Hass avocado

Lore & Background

Rudolph Hass, a mail carrier and amateur horticulturist, planted three seeds bought from A. R. Rideout of Whittier, California in 1926 at his 1.5-acre grove in La Habra Heights, California. One seed yielded a strong seedling. After failing at least twice to graft it with Fuerte avocado branches, Hass considered cutting it down, but a professional grafter named Caulkins advised him the tree was sound, so he let it be. The tree bore odd, bumpy fruit that his children liked, and Hass sold the surplus to co-workers at the post office.

The Hass avocado had one of its first commercial successes at the Model Grocery Store on Colorado Street in Pasadena, California, where chefs bought the fruit for $1 each, a high price at the time. Hass patented the tree in 1935 and contracted with nurseryman Harold Brokaw to grow and sell grafted seedlings, with Brokaw receiving 75% of the proceeds. Brokaw specialized in the Hass and often sold out, as the cultivar yielded year-round, more plentiful fruit with a longer shelf life and richer flavor than the Fuerte.

The mother tree died at age 76 from phytophthora (root rot) and was cut down on 11 September 2002. Its wood was stored in a tree nursery to await an historic emblem as of 2008.

Reader's Guide

The Hass avocado's significance lies in its dominance of the global avocado market, driven by its shelf-life, high growing yield, and year-round harvesting in some areas. By the early 21st century, the US avocado industry took in over $1 billion a year from this cultivar, which accounted for around 80% of all avocados grown worldwide. A 2019 genetic study published by the National Academy of Sciences concluded that the Hass avocado is a cross between Mexican (61%) and Guatemalan (39%) varieties. The cultivar's name is sometimes confused with "Haas" due to supermarket spelling habits. The mother tree, planted from a seed of unknown origin, produced all commercial Hass avocado trees through grafted seedlings, making it a singular genetic source. The tree's alternate bearing pattern, influenced by cold tolerance and carbohydrate depletion, affects yields, but Southern California's favorable conditions allow for fresh harvests year-round. Nutritionally, a raw, peeled Hass avocado is rich in folate and copper, with moderate vitamin B6 and potassium, and contains phytosterols and carotenoids including lutein and zeaxanthin.

Did You Know?

• The Hass avocado is a cross between Mexican (61%) and Guatemalan (39%) avocado varieties, according to a 2019 genetic study.
• The mother tree died at age 76 from root rot and was cut down on 11 September 2002.
• Rudolph Hass bought the seed from A. R. Rideout, who obtained seeds from any source, including restaurant food scraps.
• The name 'Hass' rhymes with 'pass' and is sometimes misspelled as 'Haas' in supermarkets.