Scientists Identify Gene Controlling Avocado Flowering Type

Scientists at the University of California, Davis, in collaboration with researchers at UC Riverside have identified a genetic switch that determines whether an avocado tree displays the A‑ or B‑type flowering pattern. The discovery, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, enables the flower type to be predicted from DNA long before a tree blooms, potentially cutting years from breeding cycles.

First author Jeffrey Groh, then a doctoral student at UC Davis and now a post‑doctoral fellow at UC Berkeley, said the gene provides a long‑sought explanation for the century‑old mystery of avocado pollination timing. Co‑author Eric Focht, a staff research associate at UC Riverside, added that the ability to genotype seedlings will let growers make more efficient breeding decisions and optimise the mix of A and B trees that complement each other's pollen release.