Hass (avocado)
Encyclopedia
The Hass avocado sometimes marketed as the Haas avocado (icon), is a cultivar
of avocado
with dark green-colored, bumpy skin. It was first grown and sold by Southern California
mail carrier
and amateur horticulturist
Rudolph Hass
, who also gave it his name.
The Hass avocado is a medium-sized berry
weighing 200-300 gram
s. When ripe the skin becomes a dark purplish-black and yields to gentle pressure.
Owing to its taste, size, shelf-life, high growing yield and in some areas, year-round harvesting, the Hass cultivar is the most commercially popular avocado worldwide. In the United States
it accounts for more than 80% of the avocado crop, 95% of the California crop and is the most widely grown avocado in New Zealand
.
, California
. At the time, Rideout was getting seeds from any source he could find, even restaurant food scraps. The Guatemalen subspecies of this seed is not known and may already have been cross-pollinated when Hass bought it.
Hass would plant three seeds at a time in one spot and later keep only the strongest seedling which grew there. In 1926, at his 1.5-acre
grove at 430 West Road, La Habra Heights
, California
, Hass planted three seeds he had bought from Rideout, which yielded one strong seedling. After trying and failing at least twice to graft the seedling with branches from Fuerte avocado trees (the leading commercial cultivar at the time), Hass thought of cutting it down but a professional grafter named Caulkins told him the young tree was sound and strong, so he let it be. When the tree began bearing odd, bumpy fruit, his children liked the taste. As the tree's yields grew bigger, Hass easily sold what his family didn't eat to co-workers at the post office. The Hass avocado had one of its first commercial successes at the Model Grocery Store on Colorado Street in Pasadena, California
, where chefs working for some of the town's wealthy residents bought the new cultivar's big, nutty-tasting fruit for $1 each, a very high price at the time (more than US$15.00 of inflation adjusted value by 2007).
Hass patent
ed the tree in 1935 (the first US patent on a tree) and made a contract with Whittier nurseryman
Harold Brokaw to grow and sell grafted seedlings propagated from its cuttings with Brokaw getting 75% of the proceeds. Brokaw then specialized in the Hass and often sold out of grafted seedlings since, unlike the Fuerte, Hass yields are year-round and also more plentiful, with bigger fruit, a longer shelf life
and richer flavor owing to higher oil content. However, Hass made a profit of less than US$
5,000 through the patent because cuttings from single trees sold by Brokaw were then propagated to graft whole orchards.
Rudolph Hass carried on as a postman throughout his life and died of a heart attack at Fallbrook Hospital in Fallbrook
, California
in 1952, the same year his patent expired and not long after he had established a new 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) orchard.
By the early 21st century the US avocado industry took in over $1 billion a year from the heavy-bearing, high quality Hass cultivar, which accounted for around 80% of all avocados grown worldwide.
(root rot), which often kills avocado trees. Two plaques by the private residence at 426 West Road mark the spot where it grew. The wood was stored in a tree nursery and from this stock, a nephew of Rudolph Hass made keepsakes, jewelry and other gifts. Each year in mid-May the city of La Habra Heights celebrates the Hass avocado at its Annual La Habra Heights Avocado Festival.
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
of avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
with dark green-colored, bumpy skin. It was first grown and sold by Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
mail carrier
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
and amateur horticulturist
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
Rudolph Hass
Rudolph Hass
Rudolph Gustav Hass was the developer of the Hass avocado, the source of 95% of avocados grown commercially today.-Biography:Rudolph Gustav Hass was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 5, 1892 to Henry C. Hass and Alma F. Hass. Known as Rudie, Hass quit school after finishing 10th grade at age 15...
, who also gave it his name.
The Hass avocado is a medium-sized berry
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
weighing 200-300 gram
Gram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
s. When ripe the skin becomes a dark purplish-black and yields to gentle pressure.
Owing to its taste, size, shelf-life, high growing yield and in some areas, year-round harvesting, the Hass cultivar is the most commercially popular avocado worldwide. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
it accounts for more than 80% of the avocado crop, 95% of the California crop and is the most widely grown avocado in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
History
All commercial, fruit-bearing Hass avocado trees have been grown from grafted seedlings propagated from a single tree which was grown from a seed bought by Rudolph Hass in 1926 from A. R. Rideout of WhittierWhittier, California
Whittier is a city in Los Angeles County, California about southeast of Los Angeles. The city had a population of 85,331 at the 2010 census, up from 83,680 as of the 2000 census, and encompasses 14.7 square miles . Like nearby Montebello, the city constitutes part of the Gateway Cities...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. At the time, Rideout was getting seeds from any source he could find, even restaurant food scraps. The Guatemalen subspecies of this seed is not known and may already have been cross-pollinated when Hass bought it.
Hass would plant three seeds at a time in one spot and later keep only the strongest seedling which grew there. In 1926, at his 1.5-acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
grove at 430 West Road, La Habra Heights
La Habra Heights, California
La Habra Heights is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 5,325 at the 2010 census, down from 5,712 at the 2000 census. La Habra Heights is a rural canyon community located on the border of Orange and Los Angeles County. The zoning is lots with a variety of...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Hass planted three seeds he had bought from Rideout, which yielded one strong seedling. After trying and failing at least twice to graft the seedling with branches from Fuerte avocado trees (the leading commercial cultivar at the time), Hass thought of cutting it down but a professional grafter named Caulkins told him the young tree was sound and strong, so he let it be. When the tree began bearing odd, bumpy fruit, his children liked the taste. As the tree's yields grew bigger, Hass easily sold what his family didn't eat to co-workers at the post office. The Hass avocado had one of its first commercial successes at the Model Grocery Store on Colorado Street in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, where chefs working for some of the town's wealthy residents bought the new cultivar's big, nutty-tasting fruit for $1 each, a very high price at the time (more than US$15.00 of inflation adjusted value by 2007).
Hass patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
ed the tree in 1935 (the first US patent on a tree) and made a contract with Whittier nurseryman
Nursery (horticulture)
A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to usable size. They include retail nurseries which sell to the general public, wholesale nurseries which sell only to businesses such as other nurseries and to commercial gardeners, and private nurseries which supply the needs of...
Harold Brokaw to grow and sell grafted seedlings propagated from its cuttings with Brokaw getting 75% of the proceeds. Brokaw then specialized in the Hass and often sold out of grafted seedlings since, unlike the Fuerte, Hass yields are year-round and also more plentiful, with bigger fruit, a longer shelf life
Shelf life
Shelf life is the length of time that food, drink, medicine, chemicals, and many other perishable items are given before they are considered unsuitable for sale, use, or consumption...
and richer flavor owing to higher oil content. However, Hass made a profit of less than US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
5,000 through the patent because cuttings from single trees sold by Brokaw were then propagated to graft whole orchards.
Rudolph Hass carried on as a postman throughout his life and died of a heart attack at Fallbrook Hospital in Fallbrook
Fallbrook, California
Fallbrook is an unincorporated community in northern San Diego County, California. The Fallbrook census-designated place population was 30,534 at the 2010 census, up from 29,100 at the 2000 census....
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1952, the same year his patent expired and not long after he had established a new 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) orchard.
By the early 21st century the US avocado industry took in over $1 billion a year from the heavy-bearing, high quality Hass cultivar, which accounted for around 80% of all avocados grown worldwide.
Fate of mother tree
Owing to later suburban sprawl in Southern California, the mother tree stood for many years in front of a residence in La Habra Heights. The tree died when it was 76 years old and was cut down on 11 September 2002 after a ten-year fight with phytophthoraPhytophthora
Phytophthora is a genus of plant-damaging Oomycetes , whose member species are capable of causing enormous economic losses on crops worldwide, as well as environmental damage in natural ecosystems. The genus was first described by Heinrich Anton de Bary in 1875...
(root rot), which often kills avocado trees. Two plaques by the private residence at 426 West Road mark the spot where it grew. The wood was stored in a tree nursery and from this stock, a nephew of Rudolph Hass made keepsakes, jewelry and other gifts. Each year in mid-May the city of La Habra Heights celebrates the Hass avocado at its Annual La Habra Heights Avocado Festival.