Avocado

Scientists spent half a century creating avocado of the future with incredible features: ‘He never gave up’

tomwt — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 23:56:41 +0000

Scientists spent half a century creating avocado of the future with incredible features: ‘He never gave up’ tomwt Wed, 01/03/2024 - 15:56 More CNAS in the Media Caitlin Samonte | The Cool Down January 03, 2024

THE COOL DOWN - Scientists at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), have successfully developed a new avocado tree after more than 50 years of research and development.

UCR’s news website reported that the patent-pending avocado, the Luna UCR, was invented by a team of agricultural scientists at the university. Luna UCR avocados are said to have great flavor and high post-harvest quality.

Interest in a new avocado variety began in the mid-1950s, as consumers desired an alternative to the Hass avocado, the most prevalent variety of the fruit. At first, the Hass was difficult to sell because many consumers were unaware that the fruit’s black skin signaled its ripeness rather than its spoiling.

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12 ingenious discoveries from a year of UC research

tomwt — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 23:18:58 +0000

12 ingenious discoveries from a year of UC research tomwt Tue, 12/12/2023 - 15:18 More CNAS in the Media Julia Busiek | University of California December 12, 2023

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - This time last year, nobody knew how our bodies regulate age-related decline or why some people still hadn’t gotten sick from COVID-19. The origins of the human species remained murky and the world’s avocado supply was more vulnerable to disease.

What a difference a year makes. Thanks to the tireless curiosity of UC’s world-class researchers, these problems and thousands more like them are well on their way to lasting solutions. In 2023, every campus, lab and medical center came through with findings that benefit our health, happiness and the very fate of our planet.

UC Riverside and UC ANR horticulturists perfected the avocado

A new avocado variety that’s more than a half-century in the making is coming to a produce aisle near you. It’s called the Luna UCR™ and it’s the fruit of the avocado breeding program at UC Riverside. Released to commercial growers earlier this year, the Luna offers consumers great flavor, a rind that turns a tell-tale black when ripe and high postharvest quality. Growers at several UC Agricultural and Natural Resources locations found that the Luna’s smaller tree size allows denser plantings, more efficient and safer harvesting and easier pruning.

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Find out why Luna UCR is one of TIME's 200 best inventions of 2023

tomwt — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 15:58:44 +0000

Find out why Luna UCR is one of TIME's 200 best inventions of 2023 tomwt Tue, 10/24/2023 - 08:58 More CNAS in the Media Tara Law | TIME October 24, 2023

TIME MAGAZINE - The Luna UCR is one very special avocado. The result of a decades-long breeding program at the University of California, Riverside, it has a flavor similar to that of its popular relative, the Hass, but a bit more “floral,” says program horticulturist Mary Lu Arpaia. The Luna UCR is ripe as soon as its skin turns black—which takes the guesswork out of slicing in—and it stays fresh long enough to transport. Luna UCR trees are as bountiful as Hass trees, but smaller, meaning they’re easier to harvest and require less land—and potentially less water and electricity. It’ll take a few years before they hit grocery stores.

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UC Riverside researchers build a better avocado tree

tomwt — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 16:49:51 +0000

UC Riverside researchers build a better avocado tree tomwt Wed, 09/06/2023 - 09:49 More CNAS in the Media Sarah Hofmann | The Press-Enterprise September 03, 2023

THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE - A new kind of avocado — created by UC Riverside researchers — may be appearing in grocery stores in coming years.

The Luna UCR avocado will soon be marketed to growers worldwide, though it will be a little longer before you can buy it at the supermarket.

It’s not unusual for UCR or other public institutions to create new plant varieties for the industry or general public, Eric Focht, a UC Riverside staff research associate in the Botany and Plant Sciences Department, said in Wednesday, Aug. 16 email.

Other plants created by UCR, including avocados, citrus and asparagus, are examples.

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Why are avocados so fickle?

tomwt — Mon, 21 Aug 2023 23:33:11 +0000

Why are avocados so fickle? tomwt Mon, 08/21/2023 - 16:33 More CNAS in the Media Addicen Bauer | Slate August 19, 2023

SLATE - The Hass avocado is the fruit that likely comes to mind when you’re picturing the “perfect” Instagrammable avocado: dark and lightly textured skin, an almost ombre green interior with a precise “give”-to-firmness ratio, and a relatively small, dark pit. It’s “meal-size,” which, entranced by convenience and plagued by mushy brown avocados, we love. As demand for avocados in the United States has nearly tripled since the turn of the century, Hass has led the charge, Mary Lu Arpaia, a researcher at the University of California, Riverside, told me. Our fixation on Hass avocados over other varieties is unsustainable, said Robert Henry, a researcher at the University of Queensland who worked on the first successful sequencing of the Hass avocado’s genome. In a constantly changing climate, a reliance on a singular breed of avocado that produces crops biannually means we could be in trouble if it’s threatened by pests or diseases.

But if you’re looking for an “avacodo-y” avocado, a Hass is what you would generally go for at the store. The experts I talked to challenged consumers to expand their palates: Perhaps they love the nuttiness of a Hass on toast, but would want something sweeter in a salad; try an avocado from the Dominican Republic. In the next few years, you may even see Arpaia and UCR botanist Eric Focht’s newly released Luna UCR avocado breed on the shelves; it boasts a “sweet, sort of floral characteristic.” Imagine that with some vegetarian tacos.

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You might see a new kind of avocado at the grocery store soon

tomwt — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 22:36:01 +0000

You might see a new kind of avocado at the grocery store soon tomwt Wed, 08/09/2023 - 15:36 More CNAS in the Media Alice Knisley Matthias | Allrecipes.com August 09, 2023

ALLRECIPES.COM - Avocado fans know the struggle of timing the exact window of ripeness for enjoying the fruit. But that could all change with a new avocado breed that’s set to hit the market soon.

The “Luna” avocado is a new variety of the fruit that's grown on trees that are smaller in size and, according to farmers, are easier to harvest than the popular Hass breed, which has been on the scene for years.

This patent-pending avocado, also known as BL516, was developed by University of California, Riverside (UCR) agricultural scientists Mary Lu Arpaia (a UC Cooperative Extension horticulturist based at UCR) and her colleague Eric Focht (a UCR staff research associate in the Botany and Plant Sciences Department in the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences). After a half-century of breeding and development they are introducing the Luna UCR (to use its trademark name) to the public.

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A new avocado variety could be the fruit of the future

tomwt — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 22:28:24 +0000

A new avocado variety could be the fruit of the future tomwt Wed, 08/09/2023 - 15:28 More CNAS in the Media Jelisa Castrodale | Food & Wine August 08, 2023

FOOD & WINE - The University of California Riverside (UCR) has been nicknamed “the Highlanders,” but should they ever decide to switch mascots, the Avocados might be a good choice. The university’s College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences has an acclaimed avocado breeding program that started in the 1950s, and has patented and released eight new varieties of the guac-essential since then.

The program has also announced the arrival of another (patent-pending) avo-variety, called the Luna UCR. The development of the Luna is the result of over half a century of breeding and research and, although it still could be several years before the avocado is on supermarket shelves, it has already shown to have some advantages over the now-prevalent Hass avocado.

According to Mary Lu Arpaia, a UC Cooperative Extension horticulturist and one of the would-be patent holders on the Luna avocado, this new fruit is grown on small trees, which would allow avocado growers to plant them in dense close rows. On top of that, its flowers are particularly good pollenizers for other avocados, which would benefit other varieties that are planted near the Lunas.

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Scientists unveil new avocado variety known as the "Luna"

tomwt — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 16:32:45 +0000

Scientists unveil new avocado variety known as the "Luna" tomwt Mon, 07/24/2023 - 09:32 More CNAS in the Media Jennifer A. Kingson | Axios July 24, 2023

AXIOS - Meet the "Luna," a new variety of avocado grown on a smaller tree and easier to harvest than the dominant Hass breed.

Why it matters: The Hass, with its creamy texture and wonderful taste, has fueled our love affair with guacamole and avocado toast. A competitive alternative could make supplies of the fruit more plentiful.

Driving the news: After a half-century of breeding and development, the University of California, Riverside (UCR) has released the Luna UCR (to use its trademarked name).

The Luna "offers consumers great flavor, a rind that turns a tell-tale black when ripe, and high postharvest quality," UC Riverside said in a statement.
"Growers, meanwhile, will benefit from a smaller tree size, allowing denser plantings for more efficient and safer harvesting, and minimal pruning."

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Weevil pheromones could save California’s avocado orchards

tomwt — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 16:16:27 +0000

Weevil pheromones could save California’s avocado orchards tomwt Thu, 09/08/2022 - 09:16 More CNAS in the Media Andrei Ionescu | Earth.com September 03, 2022

EARTH.COM - Avocado weevils are small beetles with long snouts that drill through fruit to lay their eggs, with their grubs or larvae boring into avocado seeds to feed, and rendering these fruits inedible. Now, a team of researchers from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) has set to find ways of preventing the “evil” weevils from destroying California’s supply of avocadoes.

“They’re extremely hard to control because they spend most of their time deep inside the fruit, where they’re very well protected from insecticides and natural enemies,” said UCR entomologist Mark Hoddle.

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How to tell if an avocado is bad

ilseu — Mon, 06 Jul 2020 17:40:27 +0000

How to tell if an avocado is bad ilseu Mon, 07/06/2020 - 10:40 More CNAS in the Media Sarah Jampel | Food52 July 06, 2020

FOOD52 - A few years ago, an Australian company called Naturo Technologies invented a machine—the Natavo Zero, aka the Avocado Time Machine. This ATM supposedly miraculously slows the avocado ripening process, keeping it from turning brown for up to 10 days without the use of chemicals—or olive oil, or lemon juice, or red onion. (Naturo Technologies is currently working on a new process of pasteurization that leaves more of the natural vitamins and enzymes in the milk.)

So the impact of oxidation on avocado flavor is a bit up in the air. Eric Focht, a staff research associate at the University of California Riverside, said he wasn't aware of any blind taste tests of browned versus freshly-cut fruit. But, he'd "bet that if the subject couldn't see what they were eating, they'd notice little difference; I know I don't." Most of the aversion, he hypothesizes, is psychological: "We don't like the way it looks, so it's off-putting. A big part of food is its presentation, and we associate browning or discolored fruit with being bad or overripe or even rotten."

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Department of Botany & Plant Sciences

Eric Focht

Avocado