Most avocadoes consumed worldwide are of the cultivar ‘Hass’. This cultivar is characterized by high oil content (~30%) which gives its creamy texture greatly appreciated by consumers. ‘Hass’ is a Guatemalan (G) x Mexican (M) type avocado commercially grown in many countries. However, it does not perform well in hot and humid tropical/subtropical climates where avocadoes of the West Indian (WI) type are typically grown. There are many types of WI and WI-(G and/or M) hybrids that have wide ranges in size, shape, texture and flavor. Fruit characteristics, fatty acids and volatile composition were measured from a USDA collection in East-Central Florida. Seven fatty acids including two saturated (palmitic acid and arachidic acid) and five unsaturated (palmitoleic, oleic, linoleic, linolenic and eicosenoic acids) were identified. The total oil content (TOC) ranged from 11% to 25% where 58.2-71.5% were unsaturated fatty acids (USFA) with a balance of saturated fatty acids (SFA). The cultivars ‘Simmonds’, ‘Day’, ‘Pflume’ and ‘Miguel’ had low TOC, 11.4-14.3%, in agreement with WI types. The GM hybrids showed greater variability: ‘PA-6206’ (25%), ‘FL Hass’ (20%), ‘Bacon’ (18%) and ‘Zutano’ (16%). Likewise, there was variation in volatile profiles, with the major components being acetaldehyde, hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, and minor components limonene, α-cubebene, α-copaene, and (E)-caryophyllene. Acetaldehyde was high in ‘Day’ (7,354 μg L-1), almost 4 times more than published values for standard ‘Hass’. Hexanal was high in ‘Day’ and ‘FL Hass’ (5,248 and 3,750 μg L-1, respectively) and ‘Lula’ had high amounts of (E)-2-hexenal (6,538 μg L-1) and limonene (47 μg L-1). This research provides additional information to growers interested in expanding the cultivation range of commercial avocadoes and can benefit consumers by increasing availability of locally grown fruit. Avocado consumption has greatly increased due to increased awareness of health benefits provided by the high levels of unsaturated fatty acids.

Fatty acid composition and aroma volatile profiling of avocado germplasm from subtropical regions

2019 Spring National Meeting

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