Cultivation
| Food and agriculture | ||
|---|---|---|
| Avocado fruit (cv. 'Fuerte'); left: whole, right: in section | ||
| Country | Quantity (Tm) | World Rank |
| Mexico | 1,040,390 | 1 |
| Indonesia | 263,575 | 2 |
| United States of America | 214,000 | 3 |
| Colombia | 185,811 | 4 |
| Brazil | 175,000 | 5 |
| Chile | 163,000 | 6 |
| Dominican Republic | 140,000 | 7 |
| Peru | 102,000 | 8 |
| China | 85,000 | 9 |
| Ethiopia | 81,500 | 10 |
The tree grows to 20 m (66 ft), with alternately arranged leaves 12 centimetres (4.7 in) – 25 centimetres (9.8 in) long. The flowers are inconspicuous, greenish-yellow, 5 millimetres (0.2 in) – 10 millimetres (0.4 in) wide. The pear-shaped fruit is 7 centimetres (2.8 in) – 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long, weighs between 100 grams (3.5 oz) – 1,000 grams (35 oz), and has a large central seed, 5 centimetres (2.0 in) – 6.4 centimetres (2.5 in) long.
The subtropical species needs a climate without frost and with little wind. High winds reduce the humidity, dehydrate the flowers, and affect pollination. When even a mild frost occurs, premature fruit drop may occur, although the Hass cultivar can tolerate temperatures down to −1°C. The trees also need well-aerated soils, ideally more than 1 m deep. Yield is reduced when the irrigation water is highly saline. These soil and climate conditions are available only in a few areas of the world, particularly in southern Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Crete, the Levant, South Africa, Colombia, Peru, parts of central and northern Chile, Vietnam, Indonesia, parts of southern India, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico, California, Arizona, Puerto Rico, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, Hawai'i, Ecuador and Rwanda. Each region has different types of cultivars.
Read more about this topic: Avocado
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