From Plant to Plate: The Journey of Hass Avocados
Hass avocados have grown from the rarest of crops to one of the most popular fruits of its kind. Yes, the avocado is a fruit. How Hass avocados are grown, and their journey is a natural wonder that combines a commitment to continually improve sustainable use of natural resources, delicate handling and meticulous attention to the ripening process. The result is the unique buttery flavor and creamy texture that has made Hass the king of avocados. Learn more about our commitment to growing healthy food, healthy people and a healthy planet.
The birth of the Hass avocado was essentially a stroke of luck.
Rudolf Hass, a California mailman, and amateur horticulturist purchased and planted three avocado seedlings in 1926. One grew into a tree with fruit that had never been seen before. The skin of this new variety of avocado was dimpled and thicker than what was standard at the time. The color changed from green to purplish-black as it ripened. Today, every Hass avocado is a direct descendent of what became known as the “Mother Tree.” That’s because branches from that tree were used to grow more Hass avocados, rather than planting the seed. Growers found that grafting small stems onto the seedling of another type of avocado produces a tree that matures faster and bears far more fruit than one grown from a Hass seed.
The avocado growing community is made up of small, multi-generational, family farmers.
Around the world, farmers are dedicated to growing healthy, tasty avocados in ways that sustain the environment for now and for generations to come.
Hass avocado trees flourish in regions with the right combination of mineral-rich soil, plentiful sunshine and mild climate (moderate humidity, cool nights and warm days). A tree can range from 15 to 30 feet tall and absorb up to 48 pounds of C02 in one year, depending on the region it’s grown and the horticultural practices used.
Avocado trees begin bearing fruit in three to five years and can thrive for decades.
Like other fruits, each Hass avocado emerges from a bloom on the tree. A mature tree can produce more than a million flowers during each of its two annual blooms. (Some trees will even flower a third time during the year, an occurrence called an off-bloom.)
To preserve and protect natural resources across the life cycle, farmers use naturally regenerative practices including no-till, cover-cropping and water conservation. The industry is also implementing and exploring opportunities to power irrigation and operations systems with solar following smart agricultural practices, to be more energy efficient, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality.
Only pollinated blooms will produce avocado. That’s why bees play a key role in an avocado orchard.
Pollinated blooms – which can range from just 150 to 500 on a Hass tree – take about a year to grow into a ready-to-pick avocado. Mature avocados can range in size, but from small to large, each Hass avocado contains the same nutrients.
New plantings in many growing regions put trees in closer proximity to each other to produce more fruit for more people using less area. This practice can also be beneficial in helping preserve the natural habitats of champion pollinators like bees as well as other animals and plants.
Ripened to Perfection
Family farms, in all growing regions, benefit the communities they operate in with job creation as Hass trees are harvested gently by hand. This benefit occurs in many low-income and rural communities, in multiple countries.
How it’s done: To separate the fruit from the tree, workers carefully cut the stem of the avocado, using a pole pruner to pick those above arm’s reach. Attached to the pole is a catching basket or bag that captures the harvested Hass, preventing it from falling to the ground and bruising.
Controlling the ripening stage is critical to ensure that Hass avocados arrive in supermarkets and restaurant kitchens at the peak of perfection.
Warm temperatures speed ripening. To slow that process in the packing house, the avocados quickly go through one of two processes. Some packing houses put them in pools of cool water, washing the avocados while lowering their temperature. Others chill them in specialized rooms and use machinery to brush the field dust off the avocado skin.
Once cleaned, the fruit is sorted by size and boxed in cartons. Hass avocados then are ready for shipping – all in less than a day after they’re harvested.
Most will quickly go into refrigerated trucks that take them to their destination. Depending on the distance, Hass avocados generally arrive at grocery stores, restaurants and other foodservice locations in two to four days.
Within another day or two, most are ripe and ready to eat.
