Characteristics of a Healthy California Avocado Grove
What does a healthy avocado grove look like, in general, and what cultural management practices help you nurture a healthy avocado grove?
Generally, healthy, consistently high-producing California avocado groves are achieved and maintained via a combination of the following:
- Good free draining soils
- Low root rot pressure
- High quality water and irrigation management
- Fertilizer program structured around varied needs of all three cycles (year 1 crop, prospective year 2 crop, new shoots/buds for year 3 crop) of the avocado tree
- Pruning system in place that balances fruit set with new shoots
What does a consistently high-producing California avocado grove look like?
- Plenty of avocado flower buds developing over fall and winter
- High levels of starches and sugars present in the avocado trees
- Large avocado leaves that stay dark green all year and only drop when shaded by other leaves
- Minimal leaf drop during flowering
- Minimal tip burn
- New white avocado tree roots easy to find in the leaf litter
- Good peripheral avocado shoot growth with lots of growing tips for flowering points — a tree whose varied needs are being met in a balanced manner is more prepared to come back from serious weather events because the avocado tree is not stressed
- Well-pruned avocado trees that remain in a juvenile state
