Quality of Hawaii’s Avocados. Moving towards import replacement Quality of Hawaii’s Avocados Moving towards import replacement Marisa Wall USDA, ARS, PBARC Ted Radovich, Marc Meisner, Glen Fukumoto – UH-CTAHR Ken Love – HTFG Francis Zee – USDA, ARS, PBARC

Avocados are nutrient-dense fruits: high in unsaturated fats, fiber, niacin, folate, lutein, potassium, iron, vitamins B6, C, E, K. Hawaii avocado cultivars are considered by many as gourmet fruit because of their nutty flavor and creamy texture.

A survey and taste test by Hawaii chefs identified five avocado cultivars with potential gourmet quality. Sharwil Kahaluu Malama Linda Local Hass

Avocado imports into Hawaii are increasing. Local avocados contribute ~30% of total demand. Supply of imported avocados into Hawaii has tripled. Imported avocados cost 3-4 times more than local avocados.

Goals: Determine quality standards for Hawaii’s avocados Goals: Determine quality standards for Hawaii’s avocados. Replace imported avocados with Hawaii-grown fruit. Determine quality using objective analyses. Develop database of objective quality criteria that correlates with sensory quality and market appeal. Use quality criteria to evaluate and identify avocado germplasm with market potential.

Avocado Oil Content HDOA specifies minimum 12% oil content for "Hawaii Fancy" and "Hawaii No. l" grades. Avocado cultivars vary widely: 10% to >30% oil. Avocados harvested at 12% oil could be immature, with a watery taste and rubbery texture. Higher oil content generally correlated with higher edible quality. Measuring oil content requires laboratory analysis.

Avocado Dry Matter Content Predominant maturity index for avocado harvesting. Highly correlated to oil content. Cultivar-specific: CA – Hass (20.8%), MX – Hass (21.5%), CA- Fuerte (19%), NZ – (24%)

Percent dry matter is highly correlated to oil content. Mean dry matter = 34.2% Mean oil content = 22.3% Sharwil

Avocado fruit weight, dry matter, and oil content - 2010 Cultivar N Av. Fruit Wt (g) % Dry matter % Oil Content Sharwil 36 350.84 d 42.48 a 27.92 a Kahaluu 18 681.46 a 39.22 b 22.09 bc Shattauer 19 423.57 c 39.15 b 23.75 b MNL 348.97 d 38.22 b 23.97 b Hass - local 30 206.25 f 38.18 b 21.55 cd Hass - import 46 219.53 f 34.38 c 21.03 cd Green Gold 291.06 f 31.57 d 19.80 d Penata 17 539.32 b 28.84 e 16.80 e Malama 26 507.34 b 28.16 e 13.55 f

Kahaluu MNL Malama

Sensory analysis: Hawaii’s avocados and imported Hass fruit - 2010

Sensory descriptors for avocado cultivars Green Watery Bland Nutty Creamy Sharwil 20% 3% 23% 66% 77% Shattauer 8% 0% 69% Green Gold 45% 25% 50% 60% Hass- import 59% 52% 26% 48% 67% Hass Sharwil Shattauer

Avocado tasting by 35 culinary professionals - 2010 Cultivar Texture rating % Dry matter % Oil Content Sharwil 9.02 a 35.40 a 25.42 a Green Gold 8.64 ab 36.53 a 27.07 a Serpa 7.09 cd 35.76 a 23.01 b Hass-local 8.34 ab 32.33 bc 22.43 b Linda 6.19 d 27.01 d 18.83 c Nishikawa 7.65 cd 29.59 cd 18.65 c Egami 6.29 d 27.70 d 18.36 c Ohata 4.44 e 23.55 e 13.97 d Hass- import ------ 21.76 e 12.49 d

Conclusions Opportunity exists to replace imported avocados with locally grown fruit. Consistent supply of high quality avocados is key to capturing market and consumer acceptance. Sharwil, Kahaluu, Shattauer, MNL, GreenGold cultivars had better quality than imported Hass fruit. Analysis will be expanded to more cultivars and greater fruit numbers in 2011. SEND FRUIT – GRADE A ONLY!!

Mahalo Sandra Silva Suzy Sanxter Andrea Lysy Kate Nishijima Julia Scholder Jenni Ueno Ted Radovich Ken Love Marc Meisner Glenn Fukumoto Francis Zee Hawaii’s Tropical Fruit Growers!