Harricado: New type of avocado discovered by Nelson orchardist

The 'Harricado' has a smooth and creamy texture.

By RNZ

The “Harricado”, a new variety of avocado, has been discovered by a Nelson home orchardist.

Harry Pearson has lent his name to the fruit borne from a tree in his property - the Harricado - and has worked with the New Zealand Tree Crops Association to make it more widely available.

Pearson saw the huge avocado tree at an open home in Nelson. The previous owner had planted the avocado as a seedling several years before selling the property.

“I joked with the owners after I purchased the property, I said ‘the main reason I bought it was the avocado tree’,” Pearson told RNZ.

While he hadn’t successfully grown avocados before, Pearson said it seemed crazy people were paying about $4 for an avocado when they were “giving them away”.

“It just seems a shame that more people don’t grow their own fruit and vegetables, because they always taste so much better when they come from the backyard,” Pearson said.

The Harricado is self-fertile, non-fibrous, has a smooth and creamy texture, and is nutty in flavour.

The Harricado is not like your typical avocado; it is pretty cold-tolerant and is thought to be resistant to Phytophthora, a root disease that kills avocado trees.

“It’s even got young growths on it at the moment and we’re getting frosts,” he said. “It’s pretty cold-hardy.”

Pearson, who is a member of the New Zealand Tree Crops Association (NZTCA), is now lending his plant cuttings to members across New Zealand.

“We’re trying to grow this all round the country and see what extreme climates we can grow this in,” he said.

While the NZTCA looked at putting a plant patent on the Harricado, the idea was ditched as the “paperwork was just too hard”.

“I didn’t come up with the name; it was one of the local members, he coined the name ‘Harricado,’” Pearson said.

“I’ve basically said to the Tree Crops Association, you guys can do the work and distribute it around,

“I don’t need any royalties or anything.”

While the Harricado is currently only available for NZTCA members, Pearson encourages more people to try growing avocados.

“If you’ve got space in your garden, or rental property, just get out there and plant some trees,” Pearson said.

“They’re such giving fruit trees; they just give every year, and a lot of them don’t require much maintenance.”

- RNZ