All About Avocado Farming- Profits And Benefits

Avocado(Persea americana) is one of the tastiest fruits which has lots of health benefits.

In the present scenario, the demand for avocado fruit is increasing all over the world because people have got an idea about its benefits and its taste. Avocados have saturated carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and other different minerals.

Avocado is also known by its other name called “Butter Fruit” and looks like pear fruit. It has a dark green colour of outer fleshy and tasty cover while from inside it contains seed.

Avocados are said to have originated from central America and Mexico. Mexico is still the world’s leading country in Avocado production.

With its growing popularity, the market demand is also increasing day by day and People are adopting the commercial Avocado farming.

Avocado Farming

The farming of avocado dates back to about 5,000 years back, the same time as the invention of the wheel. However, commercial farming started during the 1900s. At present, It is cultivated worldwide from America to Asia and Africa (Especially Kenya). Due to high market prices as well as the ease of growth, People are involved in avocado cultivation. It has helped many young entrepreneurs to make their business successful.

Why Is Avocado Farming Profitable?

• The world market value of avocado farming is 13B USD.

• Avocado has many health benefits due to which its demand is increasing worldwide and production is low.

• One tree can give production up to 1000kg and can be harvested for 50 days.

• Avocados can be grown in a wide range of climates and soil.

• The growing of avocado is easy and can be done in small area also.

• Now, Let’s dive into the step by step procedure for avocado farming.

Procedure Of Avocado Farming

Variety Selection

Selection of good variety is the most important task that growers should keep in their mind while starting avocado cultivation.

You can buy avocado trees directly from the market and online but it is recommended to buy avocados from different companies certified by the government.

Some of the good varieties for commercial avocado farming are:-

✓Hass

✓Gwen

✓Reed

✓pinkerton

✓Lamb Hass

✓Bacon

✓Fuertes

✓Zutano

Hass variety is mostly cultivated(80%) because of its different benefits like:-

• It is tastier than other varieties.

• Outer cover of avocado is thick. So, it can be stored for a long time and can be easily transported.

 

Land Preparation

After the selection of suitable variety according to the requirements and climatic conditions of the place, It’s time for proper land selection and its preparation. The land should be made free from all weeds and stones. Ploughing should be done to make the soil tilth followed by Pit digging for Avocado seedling plantation. Pits should be 100 cm × 100 cm. Fill the pits with FYM and Topsoil in the ratio of 1:1. The land should be free from the water stagnation problem.

Avocado can be grown by sexually by seeds and asexually by grafting and air layering.

Growing an avocado tree from seeds takes time. It takes up to 5 years to start fruiting. On other hand, if we grow from grafting or air layering, then avocado tree grows faster and we can start harvesting its fruits in about

Rainfall Requirement

Avocados grow well in that area where there is rainfall of about 100cm per year. Rainfall is considered good for avocado farming.

Climate And Temperature

Avocado is mostly grown in tropical and subtropical climates where there is moderate humidity. It can also be grown in warm temperate climates.

Best Temperature requirement for avocado trees is (20-30)°C and humidity should be about (50-60)%.

We can grow avocados in low temperatures also. We can grow to about 5°C. Below this temperature, chilling effects are seen on flowers and fruits and we can’t get a good harvest.

Also, It cannot be grown in temperatures of 40°C and above and dry air also negatively affects avocado trees.

If we talk about height, we can do avocado farming at the altitude of 2500m from sea level.

Planting Distance

While planting avocado, we should make pits of about (100×100) cm and planting distance should be (8-10) metre maintained.

Planting Time

Avocado plantation is done during spring and summer season.

Fertilizers

We can use organic manure and also vermicompost in avocado planting.

It is recommend to use 50% soil and 50% compost while planting avocado tree.

We can also apply N, P, K fertilizers according to age of plant in following amount:-

Age(Years = N:P:K(gm) Compost

(1-3)Yrs = 40:20:35 25 Kg

(4-6)Yrs = 75:35:60 35 Kg

(7-10)Yrs = 150:35:125 40 kg

>10Yrs = 200:45:165 50 kg

Irrigation

After planting avocado, we should provide attention on irrigation in 1st week. We should irrigate daily in 1st week of plantation.

After tree grows to some height, we should irrigate once a week.

Intercropping

In the area of avocado plantation, we can plant other early maturing crops like ginger, tomato, turmeric, radish.

Intercropping also helps to make soil more porous and fertile.

Training And Pruning

There is no need for training and pruning unless you grow it in your home. However, Slight pruning of dead and decayed branches can be done. Excessive pruning should be avoided as it leads to vegetative growth only.

Harvesting

Avocados grown from seeds are ready for harvesting within (5-6) years of planting. We can harvest avocados for a long time, about (50-100) years, from a single tree. The yield is a minimum of 500 kg and 1000kg of avocado from 1 tree.

While harvesting we should harvest fruit along with its stalk to increase its post harvest storability. Fruits should be harvested when they mature. Some Maturity Indices of avocado fruit are:-

• Colour changes from green to brown.

Investment And Income

Main investment lies in land, seedlings of avocado, Management practices, Fertilizers and some of expense lies in marketing and export of avocado.

We can buy seedlings from the market and even from online.

We can sell avocados at a market price of (1$-5$) per kg depending upon variety and demand.

The demand for avocados is increasing day by day. We can sell avocados easily with good profit.

We can export avocados in different countries and can generate good income.

Pests Of Avocado

1. Mealybugs

2. Scales

3. Mites

Diseases Of Avocado

1. Fruit Spot

2. Leaf Spot

3. Root Rot

Benefits Of Avocado

• Eating one avocado regularly will reduce cholesterol level.

• Avocado helps to reduce high blood pressure and it is good for the heart.

• Avocado has fibres so it reduces weight and is also good for piles.

• Avocados have antioxidants which help to make our eyesight good.

• Avocados can also prevent fatal disease link cancer.

• It is good for the liver and prevents gastric.

Conclusion

Avocado is getting its recognition. The per year demand of Avocado is increasing at a faster rate than the Production. So, It can fetch high prices in the market and can set up a successful commercial Avocado farming enterprise. Furthermore, It has many health benefits, So – One should consume avocados.