Russell Avocado
 

Anyone growing this?

Re: Russell Avocado
 

Hi Keith, I've been growing this one for the last few years. It's a fairly good flavored fruit, but I would really regard it more of a novelty to have around moreso than for having lots of fruit, or even expecting good nutty/oily flavor... thats for sure. It's flavor is pretty sub-standard compared to even Haas or Fuerte. My heaviest harvests come from Haas and Mexicola Grande. The best flavor is either Haas, Fuerte, or Stewart, folowed closely by Mexicola Grande. The biggest problem I have with Russell is dropping or splitting. Dropping wouldn't normally be a big issue, except that it doesn't get close to the ripening stage enough to finish ripening off the tree, but instead the fruit that drop early end up rubbery and inedible. The other thing I don't care for is the 'watery' texture and taste (similar to many Florida type Avo's). There's a very low oil taste and also not any sort of nutty flavor. One smaller issue is that with the super thin skin, they are tough to peel, compared to most, and they don't allow for 'scooping' with a spoon, since it flexes too easily (like apple skin).
In conclusion, I would say that this one is just a novelty and not one of the most reliable fruit setters, and moreso, it's flavor is really substandard compared to the better varieties out there with a much higher oil content, giving that classic 'nutty' flavor that makes a superb Avocado the flavor it is known for.

I'd highly recommend getting Mexicola Grande over this, if you want something less common. They have a black skin (almost purple), HIGH oil content, rich, deep nutty flavor, and is an excellent producer.

Re: Russell Avocado
 

I've been told that the oily varieties don't do well in humid environments, leaving us with West Indian and Guatemalan varieties. I have a Pollock that produces only 40-50 lbs fruit/yr. The fruit it does produce are 2-3 lbs. I had a lisa a few years ago that must have produced 1000 lbs one year and the next I had 100 lbs. I am really considering putting in some Monroe so I can sell fruit to the snowbirds.

Re: Russell Avocado
 

I believe Monroe is really late (December) for us, but I imagine things would be different in Puerto Rico. Something like Dupuis is in Early June for us so it might be in April or May for you. There are some Seedling avocados here in Pahokee that aren't ready until December and January and they turn red when ripe.

Re: Russell Avocado
 

I would say that if you're not getting a good cross-pollination with an opposite genotype ( an "A" type with a "B" type), then you will end up with a lot of cuke's, which are unpollinated flower fruit. There's a graph chart all over the web to find out what are good opposites to use. Here's one example (note after the description, there's an A or B) Avocados - Varieties and Growing Information - Order Online – Four Winds Growers

As far as seedling grown trees, they will be a gamble on what quality and size of the fruit, and all other characteristics. HOWEVER - this is how the Haas variety and many others were discovered (by chance seedlings). The occurrence of good avos are probably less than bad, but if you have enough seedlings, then it would probably not bother you too much. Where I have limited space for large fruit trees, it's more important for me to find great performers only so I wish I had your time, patience, and extra space :)

I would love to see a 200 foot or taller tree, but I can imagine, as we had large avocado trees on my family's property as a kid, and my cousins built large tree houses in them. I would probably say the trees were 100+ years old and were constantly dripping with fruit. (Maybe 60 feet tall). :)

Re: Russell Avocado
 

Hey Keith, apologies if you're finding the pollination guide a bit confusing, but I am only giving you some solid info on a link of what improves the success of pollination and fruit set. Fruit aborted is typical for unpollinated flowers. Regarding your factors, I can only give you my personal experience. Here in Coastal Southern California, we have fluctuating temperatures, fluctuating water supply, fluctuating humidity, and yet through all of that, in my years of experience with avocadoes, the success is not greatly dependent on weather factors (we rarely have frost). Also, seasons are not always accurate when it comes to regions like yours and mine, since we can have fruit on our trees year-round. There are often times when I will have a few dozen fruit close to ripening in January on trees which have a Summer/Fall season. I believe the flowers on Avocadoes are triggered more on warmth and sunshine, rather than hot and cold (because of this experience).

On the thought of yield, it seems to be most effective and highest yield when there's an opposite (A pollinating a B, vice versa). Because of the hermaphroditic flowers needing to have an opposite (morning male pollen donor crossed to a morning female and vice versa).

You may want to check to see what type your trees are (watch for what sex they are in the AM). Proximity of opposing type is possibly a factor as well. I can say that in my neighborhood, if a neighbor has an opposing type tree, it will help somewhat but not completely in fruit set, and still an opposite is needed within a short distance (preferably within 10-20 feet).

Firming up what I have mentioned again is this article regarding Pollinating and amount of actual fruit which set:
http://www.avocadosource.com/cas_yea...pg_163-169.pdf

If anything else regarding why your cultivar drops 100% of the fruit at times, it may be simply that particular cultivar, because out of the 8 types I grow, all of them have set fruit in just about every month of the year.

I hope that clears things up for you a little and apologies for any confusion in the previous post.

My best,
Rob

Re: Russell Avocado
 

I'm sorry about having to go over this, as I was not predisposed of how much you already know about them. But - As I mentioned, the combination of both Sunshine and Warmth seem to trigger flowering more than simply going from winter to spring or summer to fall (hot to cold). For instance, when we occasionally have our warm, sunny Christmas times, I will often see flowers develop a couple weeks later on various cultivars.

Again, sorry about the difference in our language use, but I am very happy to help clear up anything not understood.

Have a great evening!
RJ

Re: Russell Avocado
 

From what I have been told and read, Avocados due to not breed true to type so a seedling might be similar, but not exactly the same.

Re: Russell Avocado
 

Very true and a great point! Even a genetically duplicate seedling wouldn't have identical fruit. This is why grafting exists. As seen with Haas avo's, for example, came from the branch of one local parent tree here in SoCal. There was a group of seeds planted together, and this one was the winner. :)