The Ecuadorian Agricultural Research Institute has revealed plans to boost the country's Hass avocado plantations by 500% over the medium term.

A representative of the institute has told www.freshfruitportal.com the industry currently only has 500ha of plantations for the fruit, but through its Fruit Industry Program it plans to expand this area to reach 3,000ha of export avocadoes in the northern province of Imbabura.

Pablo Viteri from the Fruit Industry Program says the aim is to focus on technological development to improve the crop, in terms of pruning, planting distance, nutrition, plant management, and determining the ideal temperature for flowering, fruit set and harvesting.

"You have to pay attention to the behavior of the fruit in our conditions," he says.

"There is a lot of information from Mexico, Chile and Peru, but there is no national information, so we have to be adapt many of the generated technologies to our conditions."

Viteri says that due to Ecuador's climate variability it could produce Hass and Fuerte avocadoes for almost the entire year.

"The altitudes where farming takes place allow for a variability of harvest seasons," he says.

www.freshfruitportal.com