Spain will substitute the imported avocado with the national fruit.

The team of researchers from the Institute of Subtropical and Mediterranean Horticulture 'La Mayora' in Algarrobo (Malaga), seeks to extend avocado cultivation throughout the year in Spain, with new varieties that have different textures and flavors.

Iñaki Hormaza, researcher at the Institute of Subtropical and Mediterranean Horticulture 'La Mayora', explains that there are "hundreds of different varieties", while people focus on the most popular ones such as Hass.

In Malaga and Granada (Andalusia) there are more than 10,000 hectares of land where they grow avocados (the Hass variety mostly), between late autumn and early spring, so there are more than 6 months left when the fruit has to be imported from other countries.

To avoid foreign imports and strengthen national production, Hormaza says that different avocados could be obtained in Spain during the rest of the year, with the cultivation of "4 or 5 varieties" of avocado.

The climate and characteristics of the terrain in Algarrobo (Málaga) allow cultivating such varieties as Lamb Hass (similar to Hass), Reed (round, with dark green skin), Fuerte (little fat, green color), Bacon (dark green, with less fat than Hass) and Maluma (from South Africa).

Spain is the main European producer of avocado, since it is only grown in some areas of the Canary Islands, Granada and Malaga. It is also cultivated in Sicily (Italy) and Crete (Greece), although it also expands to regions of Cádiz, Huelva, the Portuguese Algarve and the Valencian Community.

source: agrodiario