Author Topic: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo  (Read 41515 times)

Berto

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Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« on: December 01, 2012, 04:22:39 PM »
I experimented growing nishikawa avocado here in southwest Florida.  I have shared my observations with my friend Carlos,  "The Avocado Man". Carlos is a fellow forum member and his site is  http://www.myavocadotrees.com/ . Go to under evaluation page and highlight Hawaiian, nishikawa.      I got my grafted tree from Tree House Nursery, few years ago, and at that time Steve Cucura was the operating manager for Tree House.  Now, Steve has his own nursery called Fruitscapes, in Pine Island, near Cape Coral, Florida.  Steve's business number is (239) 462-2341.  The current owner of Tree House is Lianne Murray and her phone number is (239) 283-3688.  I share this information in case anyone wants the buy a nishikawa  tree.  I don't even know if both nurseries have nishikawa for sale.
Here are some photos of my experiment!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the "Nishikawa" family in Hawaii for developing such a beautiful avocado! "Mahalo",  "Domo Arigato" "Obrigado".











« Last Edit: December 02, 2012, 02:34:49 PM by Berto »

CTMIAMI

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2012, 05:58:43 PM »
Good Idea Berto to start a new thread. I'll post here my comments from the Oro Negro thread:

 Tonight we just had our first Nishikawa!!!!!!.  The creamiest avocado I have tasted  in a long time including Hass.  Very flavorful as well, I don't know the percentage of oil that it reaches in Florida but you can spread it like butter. This was grown in the west coast of Florida and I don't think it had reached its full potential it had a bird or squirrel mark on it that cause some damage inside. It was a bit hard to peel but was worth the effort.   My tree will hopefully bear a few fruit next year to see its development up close.   If you like guacamole this will work for you.  Oro Negro look out!!!!!!!!

I have another ready for tomorrow. This is actually promising and should show commercial growers that quality avocados can be grown in Florida. We need to look at this variety closely over the next few years. I have one top worked tree that got really big and I'm planning to top work two more in January. The Oro Negro project is going on a holding pattern.

Berto keep us posted to see if this fruit stays in the tree until January.
Carlos
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www.myavocadotrees.com
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Jackfruitwhisperer69

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #2 on: December 02, 2012, 06:27:46 AM »
Aloha Berto,  ;D
Nishikawa sure is an handsome looking tree, with huge fruits 8) Your experiment came out mighty fine...the flesh has a very nice colour, too 8) Congrats on the harvest :)

Thanks for sharing :)
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johnb51

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #3 on: December 02, 2012, 08:53:49 AM »
Does it have a thick, hard skin?  It looks like you might have to scoop out the flesh, rather than try to peel it.
John

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #4 on: December 02, 2012, 08:55:40 AM »
nice pics!

the tree and fruits look amazing!

I wonder how cold sensitive it is??
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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #5 on: December 02, 2012, 10:18:56 AM »
I'm watching this thread with alot of interest as iNishikawa seems like a variety that might fit very nicely into my garden.

bsbullie

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #6 on: December 02, 2012, 10:21:55 AM »
Does it have a thick, hard skin?  It looks like you might have to scoop out the flesh, rather than try to peel it.
just curious, would that truly have any bearing on the quality of this or any other cultivar?  seems to me, or should I say in my opinion, in the scope of determining if a cultivar is good/worthy or not, skin thickness would be near or at the bottom...
- Rob

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #7 on: December 02, 2012, 10:30:19 AM »
beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

maybe someone wants to ship a new variety of avocado, with high oil content...the thicker skin could be beneficial for some scenarios.

I agree though, as a home grower, I just want a tasty fruit...even if I have to take 5 min to prepare the fruit by peeling thick skin.

but this is just my opinion.
Does it have a thick, hard skin?  It looks like you might have to scoop out the flesh, rather than try to peel it.
just curious, would that truly have any bearing on the quality of this or any other cultivar?  seems to me, or should I say in my opinion, in the scope of determining if a cultivar is good/worthy or not, skin thickness would be near or at the bottom...
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bsbullie

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #8 on: December 02, 2012, 10:37:39 AM »
beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

maybe someone wants to ship a new variety of avocado, with high oil content...the thicker skin could be beneficial for some scenarios.

I agree though, as a home grower, I just want a tasty fruit...even if I have to take 5 min to prepare the fruit by peeling thick skin.

but this is just my opinion.
Does it have a thick, hard skin?  It looks like you might have to scoop out the flesh, rather than try to peel it.
just curious, would that truly have any bearing on the quality of this or any other cultivar?  seems to me, or should I say in my opinion, in the scope of determining if a cultivar is good/worthy or not, skin thickness would be near or at the bottom...
As far as commercial growing goes, at least in SFla based on store availability, the number of cultivars that are commercially sold are few and not very good.

As far as "home grown" and/or shipping of this cultivar or any other, if shipping ripe ("soft" and ready to eat), it truly doesn't matter if thin or thick, you are asking for trouble.  If shipping fresh picked and hard, that should also not make a difference whether thin or thick skinned.
- Rob

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #9 on: December 02, 2012, 10:44:33 AM »
true.

but you know what I mean.

Maybe someone wants to make avocado bowls with rice and crab....but they need a nice tasting avocado with thicker skin that doesn't separate easily from the pulp.

see what I mean?

different applications for different qualities of fruit.
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Berto

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #10 on: December 02, 2012, 12:44:52 PM »
Carlos,
I have one fruit left hanging from the tree.  I gave most fruits away to family and friends! The racoons and the opossums also had their fair share. 
Adam, the tree is planted in a wide open area and no damage from the last winters, at all.  So far, so good!

The skin is very thick and peels off extremely easy.  The photo of the fruit cut, one can see that there is a small gap between the skin and the flesh. The flesh is already separating from the skin.

As a mentioned before, we need more time to determine if nishikawa is a  viable alternative for commercial cultivation.  However for the home planting, I say yes it is a fantastic choice. 

I compared the nishikawa taste with the choquette taking into consideration that choquette will taste a little better towards the end of the season.  Nishikawa is a 10 on a scale 1 to 10 and choquete is a good 3 or 4 maximum.

I have two (2) other Hawaiian avocado experiments going and one (1) from Puerto Rico.  I will share my observations with this forum sometime in the future. 

I friend of mine here is SW Florida told me that the myth that one could not grow Hawaiian avocados in Florida was spread all over Florida. Apparently, that fallacy became a "truth". I wonder why that myth was spreaded!  Any thoughts or comments???
« Last Edit: December 02, 2012, 12:50:04 PM by Berto »

Berto

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #11 on: December 02, 2012, 01:00:07 PM »
Carlos wrote that he had some difficulties peeling his fruit. 
I ate my fruits very ripe and the skin peeled off extremely easy.  Maybe it is a matter of fruit ripeness!!

CTMIAMI

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #12 on: December 02, 2012, 01:11:29 PM »
Berto and the others:
I have right now most of the Hawaiian main cultivars that grow in low elevations. It would be a matter of 2-3 years before we know more about them. So far observing the trees, that are quite different even among them, the only one that I think will not do well here is the Yamagata, the trees I have clearly seem unhappy here. The others are doing very well. I have bud wood to top work a tree in my grove for each variety.  After I'm finish and I have confirmed graft takes in all I will probably sell the potted trees to recover some of my investment in this project and clear the space at home.

What I like about the Nishikawa is that it took 10-12 day from picking to be soft, ready to eat. That is a very good commercial quality. I agree with Berto that Nishikawa has a place in a residential environment for its excellent quality and so far decent production and disease resistance. We would know a lot more in the next two years. So far if I had one space for a late fruit this would be it.
On the issue of the skin. I say it is harder than the WI varieties we are familiar with, but the little extra effort is nothing compared to the quality it offers. No you don't have to scoop it. You can peel it and eat it in chunks.
Carlos
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CTMIAMI

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #13 on: December 02, 2012, 01:19:08 PM »
Is Berto and I the only ones growing Nishikawa??  There has to be other out there.
Carlos
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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #14 on: December 02, 2012, 01:38:54 PM »
Carlos,
I have one fruit left hanging from the tree.  I gave most fruits away to family and friends! The racoons and the opossums also had their fair share. 
Adam, the tree is planted in a wide open area and no damage from the last winters, at all.  So far, so good!

The skin is very thick and peels off extremely easy.  The photo of the fruit cut, one can see that there is a small gap between the skin and the flesh. The flesh is already separating from the skin.

As a mentioned before, we need more time to determine if nishikawa is a  viable alternative for commercial cultivation.  However for the home planting, I say yes it is a fantastic choice. 

I compared the nishikawa taste with the choquette taking into consideration that choquette will taste a little better towards the end of the season.  Nishikawa is a 10 on a scale 1 to 10 and choquete is a good 3 or 4 maximum.

I have two (2) other Hawaiian avocado experiments going and one (1) from Puerto Rico.  I will share my observations with this forum sometime in the future. 

I friend of mine here is SW Florida told me that the myth that one could not grow Hawaiian avocados in Florida was spread all over Florida. Apparently, that fallacy became a "truth". I wonder why that myth was spreaded!  Any thoughts or comments???

Berto,funny you compare Choquette with Nishikawa. Choquette is one of the worst avocados i have planted. Nishikawa is very good but not in the top 5 of Hawaiian avocados. You guys are in for a big surprise if you try the really top tier ones. As for your question of why the rumor that Hawaiian avos won't do well in Florida, my guess is that it was said by someone who never tried to grow them. Carlos i would think Yamagata would do well also in Florida. How many trees of Yamagata did you try? You may just have a dud tree. You should retry as Yamagata is also a very good avo. Really our climates are quite similar. Biggest difference is your ocassional cold arctic blasts. I don't know how cold tolerant any of our varieties really are, so it's possible some of them could succumb during some of your really harsh winters.
Oscar

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #15 on: December 02, 2012, 02:02:34 PM »
Oscar I have tried 3 Yamagatas. All from Top Tropicals. The first died. The second was planted in the ground  in the grove about 18-20 months ago. It has not changed much. Looks like crap.

The one that is doing best is one in a 7 gal pot at home. Seem to be doing better, not great. I suspect the PH is less in the pot than in the grove. On the other hand the roots on top tropicals avocados look weak to me. Not sure what they use. I think they don't make them, they buy them.
My debate is that if at this point I top work a tree with Yamagata and see what happens.  What do you think, does Yamagata grows well in low elevations?
Carlos
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fruitlovers

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #16 on: December 02, 2012, 02:07:59 PM »
Oscar I have tried 3 Yamagatas. All from Top Tropicals. The first died. The second was planted in the ground  in the grove about 18-20 months ago. It has not changed much. Looks like crap.

The one that is doing best is one in a 7 gal pot at home. Seem to be doing better, not great. I suspect the PH is less in the pot than in the grove. On the other hand the roots on top tropicals avocados look weak to me. Not sure what they use. I think they don't make them, they buy them.
My debate is that if at this point I top work a tree with Yamagata and see what happens.  What do you think, does Yamagata grows well in low elevations?



Yamagata grows well right at sea level in Hawaii. How's that for low elevation? You should definitely try again with some scion wood from another source. I think TT gets a lot of their plants from Plant it Hawaii, and often they don't make the trip over very well. Yamagata is a top tier avo so don't give up so fast.
Oscar

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #17 on: December 02, 2012, 02:15:24 PM »
Oscar I have tried 3 Yamagatas. All from Top Tropicals. The first died. The second was planted in the ground  in the grove about 18-20 months ago. It has not changed much. Looks like crap.

The one that is doing best is one in a 7 gal pot at home. Seem to be doing better, not great. I suspect the PH is less in the pot than in the grove. On the other hand the roots on top tropicals avocados look weak to me. Not sure what they use. I think they don't make them, they buy them.
My debate is that if at this point I top work a tree with Yamagata and see what happens.  What do you think, does Yamagata grows well in low elevations?
That could be the problem right there...
- Rob

Berto

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #18 on: December 02, 2012, 02:23:49 PM »
Oscar,
Choquette was the one I had at the time.  In my opinion, the best fruits are the ones in your hands, ready to be savored!
Here in Florida, some people like Choquette very much.  However, when you get a nice Nishikawa  next to it, good bye Choquette and  Aloha!  Nishikawa!
I am looking forward to report about some of the best Hawaiian avocadoes there is. Kahaluu is growing very well and I hope it will fruit well.  Fujikawa is growing extremely slow. 

I decided to reobserve the nishikawa peeling characteristic and flesh firmness!
Few minutes ago, a had a nice nishikawa snack!  Please take a look at the photos below!  Pictures are much better than words!














fruitlovers

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #19 on: December 02, 2012, 02:29:29 PM »
Yeah, my guess is that Carlos ate his Nishikawa under ripe because they peel just fine. I personally never peel avos, i scoop them out with a spoon, or when eating in the orchard just nick a line with a fingernail, twist open, and then squeeze the inside out.
Oscar

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #20 on: December 02, 2012, 02:38:34 PM »
Yeah, my guess is that Carlos ate his Nishikawa under ripe because they peel just fine. I personally never peel avos, i scoop them out with a spoon, or when eating in the orchard just nick a line with a fingernail, twist open, and then squeeze the inside out.
No I think is was ready is was creamy and soft, as a matter of fact I think I should have eaten it the day before. I have one ready for tonight will see how it goes.
Carlos
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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #21 on: December 02, 2012, 06:02:16 PM »
This Nishikawa looks like a must have! I guess this cultivar and the other top hawaiian ones are west-indian types, right?

Oscar, are you selling avo budwood?  ::)

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #22 on: December 02, 2012, 06:20:00 PM »
Personally, no, I don't care if it's easy to peel or not.  I only care about how it tastes. ;D 

Oscar, I hope you will recommend to Carlos all the best Hawaiian avocados that you think he should try growing here.
John

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #23 on: December 03, 2012, 12:25:14 AM »
This Nishikawa looks like a must have! I guess this cultivar and the other top hawaiian ones are west-indian types, right?

Oscar, are you selling avo budwood?  ::)

Definitely not west Indian types. These W. Indians are very rare in Hawaii and very popular in Florida and Caribbean. The W. Indians are the long necked so called watery types. Yes i sell budwood but don't have Nishikawa in my collection.
Oscar

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Re: Nishikawa Avocado - Aloha & Mahalo
« Reply #24 on: December 03, 2012, 12:34:18 AM »
Personally, no, I don't care if it's easy to peel or not.  I only care about how it tastes. ;D 

Oscar, I hope you will recommend to Carlos all the best Hawaiian avocados that you think he should try growing here.

I posted this several times before, but here goes again. In a blind taste test chefs in Hawaii picked;
#1 Kahaluu
#2 Malama
#3 Linda
I think consumers picked Yamagata as #1. I posted links to these taste tests before.
Some others ones i really like are Fujikawa, Green Gold. Sharwil (really an Australian avo, but most popularly sold commercial type in Hawaii), Ota, and Semil #34.
Oscar