A new type of avocado is coming to the market

After decades of research and development dating back to the 1950s, agricultural scientists at the University of California, Riverside recently unveiled the Luna UCR – a brand-new type of avocado.

🤔🥑 What’s the difference?... If you’ve ever had guacamole or avocado toast, a Hass avocado was probably used; this breed comprises 95% of all avocados eaten in the US. But one of the Hass’ main problems for growers is its tree size – it’s large, making it difficult to harvest and plant densely.

In contrast, the Luna offers:

• Smaller trees: Meaning they can be planted more densely and harvested more easily.
• Pollinizer properties: The Luna tree also has a type of flower that makes it an efficient pollinizer for various avocado varieties, including the Hass, meaning its intermingling with other varieties could help increase pollination rates and crop yields for growers.

🖐️ Yes, but: Axios reports the Luna’s taste and texture is slightly different from the Hass. And no matter how beneficial the new Luna breed is for growers, if consumers turn up their nose at either then the chances of its long-term success in the market are near zero.

👀 Looking ahead… History is littered with examples of failed avocado varieties – and over time, we’ll find out in which camp the Luna belongs. The new breed will be hitting supermarket shelves in 3-5 years, since that’s about how long it takes after planting a seed for the tree to bear its first fruit.