RyanGardiner

Mr.MattLeader
11thGradeBiology

AvocadosfromSanDiego
Botanicallyspeaking,theavocadoisaberry.Alloftheavocadosoilypulpisproducedby
asingleovarythepit.Thisbutteryberryisamarvelofscience,evolution,culture,andour
economy.Butitwasn'talwayslikethat.Thisfruithasgrownandexpandedtobecomeoneofthe
kingsofCaliforniaagriculture.Thiscropstartedassubtropicalendemicandmuchlikeagrowing
treeinitself,avocadosgrewintotheconsumernecessityandcommoncropitistoday.
Tobeginthisstorywemustgobacktowhereitallstarted.SouthernMexico,60million
yearsago.ItwasthemiddleoftheCenozoicera.MammothsfrolickedinthegrasslandsofNorth
America,giantslothswelldidn'treallydomuchbuttheydiddoonethingeat.Muchlikethe
slothsfrolickingcounterpartthemammoth,theyatemanytypesoffruitsandnaturaltreats
includingourfriendtheavocado.Thesegiantcreaturesknownasmegafaunaarethereasonthe
avocadoisthedelicious,oily,andbizarrelylargefruititis.Theplantevolvedtoattract
megafaunathatwouldtheneatthefruitwhole,carryingtheseedwithituntildefecationwhenthe
seedwouldbereleasedandstartabrandnewplantinthefecesofagiantsloth.Thistypeofseed
dispersaliscalledzoochory.Thestrategy,whiletactical,outlasteditsrelevance.Beginning
13,000yearsago,megafaunainthesubtropicalregionsavocadoscallhome,disappeared.They
alldiedoutandwerereplacedbyotherorganismsmuchlesssuitedforfecaltransportationof
avocadopits.ItisstillunknowntoevolutionarybiologistsexactlyhowtheAvocadosurvived
duringtheperiodbetweenmegafaunazoochory,andanthropochory,alsoknownashumanseed

dispersaltothoselessaffluentinevolutionarylingo.Thefirsthumanstousethefruitweremost
likelytheaztecswhocalledthemahuacatlwhichiscoincidentallythesametermtheyuseto
describetesticles.Terminologyaside,Itwasn'tuntil500B.C.whenspanishconquistadors
discoveredthisfruitfromtheaztecs,thatitwasartificiallyfarmed.Iusequotationmarks
becausebynatureanywordfollowingthetermconquistadorsissynonymouswithpillage,
terrorize,andconquer.Nevertheless,avocadofarmingwasborn.
TherearemanydifferentcultivarsofAvocado.ThethreemostcommonvarietiesinSan
DiegoareHass,Fuerte,andBacon.TheHassAvocadoisthemostcommonofall.Itismedium
sized,weighinginataround5.38.8ounces.ItwasdiscoveredbyRudolfHassinthe1930s.
EveryHassavocadotreedescendsfromasinglemothertree.IfyouhaveeverbeentoFallbrook,
CA,whichisnestledinthemostnorthernpartofSanDiegoCounty,theyareproudofonething
theyaretheworldsavocadocapital.Ialwaysthoughtthiswasabunchofbaloneybutitisinfact,
not.AftersuccessfullycultivatingthefirstHassavocadotreeRudolfHassmovedtoFallbrook
andraisedafullorchardofthefruitfultrees.ThegranddaughterorRudolfHasswroteaboutthe
connectionandtheoriginaltreeina2004article
Theparenttreediedofrootrotandwascutdownon9/11/2002attheripeoldageof76
(Itwasplantedin1926).Thatisveryoldforanavocadotree
Grandpaexpandedto
Fallbrookwithan80acreorchardwhichboreits'firstcropin1952justasGrandpaHassdied
ofheartfailureintheFallbrookHospital.
Scientificallyspeaking,themainsellingpointoftheHasscultivaristhetreesabilitytoproducefruit
365daysoftheyear.Mainlybecauseofthisspecialquality,Hassavocadosrepresent80%ofthe
worldsavocadoproduction.TheFuertecultivarofavocadosisslightlylargerthanHass.Theygrowto
bebetween5and14ounces.Theyarepearshapedandbetteradaptedtodealwithfreezingconditions

thentheHassvariety.Finally,theBaconcultivarisverysimilartobothFuerteandHass.Theyareofa
differentcultivarclasshowever.Thismeansthatwhiletheydontproduceashighqualityfruitasthe
othercultivarstheyareusedaspollinatorsforHasswhichiswhythesetreesaresocommonin
CaliforniaandSanDiego.

SowhySanDiego?WhyCalifornia?Whyisitthatthisfiberrich,spreadsanddip,
naturallypacked,ripeandreadysuperfoodcallsSanDiegohome?Thereareseveralreasons.
FirstistheSoil.Avocadosprefersandygraniterichsoilwithplentyofdrainage.Naturally,the
soilinCalifornia,particularlytheinlandvalleyregionsthatAvocadosaresoabundantin,are
blanketedwithexactlythetypeofsoilneeded.UnlikemanyagriculturalareasintheUnited
Stateswhichhavemoistclaylikesoil,SanDiegohaspermeablesoilwithjusttheright
ingredientsforgrowingtheAvocado.AnotherreasonavocadoscallSanDiegohomeisthe
geography.Perhapsagriculturalavocadosworstenemyiswind.Thelargeandspreadouttreeis
susceptibletowinddamageandotherproblemswhentheatmospherestartsswirlingaround.
Theyrequireanareathatiseithergeographicallyisolatedfromwindorhavebuiltinwindblocks
topreventlargegustsfromreachingthetree.Themanyravines,valleys,andhillsideslocatedin
SanDiegofilljustthatrole.Unlikemanyotheragriculturalspaceswhereflatlandsthatallowfor
maximumcapacityplayhosttofruitsandvegetables,SanDiegohasthecorrectlayouttoprotect
avocadostreesandkeepthemhappy,alive,andproductive.Finallythelastandprobablymost
importantfactorforhealthygrowthhereinSanDiegoistheclimate.Avocadosarebestsuited
forwarmclimatesthatdonotexceed100degreesfahrenheit.Theyalsocannotbeplantedinan
environmentthatissusceptibletofrost.Essentiallythismeansthattheyearroundtemperatures
mustfallconsistentlybetween33degreesand100degrees.DuetoSanDiegosmildwinterand
summersourclimateisperfect.

Yearsofevolution,cultivation,andagriculturehaveledtoSanDiegotobethebestplace
forAvocadostogrow.Allofthatscienceandhistoryalsomeansthatavocadosarethebestthing
togrowinSanDiego.AccordingtotheSanDiegoCountyAgriculturalAnnualReport,avocados
arebyfarthelargestconsumablecropintermsofacreageandproductvalueinSanDiego
County.Theyrepresentnearly$200,000,000dollarsofproduceintheCounty.Thatsnearly
$100,000,000thenthenexttopcropcitrus.Ifyouarelookingforthemostvaluableand
productivelongtermcroptoplantona1acreparcelinSanDiegoCounty,thebestbetishe
Avocado.Duetothenaturalsoil,predictableclimate,yearroundguaranteeoffruit,andefficient
spacingrequirements,investinginavocadoswouldbethejustthataninvestment.Spacingisnot
somethingIhavementionedsofarinthisessay.Accordingtothe
UniversityofCalifornia
DepartmentofAgricultureandNaturalResources,avocadotreescouldbeplanted15to20feet
apart.Thiswouldmeanthatyoucouldplant145avocadotreesinasingleacre.Thismaytrees
couldproducehundredsofavocadospertreethroughouttheyear.Thatscaleofproduction
coupledwiththelongtermguaranteeoftheseplantsduetothecurrentclimateconditionscould
leadtolongterm
benefits.Inaddition,unlikeothercropsthatrequiremaintenanceandyear
roundcare,theseplantsarerelativelylowmaintenance.
Avocadosarethewaytheyarebecausetheyevolvedfromfodderforgiantslothsand
othermonstrousbeingsofthepast,toastaplefoodinthedietsofmillionsofpeoplearoundthe
world.TheyareguaranteedtobeaanexcellentcropinSanDiego.Aguaranteeprovidedby
history,andscience.SanDiegoisthelargestproducerofavocadosintheUnitedStates.Thereis
reasonforthat.Wearetheperfectplacetogrowthisberry.A1acreparcelfilledwithavocado
treesislowmaintenance,profitable,andpredictable.Thatiswhytherearethousandsofother

acresfilledwiththesetreeshereinSanDiego.PeopleacrosstheUnitedStates,andworld,enjoy
avocados,andchancesaretheyareavocadosfromSanDiego.

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