IDENTIFY AVOCADO (forum)

Serge starts with ...
Can anybody identify this avocado. On first sighting it on the ground I thought it was a small eggplant, though there were no plants around, only a big avo tree above it. The avo is purple/black in colour, very glossy, has smooth shiny skin. It weighs 410gms and is 125mm long and 80mm wide. The tree is in the Redlands area(near Brisbane), origins are north Qld and am not sure wether the plant or seed came from there. Have been told fruits were much larger when the tree was younger and tended to. Hope somebody can solve this, internet has not produced any conclusive results.
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Time: 20th May 2014 7:23pm

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About the Author SM
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trikus says...
'seedling' type ...
no name as named types
are only done by graft

Time: 21st May 2014 6:59am

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denise1 says...
This looks similar to the shiny black skinned Oro Negro avocado grown at Pine Island Nursery in Florida.

Time: 21st May 2014 5:36pm

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About the Author denise1
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Markmelb says...
Hi Serge -
Can you indicate how thick the outer skin is and if you think it would be edible?? There are some Avos in Mexico that have edible skin and maybe yours may be worthwhile grafting for the fun of it - how big is the seed and is the flesh as good as shephard? I had something like yours from a local market in Melb that was grown in mildura that was at least equal to a shephard - if you can put a photo of a cut specimen with seed in situ?
Thanks - Mark

Time: 21st May 2014 6:41pm

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Serge says...
Thanks for getting back to me. As this is all new to me could you please elaborate on what you mean by seedling type. I'm thinking that there must be other avo trees around bearing the same fruit and it seems hard to believe , if I have a correct understanding of your reply, that this type has not got a name.

Time: 21st May 2014 7:11pm

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Mike Tr says...
It looks like one of the Hawaiian types and a few fit the bill
http://www.hawaiifruit.net/Avocado.pdf

Time: 21st May 2014 7:34pm

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Serge says...
Hi Markmelb, never new skin might be edible and as a consequence didn't try it. Skin was quite thin and flesh was soft and creamy and tasted like a good avo should. Not very technical but it has been a while since I've had an avo.
Will be grafting in due course as this fruit has me somewhat intrigued, never seen one before and hope to grow my own in due course. What do you know about grafting this time of year given we are near Brisbane, obviously would wait if required to get positive results.
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Time: 21st May 2014 7:36pm

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Serge says...
Hi trikus, forgot to put your name in my reply to the message I sent at 7.11pm

Time: 21st May 2014 7:40pm

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Mike Tr says...
I have seen smooth black avos of a couple of types in NQ and they are called something generic like Hawaiian. On the link I posted are some of the big island types but there are more. When it comes to many fruits Australia is at the shallow end of the gene pool with few varieties.

Time: 21st May 2014 7:50pm

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Serge says...
Hi Mike Tr, thanks for the link. did not realize so many varieties exist. From what I could see the Masami looks pretty close but the seed does not have a point, maybe there might be a small difference between fruit. Will have to get more to see if what I had is common to other fruit from that tree.

Time: 21st May 2014 8:08pm

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Mike Tr says...
I thought Masami was the most likely also.It is popular in Hawaii.

Time: 21st May 2014 8:41pm

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Markmelb says...
Hi Serg -skin looks thick and left parts of skin in flesh after cutting and flesh also looks a bit watery as if picked too soon - any way dont be too fussed as dont think it could be a patentable variety t present - get some named grafted a varieties and one b variety to get a good crop

Time: 22nd May 2014 12:08am

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Serge says...
Hi Markmelb, upon looking at the photo a bit closer I can see that the surface looks watery. The fruit was picked up off the ground and I think I waited a bit too long for it to ripen. I think this effect was caused by the flash on the camera I used. Took it at home so the photo is a bit amateurish. I am only interested in trying to graft some cuttings and as I am not sure of the identity I was thinking of getting a type a & b to cover possibilities. As I am a bit of a novice to this is it the right way to go.

Time: 22nd May 2014 6:32pm

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Markmelb says...
try air layering a branch if you can?

Time: 22nd May 2014 9:31pm

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Jason says...
You can tell it wasn't fully ripe because the flesh is stuck to the seed and the seed coat isn't dark or loose. But it was at the stage where you can start to eat them. Probably be better in another month or so from the same tree.

Time: 23rd May 2014 5:38pm

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Julie says...

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Time: 23rd May 2014 7:24pm

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Serge says...
Hi Jason, fruit picked up off the ground. Need a cherry picker to get to the lower fruits. Tree is in a yard of an elderly lady I do some work for. This tree must be at least 10-12m tall. When I go back next time I hope there will be some fallen ones left and then I can see the difference.

Time: 23rd May 2014 8:43pm

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Serge says...
Hi Julie, this one was almost too late, another day and it would have been. Now have some more to try and get wrong.

Time: 23rd May 2014 8:49pm

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VF says...
Shouldn't forget Redland Bay area used to be orchard and market garden area, and where excellent quality, world renowned avo Sharwil was developed. Your find may be a forgotten trial tree, or superior seedling from one.

Time: 26th May 2014 7:59pm

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Jason says...
Sharwil is world renowned for not fruiting and getting very bad sunburn :) so long as you don't leave my front gate.

Time: 26th May 2014 8:58pm

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VF says...
Could be less cloud cover or hole in ozone around your way Jason, or the more extremes of weather. :( One of the commercial avo crops in Hawaii (also Qld - here is not heavy bearer, but consistent, and very tasty. No difference in sunburn from the trees I've seen to others here).

Time: 26th May 2014 9:08pm

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Jason says...
VF, yeah there's a lot less Ozone down here. The sun is loooots more powerful here than anywhere else I've ever been in the world. Although I've been told by reliable people, Tasmania, South Africa and the Southern island of New Zealand are stronger yet again.

But yeah NSW and up.. pftt you can lay in that stuff for a month without going pink, it's equal to 15 minutes here. I went to Texas once in the middle of out Winter so I was white as a ghost. Got off the plane smack into 43c days, did nothing,, couldn't burn me in a fit. same in Mexico, very very mild sunlight up in the Northern Hemisphere.

I always tell the story about my drink bottle which was made from some UV light colour changing plastic (looking back probably not a smart thing to drink from lol). It changed colour depending on how strong the UV was.. On all my travels is was like... Yellow in the bright sunlight. It lasted for a year, got home and on the first day it was really dark orange then broke.. went totally clear and never worked again.

Time: 27th May 2014 6:31pm

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VF says...
Explains the sunburn the Avo's are getting. Do your other fruit trees get burned too?

I remember some years ago seeing a program about how breeders of livestock were having to be very selective in choosing animals without pink skin due to high rates of skin cancer in Tassie, and there was some concern whether native diurnal fauna species were being affected too. Don't really hear about the hole in the ozone anymore and how it's progressing.

Time: 3rd June 2014 10:00am

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Jason says...
Yeah there's more pressing concerns than ozone these days. I think its about the same as usual but there's other factors to why the southern end of the planet has stronger light. Just the angle of the Earth I think has a lot to do with it. But yes a lot of trees do struggle with it. Not everything burns, local natives don't. But most imported things I grow do. Stone fruit and apples get burnt fruit, it actually turns to jam on the tree.. White sapote s and avocados are the worst for actual tree damage. Avocados you can loose branches up to two inches in diameter on a 45c day. Sapotes loose all their new growth on such days, looks like you've gone along and hit them all with a gas torch, pretty impressive.

Time: 3rd June 2014 3:00pm

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VF says...
You must feel devastated at times, I know I would. :(

Time: 3rd June 2014 9:47pm

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Jason says...
I used to, I'd be all like crying over how I lost six months growth. But now its just a normal part of the season. Sooner or later some of the trees get big enough that losing so me growth doesn't bother them much. Some parts of my garden are totally leech infested now so it is improving as far as heat resistance goes.

Time: 3rd June 2014 11:41pm

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MaryT says...
Jason I wonder if it'd help to paint the branches with plastic white paint like they do with mangoes?

Time: 4th June 2014 6:08am

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Brendan says...
Maybe a 'lime wash' like this would help Mary & Jason?
http://www.organicgardener.com.au/articles/lime-based-whitewash

Time: 4th June 2014 8:34am

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MaryT says...
OK Brendan - lime wash it is, for the organic garden. I read about the paint on another website; guess that's more for commercial application because paint won't wear off as easily. Anyway Jason I hope that's an option for you to prevent burns on your branches.

Time: 4th June 2014 11:25am

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Markmelb says...
Dilute white water based plastic houspaint with water 50/50 (ceiling white best)
and apply to sun exposed limbs - is a good reflective and will last a couple years - works great on Avos where there are alot of horizontal branches exposed when young - never tried on my mangoes but may look at this summer :)

Time: 4th June 2014 6:26pm

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Jason says...
Probably should look a the white paint rather than saying, you were crap you deserved to die attitude I normally have to my trees :p.

Time: 5th June 2014 12:30am

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MaryT says...
It's worth trying, Jason because the kind of burn you describe can undermine the health of the whole tree.

Time: 5th June 2014 6:51am

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BJ says...
I just go to the paint store and see what left over mixes they have and get a light colored one for about $5 a pot. Last one I got just happened to be avocado green. I had much better luck this time with painting the trunks.

Time: 5th June 2014 7:17am

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Markmelb says...
Dark colours attract heat thats why they dont paint glasshouses Black! its not rocket science - paint the Avocado Green on your outoor setting - im sure you were having a lend of me BJ :)

Time: 5th June 2014 7:39am

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BJ says...
Hehehe, okay, not Avocado Green. Its a very light green. A white with a tiny bit of green mixed through. In the tin it looks like the light inner flesh of an avocado. When painted on the tree it looks pretty much white. Much cheaper to get the leftovers of 'near white' custom mixes from paint stores than forking out full price for pure white.

Time: 5th June 2014 11:20am

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TMary says...
Avocado wood makes beautiful bowls. I'm in Bellingen this weekend and just found this at the Organic Market. $35 - a bargain :)
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Time: 6th June 2014 2:40pm

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Julie says...
I bought a couple of large avocados from one of the local orchards last week. Took a week to ripen.

They are light green,very thin-skinned, with an enormous seed. Anyone have an idea what variety it might be, so I can avoid in future? Not good value at all.

Time: 7th June 2014 10:44am

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