Can you grow Avocado's in Korat?

[samsingsong]

My wife's family have land about 70k's east of Korat - out towards Khon Buri.

My wife has developed a taste for avocado while in the UK, and I wondered ,if the climate / soil etc. would be suitable for growing on her parents land.

In my youth I spent a lot of time in San Diego where there were large avocado orchards. It's a hot dry semi-desert region and in some ways the climate is similar to Korat, except that they did get frosts in December. I understand that some fruit & veg require a 'cold snap' at some time.

Anyone know more, or tried growing them?

[khwaibah]

Check out this thread.   

 

[samsingsong]

Thanks very much for that info.

Edited December 29, 2016 by samsingsong

[JungleBiker]

Point #1: The tropical climate of Korat is VERY different from the Mediterranean climate of San Diego! For example, Korat average annual temp 27.1C https://en.climate-data.org/location/5993/ versus 17.2C in San Diego https://en.climate-data.org/location/714969/

 

Point #2. Avocados have 3 races: West Indian, Guatemalan and Mexican. A variety from the West Indian race should grow in Korat.  But West Indian varieties usually have a low oil content. They taste watery. They are not popular in USA/Europe. While she was in the UK, I guess your wife was eating the Hass variety (rough skin, turns black when ripe); it accounts for more than 90% of the international trade in avocado. It is said to be a hybrid of the Guatemalan and Mexican races (which come from the mountain areas of those two countries), so it prefers a cooler climate than what you find in Korat. I doubt it would perform well in the Korat area.

 

So the I reckon the answer to your question is "Yes, you can" but your wife may not enjoy the taste as much as she enjoyed the imported avos in the UK. 

 

The avo flowering response is usually promoted by a dry spell rather than a cold spell. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[samsingsong]

Hi JungleBiker,

Thanks for that interesting info. You're right, in the UK we were buying Hass variety and the flavour of those reminded me of the tasty ones I used to eat in San Diego, which I presume must be the Mexican.

We've bought some recently here in Tesco Lotus which are from NZ. They looked good and were ripened just right (soft but no brown bits), but really lacking in flavour!

I make a kind of guacamole with the Hass in the UK which my Thai wife really enjoys. Unfortunately don't get the same result with the NZ variety.