New Avocado Variety Release - 'Luna'

Meeting Announcement. The release of Luna UCR™ (‘BL516')

Eurosemillas (Green Motion) has organized an in-person meeting to announce the release of the “B” Hass-like variety Luna UCR™ (BL516) for Tuesday, June 20 from 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.  The meeting will be held at the UCCE Ventura County Extension Office at 699 County Square Drive, Ventura.  A tour to Brokaw Nursery to view Luna UCR™ trees will be held following the meeting.  The meeting is open to all interested parties.  For further information or to RSVP for the meeting contact Santiago Suris Salsas at ssuris@eurosemillas.com.

The University of California, Riverside's (UCR's) avocado scion breeding program began in the 1950's and continues today under the guidance of Dr. Mary Lu Arpaia, Professor of Extension, Subtropical Horticulture. It has been a model avocado varietal breeding program worldwide and maintains one of the largest avocado germplasm collections in the world. UCR has patented and released eight new scion varieties since the 1980's, most notably, ‘3-29-5' (often referred to as “GEM”) in 2003 and ‘Lamb Hass' in 1996.

UCR will officially release the ‘BL516' avocado scion cultivar in June 2023, the second avocado cultivar released by UCR in the last twenty years. With its slender upright growth habit, ‘BL516' offers avocado growers a next generation tree better adapted to the increasingly popular high-density plantings . It is a “B” flower type so it can serve as a pollinizer variety for ‘Hass', '3-29-5' and other type “A” flower varieties. It matures slightly later than ‘Hass' and during ripening, the fruit turns from an emerald green color to glossy black, similar to ‘Hass' and in line with current consumer preferences, according to Arpaia.

'BL516' is pending protection in the United States for US Plant Patent and Plant Variety Protection (PVP). Luna UCR™ is the trademark and brand used in commerce associated with this promising variety. 'BL516' was developed at UCR by Gray Martin, B.O. “Bob” Bergh, David Stottlemyer, Eric Focht, and Mary Lu Arpaia.

'BL516' avocados - unripe vs ripe.

In 2020, UCR partnered with Eurosemillas, S.A. to sponsor the UCR avocado breeding programs to help the university deliver the most promising and advanced avocado scions and rootstocks in its collection to market. ‘BL516' is the first scion cultivar to be released under this partnership. As the worldwide master licensee of 'BL516', Eurosemillas is positioned to lead the global commercialization of the variety, under Green Motion, an international platform established to accelerate the commercialization of UCR's most promising and advanced avocado scions and rootstocks cultivars with partners in 15 countries.

Support for UCR's avocado scion breeding program from the California avocado industry via the California Avocado Commission (CAC) dates to the 1950's and has provided millions of dollars in the scion breeding efforts through 2016. Keeping this in mind, California growers will receive a reduction in royalties paid for planting and production of ‘BL516', giving them an advantage over international avocado growers. Furthermore, all eligible California growers will be granted a sublicense upon request and agreement of a sublicense from Eurosemillas, ensuring widespread availability of ‘BL516' within the State.

Looking ahead, UCR's avocado breeding program remains committed to pushing the boundaries of innovation. With ongoing research efforts and the Green Motion platform, UCR aims to streamline the commercialization process for its avocados, ensuring that future varieties continue to captivate markets and consumers alike.

For more information: ucrotp.ucr.edu

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