Courtesy of UC ANR News

A new avocado, one that complements the widely known ‘Hass,’ will hit the world market soon. The ‘Luna UCR’ variety (trademarked and patent pending) has several characteristics that should be of interest to both growers and consumers, said Mary Lu Arpaia, University of California Cooperative Extension subtropical horticulture specialist based at UC Riverside.

From the grower perspective, the tree is about half the size of the leading variety while producing approximately the same yield per tree as ‘Hass,’ meaning that growers could plant more trees per acre, therefore increasing yield. It also makes harvesting easier and safer.

Another advantage is the flowering behavior of the tree. Avocado trees are categorized into either Type A or Type B flower types. It is generally accepted that you need both flower types in a planting to maximize productivity. The ‘Hass’ is an “A” flower type and ‘Luna UCR’ is a Type “B.”

This is a potential boost for growers since the current varieties that are “B” flower types ripen green and generally receive lower prices for the grower. Similar to ‘Hass,’ however, the ‘Luna UCR’ colors as it ripens, similar to ‘Hass.’

“Hopefully, it will receive similar returns to the ‘Hass’ once it is an established variety,” Arpaia added.

Fruit breeding is a long-term process that she has navigated by building upon the work of her predecessors. Of course, Arpaia has had strong support from colleagues as well, including Eric Focht, a UC Riverside staff researcher and co-inventor of ‘Luna UCR.’

“We had been looking at ‘Luna UCR’ for some time and it was always a very good eating fruit,” Focht said. “After the 2003 release of ‘GEM’ (registered and patented as ‘3-29-5′, 2003) and ‘Harvest’ (patented as ‘N4(-)5′, 2003) varieties, ‘Luna UCR’ was always the top contender for a next release due to the small, narrow growth habit, “B” flower type and the fruit quality.”

“It’s a very nice-looking fruit as well and seemed to be a pretty consistent bearer from year to year.”

A glimpse at how it all started

In spring 1996, Arpaia took over the UC Avocado Breeding Program following Guy Witney who led the program from 1992 to 1995, and Bob Bergh whose initial efforts in the 1950s were foundational in the inception of ‘Luna UCR.’

Arpaia recalls the first trials in the early 2000s of ‘Luna UCR,’ which were tested alongside other promising selections from the Bergh program. “There were a lot of varieties that didn’t perform well, some of which had poor storage life, an important trait that we need if we are going to get the fruit to consumers across the country,” said Arpaia.

The original seed and selection were planted at the Bob Lamb Ranch in Camarillo, and originally advanced trials of the ‘Luna UCR’ variety were planted in four locations: UC Lindcove Research and Extension Center in Tulare County, UC South Coast Research and Extension Center in Orange County, a privately owned farm in San Diego County and another one in Ventura County.

The RECs are among the nine hubs operated by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources to support research and educate the public on regional agricultural and natural resource challenges.

ANR Research and Extension Centers become vital

Unfortunately, the 2017 Thomas Fire burned the avocado trees in Ventura, said Arpaia. After a change in management, the trial located in San Diego County was also terminated, leaving the two trials at Lindcove and South Coast REC.

“South Coast REC has a long history of supporting research and extension activities of high value crops important to California, including avocados,” said Darren Haver, director of the South Coast REC, which was often used to show growers the new varieties that were being developed.

“Many of the REC staff have worked with the avocado-breeding program researchers for more than two decades and continue to work closely with them to ensure the success of new avocado varieties, including ‘Luna UCR’,” he added.

In addition to the support provided by South Coast and Lindcove RECs, Arpaia said that UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Fresno County – another UC ANR facility – made it possible for her team to conduct critical postharvest and sensory research, and consumer testing of the fruit, which included up to six-week trials of fruit ratings for storage life and taste.

“UC ANR has played an important role in our ability to not only identify ‘Luna UCR’, but in preparing it for the world market, too,” she said.

Preparing to share with the world

Since 2015, Focht had been collecting data for the patent application. Now that he and Arpaia have successfully patented and trademarked ‘Luna UCR,’ they are preparing to expand production by engaging interested growers with the commercial partner, Green Motion who is based in Spain.

“Green Motion contracted for 1,000 trees to be generated by Brokaw Nursery and those trees are currently being distributed, with earliest field plantings likely taking place in fall,” explained Focht.

Focht also said that Mission Produce, based in Oxnard, CA has contracted to graft over a small number of “B” flower type pollinizer trees to the new ‘Luna UCR’ variety, possibly making way for a small number of avocados to be available the following year.

Once planted, the avocado trees will come into “full” production in about five years.

Courtesy of the CDFA

California farmers, ranchers and farmworkers work together to produce more than 400 different specialty crops, and California Grown, also known as the Buy California Marketing Agreement, was created to promote those products.

California Grown is a statewide marketing program that utilizes creative storytelling and other innovative approaches to reach millions of consumers. The message for Californians is simple — buying California products brings direct benefit to the state’s economy, communities, farmers, ranchers and consumers. And the message for out-of-state consumers is equally simple — California products are high-quality, nutritious and diverse.

The “CA Grown” license plate is an iconic symbol around the world and encourages all consumers to “Be Californian — Buy California Grown.”

The program’s annual report to the California legislature may be viewed here.

Courtesy of Steve Lyle with CDFA

CDFA’s Office of Farm to Fork is announcing that applications are being accepted from today through October 23 for a total of $12 million in grants from the 2023 Urban Agriculture Grant Program.

“The growth of urban agriculture is a means for expanding access to fresh produce, building community, providing workforce development, improving urban ecosystems, and increasing agricultural literacy,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “Consumers want to know where their food comes from, and they’re looking for ways to engage in meaningful work in their local community. This grant program serves these overlapping purposes and helps build healthier, more resilient neighborhoods.”

The Urban Agriculture Grant Program is a competitive grant program that funds projects enhancing the viability of urban agriculture across California. The funding for this program was made possible through the 2021-2022 California General Fund budget. CDFA is setting aside up to 10 percent of awards for tribal governments and tribal-based non-profit organizations. Applicants may apply for one of two tracks based on eligibility and project type.

Track 1:  The Systems Builder Community-Based Block Grant – This is intended to increase capacity for community-based organizations with involvement in urban and regional food systems to provide pass-through funding that supports urban agriculture activities.

Track 2: The Urban Agriculture Practitioner Grant — This directly funds urban agriculture projects by supporting costs associated with items like infrastructure, equipment, operations, workforce development, community engagement, and technical assistance.

Visit https://cafarmtofork.cdfa.ca.gov/urbanag.html to view the Urban Agriculture Grant Program request for applications (RFA) and get information about a webinar about the application process scheduled for August 29.

Courtesy of Steve Lyle with CDFA

State receives $23.8 million in federal grant funds

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced funding for the 2023 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP). California received $23.8 million out of approximately $72.9 million awarded nationwide.

The SCBGP provides grants to state departments of agriculture to fund projects that enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops, defined as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture).

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) will fund 46 projects, including the following:

Climate – Processing Tomatoes
The University of California, Davis, was awarded $396,176 to identify drivers of drought resilience and quantify their relevance to water-shortage scenarios in field experiments on California processing tomatoes. Note – California grows more than 95 percent of all processing tomatoes in the US.

Nutrition and Education
1.    18 Reasons, a non-profit organization, was awarded $450,000 to focus on providing hands-on, cooking-based education utilizing specialty crops to low-income families who are disproportionately affected by food insecurity and diet-related nutrition disparities in the San Francisco Bay area.
2.    The non-profit organization Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles was awarded $499,982 to provide sixth through twelfth grade students, adults, and caregivers with culturally relevant specialty crop education which showcases California’s seasonal variety and specialty crop growers, especially targeting underserved communities and Title I schools.

Equity
A project focused on equity was awarded to the California Bountiful Foundation —  $435,867 to support a farmer-to-farmer specialty crop mentoring and education program for beginning specialty crop farmers throughout California, with an emphasis on reaching underserved farmers to enhance their competitiveness and opportunities for success.

Marketing
The Buy California Marketing Agreement was awarded $2.5 million to implement a multi-platform digital campaign, which will include retail and foodservice promotions, to enhance support from the retail and food service trade and increase consumer demand for California’s specialty crop products throughout California.

Other projects focus on increasing sales of specialty crops by leveraging the unique qualities of specialty crops grown in California; increasing consumption by expanding the specialty crop consumer market; providing nutritional education for consumers; training growers to equip them for current and future challenges; investing in training for growers, producers, and operators to address current and future challenges; and conducting research on organic and sustainable production practices, conservation and environmental outcomes, and pest control and disease.

In addition, CDFA is continuing its partnership with the Center for Produce Safety in the evaluation and recommendation of food safety related projects. These projects represent an ongoing effort to address food safety practices and minimize outbreaks of foodborne illness with proactive research.

The 2023 SCBGP project abstracts are available online: 2023 SCBGP Project Abstracts.