The Luna UCR avocado is similar to the Hass, but has characteristics that can benefit growers.
It’s not unusual for UCR or other public institutions to create new plant varieties for the industry or general public, Eric Focht, a UC Riverside staff research associate in the Botany and Plant Sciences Department, said in Wednesday, Aug. 16 email.But, he said, there has been a decline in publicly funded breeding efforts in recent decades, perhaps because of the short-term cost.initially planted from seed, and “that’s not a fast turnaround,” Focht said.
While their shapes differ slightly, the Hass and Luna avocado have green skins that turn black when ripe, and Focht said the Luna’s taste is “very Hass-like.”“You go to the store and you see all these varieties of apples, and they all taste like apples, but they’re subtly different,” she said. “We’ve traditionally been looking at something like a narrow cylinder or column as sort of the ideal tree shape,” Focht said.
There are other considerations as the industry explores new directions, such as using trellises, Focht said. While researchers don’t know yet how the Luna would behave in that situation, Focht said that “we suspect it should do well,” and trials are planned. Arpaia said it will take a few years for Luna avocados to be sold widely, and that they’ll probably appear at farmer’s markets first, then at higher-end grocery stores such as Whole Foods, then other chains such as Ralphs.
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