Innovative agricultural technology will accelerate avocado production in Latin America
A revolutionary tissue culture propagation technology, developed by the University of Queensland, Australia, and licensed to the Hijuelas Group, promises to transform avocado production in Chile and throughout Latin America, significantly shortening production times.
An innovative tissue culture propagation technology, the first of its kind worldwide, will allow for the mass production of avocado plants from a single meristematic tissue, accelerating avocado production in Latin America. Developed by the University of Queensland (UQ) and led by Professor Neena Mitter, this technology has been licensed to the Hijuelas Group for implementation in Chile and the region. “We want to bring these benefits directly to Latin American producers so they can quickly enter global markets with a superior quality product,” stated Juan Goycoolea, CEO of the Hijuelas Group.
The project, which involves both Australian researchers and Latin American producers, will reduce the preparation time for clonal rootstocks from 18 months to less than a year, explained Dr. Chris O'Brien of UQ. “This solves the main bottleneck in avocado production, facilitating more abundant and higher-quality harvests,” O'Brien stated. The technology will also be applied to key varieties such as Zutano, Velvick, Reed, and Kidd.
The collaboration between UQ and Grupo Hijuelas was managed by UniQuest, the university's marketing unit. Dean Moss, CEO of UniQuest, highlighted the technology's relevance to the region, stating that it will help build an efficient and abundant supply chain in the coming years.
Source: portalfruticola.com
