Reed Avocado Bitter/Sappy Fruit - VIC (forum)

lilrippa starts with ...
Hi All,

I've got a 5 year old Reed Avocado that is having its first real full crop this year, with one small problem... The fruit has a bitter/sappy taste that makes it practically inedible. I thought it may have been that it was unripe, but I tried another one that fell off and sat under the tree till it was soft, and despite the perfect texture, it too was bitter!

Has anyone encountered this problem before? Or have any ideas as to what's causing it? At this stage I'm tempted to pick all the fruit off and just let the tree put it's energy into growing again :/

Thanks in advance!!


Time: 1st November 2018 11:12am

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Daisy says...
It might be too soon to be eating them perhaps. I am in a warmer climate than yours and I won't be picking our Reeds for another few weeks yet. They don't generally fall off the tree, so the one on the ground may have been knocked/bitten off prematurely and not a good indicator?
A/my general rule of thumb is to pick a fruit where the stalk has gone a lighter green and if it ripens on the bench within 3 weeks and tastes good, then you can start to harvest.
If you have fruit falling on the ground then perhaps you are not watering enough, or feeding correctly. This might be the problem with the taste also.
It is a grafted tree and not a seedling isn't it?
Avocados &quote;ripen&quote; sequentially from north to the south, much like mangoes.
I am halfway through harvesting/eating our Hass avocados, for eg, but they are probably finished up north.
The tree is setting it's next crop at the same time.
They need a lot of water and some food now - as they are also flushing with new spring leaves and dropping old ones, so they have big demands going on.

Time: 4th November 2018 4:11pm

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About the Author Amanda
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lilrippa says...
Hi Daisy, Sorry for the late response!! But the time that has passed has been good news :) Looks like you were right on the money! I had one this week and it tasted so much better :) Feel kinda stupid for the question now. Just so used to something being on the ground meaning that it's ripe... But was a good wake up call to give a little more love and care to the tree! And yes, it is a grafted tree.

I've fertilised it, restaked it to support the limbs a bit more and am making sure it gets plenty of water. It's starting to really bounce back and is looking so much better.


Thanks so much for your knowledge! Hope your crops are doing great :)


Time: 20th December 2018 4:19pm

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