Hamakua Ag Coop Meeting For Avocado Research Project Mark T. Nickum Tropical Fruit Researcher University of Hawaii May 8, 2013 ‘Booth 7’ ‘Choquette’ Guatemalan x West Indian types ‘Lula’ ‘Monroe’ AVOCADO Typical uses: - fresh, as “vegetable” fruit; salads - processed, as guacamole - as flavoring in milk shakes & smoothies - oils extracted for cosmetic purposes Economic importance Major producers in 2008 Importance in Hawaii Producing Nation Metric Tons Mexico 1,124,565 Chile 250,000 Indonesia 225,180 Dominican Republic 187,398 Colombia 183,968 Brazil 147,214 Peru 136,303 United States 116,000 Hawaii produces 1 million pounds of avocado mostly Guatemala 96,525 For local consumption, and Imports about 2 million pounds. China 95,000 Profitability in Florida • Average yield ~9MT/ha. • Main operating expenses included – Fertilizers ~37% – Fungicides ~19% – Herbicides ~13% • Net returns of at least US$2,200/ha. – Very sensitive to price fluctuations. Avocado Cost of Production in Hawaii Kent Flemming GROSS INCOME: Number PER TREE: ANNUAL GROSS INCOME: Ave.yiel % of production: of trees: d: Units @ $/unit: $/tree: $/acre: $/farm: % gross: Gr ad e 1 86% of crop 430 110 lbs. #1 $0.40 $37.84 $1,892.00 $18,920 96.1% Of f- gr ad e 14% of crop 70 110 lbs. other $0.10 $1.54 $77.00 $770 3.9% TOTAL = 100% 500 trees Weighted average = $0.36 /lb. $39.38 $1,969.00 $19,690 100.0% OPERATING or VARIABLE COSTS: PER TREE ANNUAL OPERATING COSTS: Quantit y Units @ $/ unit: $/tree: $/acre: $/farm: % gross: A . Fertilizer: 1 Super Coffee + 3.2 lbs./tree/year $0.19 /lb. 0.608 30.40 304 1.5% Other fertilizer 2 in mixture 0.0 lbs./tree/year $0.00 /lb. 0.000 0.00 0 0.0% 3 Labor @ 4 appli/yr @ 0.25 min./appli. 1.00 min./tree/yr. $9.00 /hour 0.150 7.50 75 0.4% 4 Fuel: mach. & equip. operation (Enter total for farm/year) 0.000 0.00 0 0.0% Fertilizing total = $0.758 $37.90 $379 1.9% B . Weed control: Rate: Per farm: 1 Round-up @ 2 oz./gal. 5 gal/appli 0.020 oz./tree/appli. $17.00 /qt. 0.064 3.19 32 0.2% oz./qt. 2 Sticker 8 herbicide 0.005 oz./tree/appli. $10.00 /qt. 0.009 0.47 5 0.0% 3 Spray. labor 6 appli/yr @ 12 hrs/appli. 8.64 min./tree/yr. $9.00 /hour 1.296 64.80 648 3.3% 4 Mowing labor 1 mowing(s) 18 hrs/mow. 2.16 min./tree/yr. $9.00 /hour 0.324 16.20 162 0.8% 5 Fuel: mach. & equip. operation (Enter total for farm/year) 0.200 10.00 100 0.5% 6 Sheep expenses (Enter total for farm/year) 0.000 0.00 0 0.0% Weed control total = $1.893 $94.66 $947 4.8% History of Domestication • Eaten in Mexico 7000- • Introductions to: 8000 yrs ago • Jamaica in ~1650 by (radiocarbon data) Spaniards • Human Selection 4000- • African and Asian tropics 2800 BC by 1700s – 1800s Mesoamerican Indians • Florida – 1833 • Three races separate • California – 1848 until European Contact • Hawaii – common by 1855 Botany • Medium to large trees to 10-20 m tall. • Shallow root system, >90% fibrous root system within 30-60 cm soil surface (e.g. Waiakea in Hilo, only 6 inches of soil, trees with 25 feet of roots extending out!) • Psuedo-terminal flower/fruit bearing (looks terminal at first, but is actually lateral). The inflorescence is a panicle of cymes. Flowers are small, greenish yellow, bisexual with a superior ovary. Anthesis occurs over a 3-8 week period. Special pollination strategy to prevent self pollination. Type A and Type B trees. • Cyme - A usually flat-topped or convex flower cluster in which the main axis and each branch end in a flower that opens before the flowers below or to the side of it. Determinate florescence. Botany and Evolution • Evolved in several rainforest environments resulting in a shallow root system, trees have a vegetative growth bias (light competition) • Shoot growth is synchronized into major flushes • Flowering behavior favors outbreeding, not self pollination (complementary, synchronous dichogamy). Botany and Evolution – 3 Races • M = Mexican • G = Guatemalan • WI = West Indian Proposed centers of origin for the Mexican, Guatemalan and West Indian (Lowland) ecological races of avocado. From Storey et al., 1986, California Avocado Society Yearbook 70:127-133. General characteristics of avocado races1 Character West Indian Guatemalan Mexican Origin Tropical lowlands Tropical Tropical highlands highlands Leaves No odor No odor Anise- scented Blooming Feb.-March March-April Jan.-Feb. season Maturity May-Sept. Sept.-Jan. June-Oct. season (spring-summer) (fall-early winter) (summer-fall) 1, Hybrids have intermediate characteristics. Characteristics of avocado races Character West Guatemalan Mexican Indian Fruit set- 5-9 months 10-16 months 6-9 months maturity Fruit size lb (kg) 1-5 1/2-5 Not over 1 (0.5) (0.5-2.3) (0.2-2.3) Skin texture Leathery- Woody-rough Papery-smooth smooth Fruit oil content Low High Highest * Hybrids may show characteristics of both parent races. Flowering and fruit set sequence “A” and “B” type avocados complementary, synchronous dichogamy • Individual avocado flowers • Avocados are insect pollinated open twice over a 2 day (bees, wasps, flies) although this period – first day as is debated. functionally female and second day as functionally male. • Each avocado cultivar or • Some evidence that under seedling displays a certain environmental conditions consistent pattern to their (warm subtropical, high RH and sequence of female and low wind) some cultivars (WI male opening (time of day / types) are wind pollinated. morning or afternoon). Flowering behavior – Day 1 – Female receptive Female stage of flowering Day 2 – Male functional, Female NOT receptive • Six outer stamens, three inner stamens • Pollen visible Male stage of flowering Avocado flowering behavior Protogynous, Diurnally Synchronous Dichogamy Day 1 Day 2 Type A B 0600 1200 1800 0600 1200 1800 Hours (military time) After: Whiley and Schaffer. 1994. Avocado. In: Hdbk of environmental physiology of fruit crops, Vol. II, subtropical and tropical crops. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. There are two flowering types, referred Since there are hundreds of flowers on to as "A" and "B" flower types. "A" an avocado tree at any one time, the varieties open as female on the morning actual situation in the field as shown of the first day. The flower closes in late here (Figure 5). The arrows denote the morning or early afternoon. The flower movement of pollen between the will remain closed until the afternoon of complementary flower types. the second day when it opens as male. "B" varieties open as female on the afternoon of the first day, close in late afternoon and re-open in the male phase the following morning. Avocado flowering behavior • Avocado cultivars also vary in their period of flowering (time of season). • There are 3 main groups: early, mid-, and late flowering periods. • To optimize pollination, mix A and B type avocados that bloom during the same period. This will optimize the chances for cross pollination. • Fortunately, neighborhoods with more than 1 avocado tree usually do not have pollination problems. Why is the flowering behavior important? • Because avocado cultivars differ in the degree of and ability to self pollinate and set fruit. • Some cultivars appear to fruit well without cross pollination such as ‘Waldin’, ‘Lula’, and ‘Taylor’. Others like ‘ Pollock’ and ‘Booth 8’ do not. • We therefore recommend to people that if there are no avocado trees nearby, they plant two cultivars, an ‘A’ type and ‘B’ type. • Avocado cultivars differ in which months or seasons they flower. Therefore, choose to plant an early-A with an early-B, etc. Mid-blooming period avocados Cultivar Flower type Beta B Black Prince A (mid- to late period) Booth 8 B (mid- to late period) Brookslate A Choquette A Hall B Marcus B (mid- to late period) Nesbitt A Simmonds A (early to mid-period) Tonnage B (early to mid-period) Tower 2 B Avocado varieties recommended for home garden plantings in Hawaii. Flowering type Season of bearing A B Fall and winter San Miguel Case Semil-34 Kahalu`u Winter and spring Greengold Nishikawa Hayes Sharwil Spring and summer Ohata Chang Murashige Source: HITAHR Brief 052, “Recommended fruits and nuts for the home garden.” Can find Online. Avocado flowering ‘Booth 7’ Climatic adaptations – Flowering • Floral induction occurs during the fall-winter following the cessation of summer vegetative growth. • Floral initiation - Mexican and Guatemalan cultivars require exposure cool temperatures <20oC (68oF) are required to stimulate flora initiation (remember the M and G races are from the highlands); West Indian cultivars – exposure to temperatures at or below ~25oC (77oF). • Optimum temperatures during flowering for “normal” flowering behavior (dichogamous synchrony) ~25/20oC. - Mexican Bernecker – West Indian - Mex x Guat hybrid Guatemalan Choquette – Guat x WI hybrid Sharwil is a selection from Australia and it accounts for nearly 50% of the avocado orchards planted In Hawaii `Malama’ `Greengold’ Seedling selection from a Sharwil mother tree, from Haleakala Experimental Farm in First selected in 1976. Avocado Phenology (Annual Life Cycle) Flower bud Flowering and Fruit development development fruit set Vegetative flush Fruit drop Root flush Amount of development Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Month Two periods of fruit drop. 1. The tree is balancing the fruit load on the tree shortly after fruit set. 2. The tree is dropping mature fruit over time. Avocado Phenology Flower bud Flowering and Fruit development development fruit set Harvest Vegetative flush Fruit drop Root flush Amount of development Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Month Production