oil)
Synonyms: Clone of the “Local” variety.
Distribution: 1 continent
Europe
A Cypriot local cultivar: concentrated presence rather than “global” spread
In Europe, Kato Drys is documented as a local Cypriot cultivar, mainly associated with the island Mediterranean context and a clearly concentrated territorial footprint. Within the TGoP approach, this positions it among “resident” cultivars: varieties defined by place-based identity more than by intercontinental expansion.
Collections and characterization work: a traceable local genetic resource
Kato Drys appears in varietal catalogues/databases and in Cypriot germplasm characterization activities, with attention to correct identification and description. This matters because it strengthens traceability and supports its reading as a local agricultural heritage asset.
Contemporary use: trials and comparisons within Cyprus-based modern systems
The cultivar is also referenced in studies and trials carried out in Cyprus (including evaluations under modern planting systems and comparisons with international cultivars), indicating ongoing applied interest without implying broad diffusion beyond its core area. For TGoP, it is a useful case to show how a local cultivar can engage with the present through technical pathways while keeping a clear territorial centre of gravity.
Agronomic and commercial considerations: Archaeological excavations have brought to light in the Neolithic sites, the remais of ancient stone mills together with the remains of olive processing, as early as the Late Bronze Age and the Hellenistic period. The olive tree and its products have always played a fundamental role in the Cypriot family, both in nutrition, logically, and in religious rituals. In fact, the word “Olive” appears in the names of places, monuments, etc. all over the island, which further demostrates its importance. The variety “Kato Drys” is a clone of the most common variety in Cyprus, which is the “Local” cultivar. The need to create an improved clone is due to the acceptance by the local market of the mentioned variety “Local” so, while preserving its organoleptic parameters, this clone was created to improve certain characteristics such as growth, yield, fruit weight, oil content, pulp/seed ratio, table olive conservation, rhizogenic capacity of the cuttings and resistance to biotic (also called biological, which are those living) and abiotic factors (light, soil, water, air and the set of climatic factors).