Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
influence cold damage (Malo
et al
. 1977). Mature trees of
the Mexican race are capable of withstanding temperatures
as low as −4°C without damage (Joubert & Bredell 1982).
Mexican cultivars are well adapted to cool climates of the
tropics and subtropics and are the most cold tolerant of the
three races. The West Indian cultivars are best adapted to
lowland tropical conditions of high temperature and
humidity. The Guatemalan cultivars are intermediate
between these two cultivars with respect to climatic
adaptation. Mexican race fruit have mostly green skin (the
natural seedling 'criollo' is black skin), the pulp is green in
colour with very high oil content (up to 30% in weight),
while fruit of the Guatemalan race is characterized by thick
peel, high oil content and nutty flavour pulp (Storey 1988).
Systematic studies have classified more than 500
varieties; however, many are not commercial, because of
productivity problems (production time, amount of fruit),
quality (protein and fat content), and commercial handling
problems (such as resistance to transportation). Many of
the commercial cultivars are hybrids of the three races.
There is great variability in fruit traits not only between
races but also between cultivars within a race. One of the
most distinct differences between cultivars is the peel
colour when ripe. The peel of some cultivars changes from
green to black or purple with increasing maturity or
ripening. 'Hass', a G-MX hybrid, is a black-skinned (when
ripe), ovate cultivar whose fruit weighs 140 to 300 gm
(Plate 8.1). 'Hass' accounts for about 75% of the production
in Mexico and California, and is also important in other
countries. In Mexico, 'Hass' is harvested all year but the
main season is from October to May. The main Florida
cultivars (West Indian and Guatemalan races and hybrids)
are 'Simmonds', 'Nadir', 'Booth 8', 'Choquette' and
'Lula'. Some other commercial cultivars include 'Bacon',
'Fuerte', 'Gwen', 'Lamb Hass', 'Pinkerton', 'Reed' and
'Zutano'. With the exception of 'Reed,' which is believed
to be entirely of the G race, the other cultivars are considered
to be primarily G-MX hybrids. 'Sharwil' is a MX-G cross
and represents more than 57% of the commercial acreage
in Hawaii, its green-skinned fruit weigh 220 to 560 gm,
matures in winter and spring, has small seeds and
greenish-yellow flesh with a rich, nutty flavour.
About 349 000 ha are dedicated to the production of
avocado in about 60 countries, producing more than 2.6
million tons annually, with average yield of about 7.40 tons
per ha. Mexico is the leading producer, accounting for
about 36% of the total production, with other important
producing countries including the United States (8%),
Colombia (5.5%), Indonesia (5%), Dominican Republic
(4.3%), Chile (4.2%), Brazil (3.5%) and Israel (3.3%).
Table 8.1
Consumption of Avocado in Different
Countries in 1998-2000.
Ranking
Volume (ton)
Country
1
815 749
Mexico
2
228 310
United States
3
128 447
Indonesia
4
127 697
Colombia
5
85 598
Brazil
6
79 298
Dominican Republic
7
79 020
France
8
76 355
Peru
9
63 667
China
10
49 000
Cameroon
11
45 000
Haiti
12
39 145
Venezuela
13
32 662
Chile
14
32 446
Israel
15
32 079
South Africa
2 288 208 World Total
Source: FAOSTAT (2002) and Tubello and Piccolo (2001).
Table 8.2
Consumption of Avocado in the
European Union in 1999.
Kg/person/
year
kg/habitant/
year
Country
Country
Austria
0.160
Ireland
0.194
Bel-Lux
0.899
Italy
0.033
Denmark
0.580
Netherlands
1.128
Finland
0.150
Portugal
0.035
France
1.420
Spain
0.596
Germany
0.157
Sweden
0.610
Greece
0.228
United Kingdom
0.315
Source: Tubello and Piccolo (2001).
The avocado fruit can be round, pear shaped, or oblong,
and the skin of the fruit may vary in texture and colour. The
skin may be pliable to woody, smooth to rough, and
green-yellow, reddish-purple, purple or black in colour.
The flesh of the fruit is greenish yellow to bright yellow
when ripe and buttery in consistency, but inferior varieties
may be fibrous. The avocado fruit has one large seed which
makes up to 10-25% of the fruit weight. The fruit of
different avocado varieties vary in moisture and oil content,
from less than 5% to more than 30% oil.
Avocado consumption (Tables 8.1 and 8.2) is concen trated
in the major producing areas. US per capita consumption
