Author Topic: Ota Avocado  (Read 3613 times)

voyager

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 47
    • Pahoa, HI - USDA 12a/12b
    • View Profile
    • Mike's Photo Gallery - Alaska - Hawai'i & Elsewhere
Ota Avocado
« on: September 25, 2018, 04:55:50 PM »
I have 3 types of avo trees, Sharwil, Lamb-Hass and Ota.
The Sharwil and the Ota have type B flowers.
The Lamb-Hass has Type A.
All three bore fruit last season for the first time.

The Sharwil and the Lamb-Hass bloom very close together.
Fertilization between them seems to take place readily.

The Ota blooms about a month or more behind the other two.
It has carried very few fruit the last couple of seasons.

The present season has been complicated by a very close by volcanic eruption.
The trees sustained minor damage from the SOx gasses about the time the fruit were setting, but are now recovering nicely.
The trees dropped a lot of the developing fruit.
The Lamb-Hass still has more fruit than it did last year.

Judging what is going on with them from the present results may not be valid because of effects from the eruption.
But, there seems to be a relationship between the blooming times and a lack of fruit setting on the Ota.

If the offset of the flowering times does affect pollination, what ways can it be dealt with to increase the yield from the Ota?


fruitlovers

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15883
  • www.fruitlovers.com
    • USA, Big Island, East Hawaii, Zone 13a
    • View Profile
    • Fruit Lover's Nursery
Re: Ota Avocado
« Reply #1 on: September 25, 2018, 05:42:29 PM »
Yes, behavior of all trees affected not only by SO2 gas, but also by acid rain, and lack of sunshine due to persistent plume. None of my avocados are flowering or fruiting. Will be quite a while, many months, before they start behaving normally again. I have an Ota, but is still a small tree. Don't know if its flowering is really that much later. If there are other people with avocado trees in your neighborhood and pollinators, then that should be sufficient.
BTW, Ota is a very nice tasting, very lard cannoball shaped avocado. You can sometimes see them being sold at Hilo farmers market.
Oscar

behlgarden

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2353
    • CA, Zone 10 B
    • View Profile
    • LED Bulbs for Landscape Lighting
Re: Ota Avocado
« Reply #2 on: September 25, 2018, 05:48:36 PM »
Oscar, on the positive note, did acid rain contribute sulphur to soil?

fruitlovers

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15883
  • www.fruitlovers.com
    • USA, Big Island, East Hawaii, Zone 13a
    • View Profile
    • Fruit Lover's Nursery
Re: Ota Avocado
« Reply #3 on: September 26, 2018, 12:46:59 AM »
Oscar, on the positive note, did acid rain contribute sulphur to soil?
I would guess that if it eventually breaks down into its elemental form yes.
Oscar

voyager

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 47
    • Pahoa, HI - USDA 12a/12b
    • View Profile
    • Mike's Photo Gallery - Alaska - Hawai'i & Elsewhere
Re: Ota Avocado
« Reply #4 on: September 26, 2018, 02:15:03 PM »
@fruitlovers
A few years ago, I was planning on putting in a couple of apiaries because I rarely ever saw any honeybees around here.
Our citrus and avos put out a lot of flowers, but set very little fruit.
Then, apparently someone in the area began keeping some, as last season we had plenty of bees making the rounds here.
The citrus produced quite a bit of fruit last season.
The avos held their first fruit to maturity.

Since the eruption I'm seeing very few bees around here again.
Either the bees were killed off or they were moved out to protect them and have not been returned yet.
I'm again thinking of keeping some bees.
they do look to make a great difference in the setting of fruit.

I'm very happy with my choice of avo trees.
The Sharwil and Lamb-Hass fruit are very good tasting.
The Ota is heavenly.
I want to get as many from that tree as I possibly can.

My concern is for the flowering season coming up in Jan/Feb, or so.
I'd like to get a good setting of fruit for the coming season.

@behlgarden
I'm convinced that the SOx gasses have made a difference.
We have a few hibiscus that did very poorly over a 5 year period.
Since the eruption they have taken off, and are growing new leaf and flowering like they have never done before.
I'm thinking that the soil has been acidified much to their liking.
I'm getting ready to order some ag-sulphur to treat them with. 

fruitlovers

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15883
  • www.fruitlovers.com
    • USA, Big Island, East Hawaii, Zone 13a
    • View Profile
    • Fruit Lover's Nursery
Re: Ota Avocado
« Reply #5 on: September 26, 2018, 05:36:18 PM »
@fruitlovers
A few years ago, I was planning on putting in a couple of apiaries because I rarely ever saw any honeybees around here.
Our citrus and avos put out a lot of flowers, but set very little fruit.
Then, apparently someone in the area began keeping some, as last season we had plenty of bees making the rounds here.
The citrus produced quite a bit of fruit last season.
The avos held their first fruit to maturity.

Since the eruption I'm seeing very few bees around here again.
Either the bees were killed off or they were moved out to protect them and have not been returned yet.
I'm again thinking of keeping some bees.
they do look to make a great difference in the setting of fruit.

I'm very happy with my choice of avo trees.
The Sharwil and Lamb-Hass fruit are very good tasting.
The Ota is heavenly.
I want to get as many from that tree as I possibly can.

My concern is for the flowering season coming up in Jan/Feb, or so.
I'd like to get a good setting of fruit for the coming season.

@behlgarden
I'm convinced that the SOx gasses have made a difference.
We have a few hibiscus that did very poorly over a 5 year period.
Since the eruption they have taken off, and are growing new leaf and flowering like they have never done before.
I'm thinking that the soil has been acidified much to their liking.
I'm getting ready to order some ag-sulphur to treat them with.
Yes bees make a big difference. I'm thinking of getting some, mostly to help pollinate the lychees. I get plenty of avocados even without any bees, other pollinatiors seem to do the job.
About hisibiscus, they are susceptible to gall mite. Some people think the sulphur has helped to control the mites. That might also be a reason your hibiscus is doing better?
Oscar

voyager

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 47
    • Pahoa, HI - USDA 12a/12b
    • View Profile
    • Mike's Photo Gallery - Alaska - Hawai'i & Elsewhere
Re: Ota Avocado
« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2018, 09:28:49 PM »
Of the 3 types of hibiscus we have, only one, the Chinese Red, is susceptible to the mites.
It became infested last year.
I pruned it back severely last winter.
It is now rebounding back nicely with no signs of the mites.

Another potential good effect is that our tangerines are not showing as much canker on their fruit as they have in prior years.