CANBERRA, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Researchers in Australia have identified hormonal changes in avocado seeds as the trigger for premature fruit drop, a longstanding problem that can significantly reduce growers' yields.
A five-year project found that hormonal changes in the fruit's seed coat trigger immature fruit abscission when a tree sheds most fruitlets in response to reduced carbohydrate availability, according to a statement released Thursday by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia's national science agency.
The project, led by the CSIRO, with support from Hort Innovation, Australia's horticulture research and development corporation, has published the findings in the Journal of Experimental Botany, with the next stage of research focusing on developing ways to reduce fruit loss.
The team had also identified plant growth regulators with the potential to reduce immature fruit drop.
Avocados Australia CEO John Tyas said growers had reported fruit drop of up to 80 percent, adding that the industry had been trying to understand the cause since the late 1970s and would welcome measures to increase and stabilize yields.
The Australian avocado industry produces more than 130,000 tonnes of fruit annually and is worth about 800 million Australian dollars (about 561 million U.S. dollars) to the country's economy, according to CSIRO. ■
