Spring coincides with the vegetative awakening of the plant after a pause during the cold months. During this season the soil in the groves must be fertilized, it must be tilled to foster the storing of water and, above all, the trees must be pruned.
Sometimes, in years of late olive ripening, the harvest lasts till spring. In the past, when olives were left on the trees till they fell spontaneously, one could see plants with ripe fruit and buds at the same time. 

Pruning allows the removal of the branches with suitable cutting tools, in order to renew the fruit-bearing branches and to foster their growth; it also allows the reshaping of the plant to adjust its growth and bearing according to growing requirements, and the homogeneous and correct distribution of the light on different areas of foliage.
The objective of these operations is to favor productivity and to increase it through well-balanced growth of the plant throughout the year. 

pruning for basic shape 
this allows the determination of the shape of the foliage and the bearing of the adult tree(cone shaped, vase shaped, bushy), and is carried out in the first years after the final bedding out.

pruning to shape the foliage
this is effected to change the look of the foliage, to reshape a plant neglected or in vegetative disorder, or to correct mistakes in pruning for basic shape. It involves the cutting of large parts of the plant, and their replacement with vigorous and carefully selected shoots. 

pruning to rejuvenate 
to exploit the wonderful "immortality" of the olive tree, to make old groves or plants productive after serious frost damages. It involves cutting of the trunk at the bottom, and the cultivation of two or three shoots chosen among the strongest appearing on the stump. 

pruning for yield 
to be carried out just after the end of the frost period, since the cold weather would hamper the healing of the cuts on the wood, but before the plants stop sprouting.

Fertilizing
Spring fertilizing supplies the olive tree with mineral and other necessary substances for blossoming, adjusting the ratio of those contained in the soil, or supplementing them if they are scarce. It has been estimated that 100 pounds of olives remove from the soil an average of 409 g (14.3 oz) of nitrogen, 91 g (3.2 oz) of phosphoric dioxide and 45 g (1.6 oz)of potassium. The period, the quality and quantity of fertilizing depend on soil, on exposure and on many other variables. An old and effective treatment is the use of organic fertilizers (dung, green fertilizer, etc.) that can supply nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and many other microelements. 

View of a mule-path showing an animal loaded with barrels of fertilizers - Postcard of Oneglia at the turn of the century
The sewage of the towns was recycled to fertilize the olive groves. Collection and transport to the groves in the hinterland was made by pack-animals; it was regulated by agreements and concessions, much sought-after as a source of income.