Though avocados were virtually unheard of before 1926, they’ve long since become one of our favorite fruits. And why not? These fruits are chock full of essential vitamins and nutrients, and scientists have linked them to health benefits such as cardiovascular health and lower cholesterol. As much as you love these “alligator pears,” how much of an avo-expert are you? Here are 10 facts about harvesting avocados you may not know.
10 Facts About Harvesting Avocados
- Hass avocado trees thrive in areas with plenty of sunshine, mineral-rich soil, and a mild climate. The ideal climate has warm days, cool nights, and moderate humidity.
- Avocado trees can bear fruit in three to five years and can live for decades.
- Only pollinated blooms can become an avocado, which is just one reason why pollinators like bees and butterflies are so important.
- Trees can bloom twice each year and create over a million blooms. Each bloom can become an avocado.
- Usually, pollinators pollinate 150 to 500 avocado blooms per tree each year. A pollinated blossom takes about a year to become an edible avocado fruit.
- Avocado trees grow between 15 and 30 feet tall depending on where it’s grown and the particular practices of the orchard owner.
- Harvesters gently pick Hass avocados by cutting the stem; pickers use pole pruners to get the fruit out of arm’s reach when harvesting avocados.
- Avocados begin to ripen as soon as pickers pick them from the tree. They are packed in crates after picking and rushed to packing and distribution plants.
- Packing houses delay the ripening by cooling avocados in water or by using cold rooms.
- Once the avocados are clean, the fruit is sorted by size, boxed, and shipped. Most of these superfruits arrive in the store within 2 to 4 days of harvesting avocados.
So, did you learn something? Knowing where and how farmers produce our foods is essential to making the best consumer choices for our planet. Do you have your own fascinating avocado facts? Let us know!
