Avocados spreading

MILLENNIALS may finally be able to have their avocado on toast and still afford a house.

The University of Queensland is developing a new stem cell method that could supply 500 times more avocado plants across Australia and keep prices low.

Currently, the industry takes cuttings from high-quality trees and roots them. It takes 18 months before they’re ready for sale to commercial growers and another 7-15 years for the trees to bear fruit.

The new “secret recipe” of light, temperature and other factors grows and roots multiple plants from the shoot tip of an existing plant, potentially doubling avocado production in Queensland and cutting the time for new varieties to reach commercial orchards from 10 years to three years or less.

Professor Neena Mitter from the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, a UQ research institute, is leading the project.

“From an initial investment of less than $2 million ... we should see an annual return of $335 million,” Professor Mitter said.