Avocado Varieties for Commercial Planting in California 1999

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Prepared by: The Variety Subcommittee; California Avocado Society
Reviewed by: University of California, California Avocado Commission

Production Characteristics(a)
		Yrs to 1st Commercial Harvest
	Parentage	Top Worked	New Plantings	Yield Potential(e)	Tree Shape	Canopy Size	Alternate Bearing	Flower Type	Wind Tolerance	Frost Tolerance	Season (i)
Recommended varieties
Hass	Mostly Gua	3	4	High	S	Mod-Large	Severe	A	Low	Low	Sp, Su, W
Gwen	Mostly Gua	2	3	Very High	S-U (G)	Small	Moderate	A	Moderate	Low	Su
Pinkerton	Mostly Gua	3	4	High	S	Medium	Moderate	A	High	Low	W
Varieties in commercial production but NOT recommended (b)
Bacon	Mostly Mex	NR(f)	NR	Medium	U	Small	Slight	B	Moderate	High	W
Fuerte	Guat Mex	NR	NR	Low	S	Large	Irregular	B	High	Moderate	W
Reed	Guatamalan	NR	NR	High	U	Medium	Moderate	A	Very Low	Low	Su
Zutano	Mostly Mex	NR	NR	High	U	Medium	Slight	B	Moderate	Moderate	W
Varieties for testing (c)
Sir Prize	Mostly Mex	2	3	NE(h)	U	NE	Moderate	B	High	NE	Su
Lamb Hass	Mostly Gua	2	3	NE	U	NE	NE	A	High	NE	Sp, Su

a - General characteristics may vary according to climatic zones for all varieties
b - Other minor varieties including Anaheim, Covacado, Jim, McArthur, Rincon, Santana, Susan are also not recommended.
c - These varieties are considered to show promise, but need limited commercial testing. Data presented is only tentative.
d - Topworked trees may exhibit different tree shape. S=Spreading; U=Upright; I=Irregular.
e - Yields may be enhanced by cross pollination with opposite flower type which blooms at the same time.
f - NR = Not Recommended
g - Topworked trees tend to be more upright.
h - NE = not established
i - Fruiting Season: W=winter, SP=spring, Su=summer, Fa=fall

Fruit Characteristics (a)
	Peel Color (Ripe)	Feel Texture	Peel Thickness	Peel Ease	Relative Seed Size	Range in Fruit Size (oz)	Fruit Shape
Recommended Varieties
Hass	Black	Rough	Med Thick	Very Good	Sm-med	5-12	Ovate
Gwen	Green	Semi-rough	Med Thick	Excellent	Small	8-18	Long Pear
Pinkerton	Dk Grn	Rough	Thick	Good	Small	7-16	Short Pear
Varieties in commercial production but NOT recommended (b)
Bacon	Dk Grn	Smooth	Med Thin	Fair-good	Med-lg	6-12	Ovate
Fuirte	Green	Smooth	Medium	Good-exc	Medium	6-14	Pear
Reed	Green	Semi-rough	Thick	Good	Medium	8-18	Round
Zutano	Lw/Gr	Smooth	Thin	Fair	Large	6-12	Pear
Varieties for testing (c)
Sir Prize	Black	Semi-rough	Thin	Very Good	Medium	7-12	Pear
Lamb Hass	Black	Rough	Medium	Very Good	Medium	10-18	Pear

Marketing Characteristics (a)
	Storage & Shelf Life	Shipping Quality	Response to Ethylene Conditioning	Eating Quality (d)
Recommended Varieties
Hass	Good-Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent
Gwen	Good	Good	Excellent	Excellent
Pinkerton	Good-Very Good	Good	Excellent(f)	Excellent
Varieties in commercial production for NOT recommended (b)
Bacon	Poor	Fair	Poor	Poor
Fuerte	Good	Poor-Fair	Poor	Excellent
Reed	Fair	Fair	Poor	Good
Zutano	Poor	Poor-Fair	Poor	Poor
Varieties for testing (c)
Sir Prize	NE(c)	NE	NE	Good
Lamb Hass	NE	NE	NE	Excellent

a - General characteristics may vary according to climatic zones for all varieties.
b - Other minor varieties including Anaheim, Covacado, Jim, McArthur, Rincon, Santana, Susan are also not recommended.
c - These varieties are considered to show promise, but need limited commercial testing. Data presented is only tentative.
d - Data presented from California Avocado Commission Consumer Taste Panel (1986-87) for all varieties except Whitsell.
e - NE = Not Established
f - Early season Pinkerton require ethylene conditioning for satisfactory ripening.