Choquette (avocado)

The Choquette avocado is a named commercial cultivar of avocado that originated in south Florida.

History

The original tree grew from a seed planted on the property of Remi D. Choquette Sr. in Miami, Florida^[1] in January of 1929^[2], and was likely the result of a cross between Guatemalan and West Indian types. The tree first fruited in 1934, and propagation began in 1939.

'Choquette' bore large fruit of good eating quality in large quantities and had good disease resistance, and thus became a major cultivar. Today 'Choquette' is widely propagated in Florida both for commercial growing and for home growing.

'Choquette' trees are planted in the collections of the USDA's germplasm repository in Miami^[3][4][5], the University of Florida's Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead, Florida^[6], and the Miami-Dade Fruit and Spice Park, also in Homestead.

Description

The fruit is very large, averaging 30-40 ounces in weight, with an oval shape is glossy, smooth, green skin. Oil content of the fruit is approximately 13%. In Florida, the fruit mature from October to January^[7].

'Choquette' trees produce A-type flowers.

External Links

Video description of Choquette by Dr. Jonathan Crane of the University of Florida.

References

1. ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2206&dat=19460602&id=nggtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wdUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3877,646250
2. ^ http://www.avocadosource.com/AvocadoVarieties/QueryDB.asp
3. ^ http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/acc/display.pl?1088143 USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN). [Online Database] National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
4. ^ http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/acc/display.pl?1651264 USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN). [Online Database] National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
5. ^ http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/acc/display.pl?1727898 USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN). [Online Database] National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
6. ^ http://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/crane/pdfs/TREC-Fruit-Collections.pdf page 2, #7
7. ^ http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg213 Table 2