From Farm to Table – Avocado Farming

Most of us here in California enjoy our avocados. We like them in salads and sandwiches. We love using them in guacamole and as a spread. But do we appreciate what it took to get that avocado to our table? Like most things that we enjoy on a regular basis, the answer is probably no. We don’t really think about where the avocado came from or what it took to get it to our grocery store. And certainly, that’s fine. Most farmers are thrilled just to know that consumers are enjoying their labor and reaping the benefits of the hard work they’ve done.

It is interesting, however, to understand the evolution of the avocado farming market and to know about the many studies and thoughts that have gone into today’s avocado production in California. If you do an online search for innovative avocado farming techniques, you might be surprised to see just how many results turn up, and how many of them are related to thoughtful research studies. People have spent years evaluating and considering the best ways to grow avocados in our climate and with our soil conditions in California.

One of the challenges of avocado farming is water. Avocados are a single-crop which means that the same crop is grown again and again on the same soil, which can deplete the soil over time. Avocado production requires a great deal of water, and this is a year-round need. Many innovative solutions have been created for avocado farming including the plastic mulch and drip irrigation systems. There are also experiments being done with glass roofs to reuse evapotranspiration of the trees.

Pollination is another major issue and farmers have been trying to find better techniques for pollinating the avocado trees. Researchers have pinpointed that insect pollinators provide a key way for pollination to occur, particularly because of the dichogamous flowering pattern and other specific factors in the way flowering works with avocado trees. Many farmers have found that honey bees hold one of the keys to helping that pollination to occur and to creating sweet, well sized avocados. There is still a great deal of research to be done about the use of bees for avocado farming. Bumblebees which were used in Israel have been reported to increase yield, while New World Carniolan bees were used in an experiment in San Diego County and were found to gather more nectar from the avocados.

Certainly, it’s an exciting time for avocado farmers as new innovations are being discovered and put into place – and this means it’s an exciting time for people in California who love avocados.