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Hass avocado

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The Hass avocado is a very popular fruit. It has dark green and bumpy skin. When the fruit is ripe, the skin turns a dark purplish-black color. You can tell it is ready by using gentle pressure. The flesh inside is pale green near the skin. It becomes a deeper yellow-green toward the center. This fruit has a rich and nutty taste. It is a large fruit that weighs 200 to 300 grams.

Persea americana (Avocado) Sprout 08May2010
Persea americana (Avocado) Sprout 08May2010

Growing this fruit is a special process. Most commercial trees come from a single mother tree. People grow them using a method called grafting. This means they use cuttings from the original tree. A professional grafter named Caulkins once helped Rudolph Hass. He told Hass that his young tree was strong. The tree grows best with plenty of sunlight. It also needs good soil and cool ocean winds. These things help the fruit grow well in Southern California.

A man named Rudolph Hass discovered this variety. He was a mail carrier and a gardener. In 1926, he bought three seeds from A. R. Rideout. He planted them in a grove in La Habra Heights. One seed grew into a very strong seedling. At first, Hass tried to graft it with Fuerte trees. Those attempts did not work, but the tree stayed healthy. His children loved the taste of the bumpy fruit. He even sold extra fruit to his co-workers at the post office.

The history of the Hass avocado is full of success. In 1935, Rudolph Hass received a patent for the tree. He worked with a nurseryman named Harold Brokaw to sell it. Brokaw specialized in growing these grafted seedlings. The fruit became a hit at a grocery store in Pasadena. Chefs there bought the large fruit for one dollar each. That was a very high price back then. Today, the Hass avocado is the most popular kind worldwide. It makes up 80% of the avocado crop in the United States.

There are many interesting facts about this fruit. A genetic study in 2019 found its history. The Hass avocado is a cross between two other types. It is 61% Mexican and 39% Guatemalan. The original mother tree lived for 76 years. It died in 2002 after a long fight with root rot. People even made jewelry from the wood of that tree. The fruit is also very nutritious for people. It provides energy, copper, and folate to those who eat it.

Persea americana (Avocado) Sprout 08May2010
Persea americana (Avocado) Sprout 08May2010
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Persea americana (Avocado) Sprout 08May2010.JPG
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