The notable increase in world supply, led by Mexico, has been caused by the fact that a large number of countries have positioned themselves among the main avocado producers in the last decade, thanks to the trend of healthy eating, which has helped growth of exports, but in turn has caused various changes in the main destination markets, causing a strong increase in competitiveness.

The map of avocado consumption has spread throughout the world and market destinations have become more distant, so the fruit must be transported for long periods of time. This reality indicates that the main challenge is to ensure the qualities of the crop that are directly related to guaranteeing the quality of the fruit until the moment of its final consumption.

Postharvest Challenges

Firmness, appearance, amount of dry matter, percentage of oil, color and flavor are some quality indicators, both of acceptance in the market and of preference by consumers, so the first market requirement is to receive shipments of a product homogeneous.

These results expected by the market and consumers, although they look simple, are the product of the interaction of multiple factors, some external and others typical of the crop, tree, or fruit, and that in each region or country can behave and interact differently, therefore, with different results.

Meeting for professionals

Investigating and analyzing the information to understand the interaction and incidence of all or some of these factors in the product quality result is a task that some renowned researchers, summoned by Agricultural Seminars, will address in a conference for industry professionals. of the avocado.

Bruno Defilippi, Romina Pedreschi, Reinaldo Campos, José Ignacio Covarrubias and Paulina Sepúlveda, are the academics who come from the world of scientific research in plant biotechnology, post-harvest, plant pathology and fruit growing, among other disciplines, and who will address the topics of:

• "Strategies for the efficient use of postharvest technologies in avocado for distant markets"
• "Heterogeneity and synchronization strategies of the ripening of avocados cv. Hass "
• "From the inside out, bases to understand avocado firmness and softening"
• "Advances in mineral nutrition to improve the production and quality of the fruit in the avocado"
• "Important diseases in avocado postharvest management".

The avocado is classified into three subspecies or botanical varieties: americana, guatemalensis and drimifolia. These three varieties are ecological races, developed in different areas and that for decades have been known as the Antillean, Guatemalan and Mexican races, respectively.

The leading variety is the Hass, representative of the Guatemalan race, although studies on seeds from self-pollination of this variety suggest that it has 15% blood from the Mexican race.

Quality

In avocado, its flavor and texture is determined according to the amount of oil it contains, which in turn is determined by the percentage of dry matter that remains after the testing process to which the fruit is subjected. This direct relationship between the percentage of dry matter and that of fruit oil, at the same time, is directly related to the post-harvest behavior of the product.

The Hass avocado, being a variety of the Guatemalan race, is affected much more by frost than other varieties. The fruit can be harvested for 8 months in the same area. The tree has a medium development, erect growth, but not pyramidal, with pear-shaped to ovoid fruit. It has tough, rough skin, green and blackish when on the tree, but when harvested it turns black as it matures. Its oil content is between 15% and 20% and in those areas where the Hass avocado does well, it is not advisable to plant any of the other 400 existing varieties.

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