Avocado giant Mission Produce has joined forces with Spanish plant innovation company Eurosemillas to set up a new tool for the advancement of the global avocado industry.
Green Motion is an international platform that aims to broaden the varieties and rootstocks available to growers, advance the creation of diversified and sustainable markets, and facilitate access to the University of California, Riverside’s (UCR) germplasm collection.
The initiative follows the groundbreaking partnership announced earlier this year between Eurosemillas and UCR, whose 70-year-old avocado breeding programmes house one of the most extensive germplasm collections of scion and rootstock material in the world.
Green Motion is conducting trials of varieties that have already shown excellent potential at UCR’s test sites in California, a region with Mediterranean climate and growing conditions.
Together with other members companies of Green Motion, Mission Produce will bring its world-class experience to evaluate advanced selections of four Hass-like avocado varieties and five rootstocks. If validated, these varieties and rootstocks will ultimately extend the front and back ends of the traditional Hass marketing window. They may also provide increased tolerance to diseases, drought, heat, and soil salinity.
Javier Cano, business development director at Eurosemillas, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have Mission Produce on board with us at Green Motion. Together we will work to build the future of the global avocado industry, creating a diversified and sustainable market and providing excellent new opportunities to growers around the world.”
Mission Produce president and CEO Steve Barnard said the company was excited to be part of the initiative. “We are confident that with our expertise, we can help create an even brighter future for the global avocado industry,” he stated.
Brian Suh, director of technology commercialisation at UCR, added: “We have released several well-known avocado varieties available on the market today. We are thrilled to have our advanced scion and rootstock selections tested and evaluated internationally through Green Motion with the goal of bringing the next generation of avocado cultivars to industry around the world.”
