Avocado shows promise in state
Dr Chiranjit Parmar
Avocado is the only fruit in the world which has no taste and flavour, but is still liked and eaten all over the world. It is rather an important part of food of millions of people in Central America.
The British tried to introduce this fruit in India around a 100 years ago, but it was rejected by Indian consumers due to its bland taste. Taste is a very important component for Indians.
But in spite of that, avocado has made a comeback. One can see it being sold at elite fruit shops for Rs 500 to 600 per kg or Rs 100 -125 per fruit. Most fruits sold in Indian markets are being imported. According to the Commerce Ministry figures, avocados worth US$ 650,000 were imported from Peru in 2017-18.
Growing the fruit tree in Himachal
Avocado trees planted by fruit enthusiasts at Solan, Mandi and Bilaspur are already bearing fruits. This is enough evidence to indicate that this fruit can grow in the low hills or frost-free areas of the mid-hills in Himachal Pradesh. There is certainly not going to be any risk, if growers in these areas plant a few trees of avocado.
Procuring plant material
This is the major limitation. There is no nursery selling avocado plants. I have also not heard of any nursery supplying avocado plants even in nearby states of Punjab and Haryana. Of course, there are nurseries around Pune supplying grafted trees of avocado varieties. It is better to go for grafted plants as seedlings take 6-7 years to come into bearing under Himachal conditions. A friend from Mumbai gifted me two avocado grafts, one of which is bearing fruits.
Raise your own saplings
One solution to this problem is to get some fruits from Manali, Shimla or Chandigarh, where avocados are often sold and then own seedlings can be raised. This is very simple and can be done at home. Not sure about how it is done in big commercial nurseries, but this technique was taught to me by a friend in South Africa and I am using it successfully. Whenever I happen to get an avocado, I use this method to germinate the seed and raise seedlings, which I gift to friends. All you need is a plastic cup and three toothpicks. Insert the toothpicks into the seed and place the seed in the plastic cup half immersed in water. Then keep it at some safe place inside the house. The seed will sprout in 15-20 days. Let the seedling grow in this cup for 4-5 weeks. It can then be transferred into a pot and later planted in the field. I have been getting 100 per cent germination.
The varieties
There are not many varieties in avocado. The most popular ones are Hass and Fuerte. Fruits of these varieties are mostly available in the market. Hass fruits become purple on maturity and Fuerte green. Anyway, the choice of variety is not that important. However, it is always better to have more than one variety but one can also begin with one.
(The writer is a Mandi-based fruit scientist)
