Research Library

There is a growing concern that the fast expanding and globalized competitive world market is causing decline in grower returns and expansion of urban development and environmental regulations causing production cost increases and challenging the viability and sustainability of producing these crops. Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties are among the top avocado producing counties in California. These counties make up 48% of the California avocado industry; grossing over $167 million in 2011.

There is a growing concern that the fast expanding and globalized competitive world market is causing decline in grower returns and expansion of urban development and environmental regulations causing production cost increases and challenging the viability and sustainability of producing these crops. San Diego and Riverside counties are among the top avocado producing counties in California. These counties make up 49% of the California avocado industry; grossing over $268 million in 2011. It has been over 10 years since we developed a cost study for avocados in California.

This research addresses the research priority: “The role of endogenous and exogenous growth regulators in avocado and the evaluation of commercial growth regulators on flowering, fruit set, fruit size, yield and vegetative growth.”

The increasing costs of inputs necessary for avocado production dictate that growers of the 'Hass' avocado in California increase profitability per acre. The goal of this research is to increase net income per acre by developing plant growth regulator (PGR) strategies that increase yield of commercially valuable fruit.

California avocado growers must increase yield, including fruit size, and/or reduce production costs to remain competitive in the US market, which now receives fruit from Mexico, Chile, New Zealand, Dominican Republic and an increasing number of other countries (http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/Fruit VegPhyto/Data/fr-avocados.xls). Despite the popularity, the ‘Hass’ cultivar (Persea americana Mill.) is known to be problematic with regard to fruit retention, fruit size and alternate bearing.

Competition from Mexico, Chile and other countries requires that the California avocado industry not only increase production per acre, but also increase fruit size to remain profitable. The goal of this research is to increase net income per acre for growers of the 'Hass' avocado in California by developing plant growth regulator (PGR) strategies that increase yield of commercially valuable large size fruit.

This research addresses the research priority: “The role of endogenous and exogenous growth regulators in avocado and the evaluation of commercial growth regulators on flowering, fruit set, fruit size, yield and vegetative growth.”

Avocado is one of the most salinity sensitive horticultural crops, but is commonly grown in areas having saline irrigation water (an EC greater than 0.75 dS/m and chloride >100 ppm). Resulting problems associated with high soil salinity and chloride toxicity include reductions in fruit yield and tree size, lowered leaf chlorophyll content, decreased photosynthesis, poor root growth, and leaf scorching (Mickelbart et al., 2007).

Avocado yields are decreased by chloride toxicity and soil salinity throughout California orchards but there is little information on the extent to which different rootstocks can be used to improve tree performance under saline conditions. This research has been aimed at the development of a production function model that can be used to predict the impacts of irrigation water chloride content and salinity (EC) on avocado yields.

Avocado yields are decreased by chloride toxicity and soil salinity throughout California avocado orchards but there is little information on the extent to which different rootstocks can be used to improve tree performance under saline conditions. This research is aimed at the development of a production function model that can be used to predict the impacts of irrigation water chloride content and salinity (EC) on avocado yields.