Planting the exotic and highly nutritious avocado locally
AS its scientific name Persia Americana indicates, avocado originates from the Americas – Mexico and Central America. It is a rarely planted fruit in Sarawak and even in the rest of Malaysia. During a recent weekly coffee session, we retired agricultural staff discussed this fruit. Many have had problems getting the tree to fruit. One of us has already given up and cut down a decade-old tree to make room for other fruits, as most of the home garden space has been filled.
This fruit has managed to command a good price of RM15 or even more for imported batches. What we have in the fruit market is mainly imported from Sabah, the Philippines, or Indonesia. You can also get avocados from Australia and New Zealand from supermarkets.
Globally, this fruit has been largely cultivated in Mexico, which is the largest producer and exporter. There are also largescale plantations of avocado in Australia, Kenya, Brazil, and China, where the subtropical and Mediterranean climates are more suitable. The fruit can be consumed fresh when ripe. It can also be mixed with honey or milk for a richer taste. Background The tree should bear fruit after five years of planting from seed, while grafted plants should take only three to four years to fruit. The yield ranges from 100 to 500 fruits per mature tree. With good agronomic practices, it is claimed production can reach 20 tonnes per ha per year.
The time taken for the fruit to mature on the tree depends on the variety. For example, the Mexican takes six to eight months; the Guatemalan takes nine to 14 months; and the West Indian takes six months. They are also different in fruit size, seed size, and flesh quality. Different varieties also differ when it comes to environmental tolerance and soil requirements.
While avocados need to mature on the tree, they will ripen once plucked. Ripening time takes from one to two weeks and will also depend on the variety. After the maturity period, the fruit will drop to the ground. Fruits picked too early tend to shrivel and lack quality.
Mature fruits on the tree will become more yellowish, while the dark green variety will show a change to purple. When ripe and cut open, the seed will not stick to the flesh and has a dark brown colour.
Worldwide, there are many cultivars of avocado. Many countries have developed their own cultivars suitable for their own climate for commercial production.
The recommended ones are the Hass, Gwen, and Pinkerton for their high potential and small canopy. Today, Malaysia has registered Avocado Klon A7, A10, A16, A25, A27, and A30. Planting tips Depending on the variety, vigour of the variety, and growth habit, the distance between trees can range from six to 12 metres apart. For the bigger canopy variety, wider spacing would be necessary.
On lower ground, the tree should be planted on mounds to reduce problems with waterlogging. For vegetative growth, nitrogenous fertiliser can be applied once in twomonth intervals, at a rate of 20 grams per tree. Avocado’s water requirement is specific and should never be allowed to face water stress as this will cause fruits to drop if severe. Drought will also cause the fruit’s skin to crack or result in salt burn on the leaves.
To encourage an open canopy, some light pruning is to be carried out during the early period of growth. Do note that excessive pruning encourages vegetative growth and reduces fruiting. Selected cultivars may be allowed to grow without much pruning at all. Height control is good to reduce harvesting difficulties.
Locally grown avocadoes are mainly taken from fresh fruits from the Philippines or Indonesia. There is still no largescale cultivation yet here.
However, with more information available today, planters should be better prepared to go into larger scale production of the fruit locally as it does fetch a good price. It is said that you should plant more than one tree as this is a monoecious tree with male and female trees, so you will need both for fruiting. How about trying to grow avocado in your home garden?
Do send me an email if you have questions, comments, or suggestions.
Happy gardening.