CALIFORNIA AVOCADO ASSOCIATION 



47 



UTILIZATION OF DATA 



The number of seasons' records necessary in order to base conclusions depend 

 upon circumstances. At this stage of the development of the industry the first 

 fruits matured on all trees should be recorded. These data will give definite infor- 

 mation as to the age at which the trees come into bearing. In other words, these 

 records might properly begin with the budding or the planting of the seed as the 

 case may be. In the early stages of tree growth when no fruits are produced 

 this fact can be noted in the blank record form. This will provide positive evi- 

 dence as to the early bearing habits of the trees. In any event it seems to me 

 that an even number of seasons' records, as for example, two, four, six or eight, 

 are preferable to an odd number in arriving at the average yearly production. If 

 three seasons' yields are considered in the case of an alternate bearing tree and 

 two of them show low production the average of the three years may be mislead- 

 ing. On the other hand with two high yielding seasons out of three the average 

 (A the three years will show a higher average yielding power than is truly the 

 case. Of course with regular bearing trees this condition will not apply and any 

 adequate number of seasons may be safely considered in getting at the average 

 annual yield. 



Our citrus studies have led us to emphasize the importance of a sufficient 

 number of seasons' records to justify safe conclusions as to a tree's habit of bearing. 

 With trees just coming into bearing I believe that four or six seasons' records are 

 desirable before safe conclusions can be drawn and reliable selection of parent 

 trees be made. With full bearing trees I think perhaps that two successive normal 

 seasons' records will be helpful while probably four years' records will pretty 

 surely indicate the habit of production of a particular tree. 



The point which we want to emphasize in this connection is that tree records 

 should be begun now. Do not wait. In order to get reliable records several 

 successive seasons' records will have to be obtained. To secure these it is neces- 

 sary to make a beginning. The only way to accomplish a thing is to make a 

 start As a matter of valuable public service for the avocado industry as a 

 whole, as well as for private information, there is no more practical or important 

 work than that of securing adequate individual tree records from which safe 

 conclusions can be drawn as to the variety, strain and individual tree behavior. 



Other factors besides the number and weight of fruits produced each year 

 which may properly be included in avocado performance records are the chemical 

 composition of typical fruits, the proportion of seed to flesh, the color of the flesh 

 and the rind, the thickness and other conditions of the rind, the description of any 

 weakness in the tree or its fruit, the description of any blemishes occurring in the 

 rind, in the flesh or other part of the fruit, or the tree, the effect of extremes of 

 heat and cold on the tree, its blossoms or its fruit; the effect of drought or excess 

 of soil moisture, the effect of fertilizers, the effect of wind, the appearance of any 

 disease or insect pest and any other illuminating information which will likely 

 prove to be helpful in the consideration of the variety, strain or individual tree. 



Another related m.atter in this connection and one upon which more infor- 

 mation is needed is the behavior of the fruits after picking. The stage of ripe- 

 ness for picking in order to secure the best results in marketing is important. Both 

 the stage of ripeness when picked and the factors taken into consideration when 

 picking and the keeping qualities of the fruits are more or less unknown at this 

 time as I understand it. Therefore, notes on the color and softness of the fruits 

 or other conditions leading to the actual picking, the changes that take place during 

 subsequent holding in storage and the conditions of storage may prove to be of 



