AVOCADO - Tropical Fruits - page 169

Cultivars

Cultivars from California, and some from Chile, Australia and Israel, are best
suited for subtropical areas or for higher elevations above 800-1000 m in the
tropics; they normally have a higher oil content, which for many consumers
makes them tastier. The cultivars developed in Florida and the Caribbean
Islands are most suited for the tropics and normally have a lower oil content,
and most of them are green when ripe and are therefore called 'green skins'
in the international trade. Some California and Florida cultivars have become
international (Table 7.4), providing the basis for avocado development in
many countries. 'Hass' a Guatemalan type, is the most widely distributed,
grown and exported cultivar, replacing 'Fuerte', a Mexican-Guatemalan
hybrid. One or both have dominated the plantings in Australia, Israel, South
Africa, Mexico, Chile, Peru, the Canary Islands and other areas (Table 7.4).
In California, 'Hass' has gradually become the dominant cultivar, largely due
to the relatively poor yields and inconsistent bearing of the type 'B' cultivar
'Fuerte', whose fl owering is disrupted by low temperatures; 'Zutano', 'Bacon',
'Gwen' and 'Pinkerton' are other commercial cultivars. In the last years 'Lamb
Hass' and 'Gem' and a few others have been developed as alternatives or
complements for 'Hass'. In Mexico 'Colin V-33' was selected from a population
of open-pollinated 'Fuerte' seedlings; it is a type 'B' with very-good-quality
pulp, green-coloured fruit, superior to 'Fuerte'; it is considered a dwarf plant
and can be used as a dwarfi ng interstock (Barrientos-Priego et al. , 2000). In
California, the fruit of most cultivars can be stored on the tree for months after
reaching maturity, depending upon season, so not many cultivars are needed
to market fruit throughout the year. However, this tree storage can lead to
more pronounced biennial bearing.
Florida cultivates a larger number of mostly West Indian and West Indian-
Guatemalan hybrids to extend the market season (Campbell and Malo, 1976).
Cultivars are grouped into early-, mid- and late-season. 'Pollock', 'Waldin',
'Simmonds' and 'Nadir' are some early-season types. Some mid-season

Table 7.4. A list of selected cultivars grown in major avocado-growing areas.

South
Africa California Florida Australia Israel Mexico Spain Chile Peru

Fuerte Pollock Zutano Fuerte Fuerte Fuerte Hass Hass Hass

Hass Simmonds Sharwil Hass Hass Hass Bacon Fuerte Fuerte

Zutano Nadir Bacon Nabal Edranol Bacon Fuerte Negra Nabal

Bacon Booth 8 Fuerte Ettinger Ryan Reed Reed la Cruz

Reed Lula Hass Horshim Criollo Zutano Bacon

Pinkerton Hardee Wurtz (Local) Gwen Edranol

Gwen Ruehle

Choquette

Zutano