At the cutting edge of avocado cultivar and rootstock research

Allesbeste Boerdery in Limpopo is well known for its research and development in the avocado industry. Zander Ernst, director of marketing and production, spoke to Magda du Toit about its breeding programme.

- Magda du Toit

Experiments with avocado production in South Africa started in the Tzaneen area, Limpopo, in the 1930s. For many years, however, the industry was held back by the prevalence of root rot (Phytophthora cinnamomi), brought on by the humid climate and poor drainage of the area’s clay soils. It was only in the in the late 1970s, when a treatment for root rot was developed, that avocado production in the area really began to take off.

In the 1980s, the late Dr André Ernst joined his father, Chicot, on the family fruit farm, Allesbeste, near Tzaneen. Avocados had been grown on the farm since the 1960s, and the family were therefore well placed to take advantage of the upswing in production of the crop. Over time, they increased the area on the farm planted to avocados and also purchased additional farms, thereby spreading their production risk across different geographical areas.

André established the Allesbeste nursery in the 1980s and also experimented with different cultivars. The nursery was the key player in the development and, ultimately, registration of the Maluma cultivar.

NEW CULTIVAR DEVELOPMENT

Few publicly funded institutions carry out avocado cultivar selection and development; across the world, this responsibility has fallen mainly to private entities.

Allesbeste has a leading integrated breeding and selection programme that drives the development and improvement of new cultivars, as well as the breeding and testing of new

rootstock. Today, this is led by Zander Ernst, André’s son and the company’s director of marketing and production.