Locally Grow Locally Enjoyed Cal Poly Avocados BY JORDAN DUNN
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t’s a well-known fact avocados are a healthy and increasingly popular fruit. But not everyone knows Cal Poly students play an important role in getting the fruit from the field to local markets. Students involved in Cal Poly’s Fruit Tree Enterprise are responsible for getting fresh fruit straight from the orchard and into consumer hands. The students grow, harvest, process and sell the fruit themselves, Dr. Lauren Garner,
Horticulture and Crop Science Department Professor, said. “The students dealing with fruit trees are split into two different crews: the production crew and the picking and marketing crew,” Garner said. “There are currently 30 students in the Fruit Tree Enterprise project, 11 student employees on the production crew and seven student employees on the picking and marketing crew.” The production PAGE 45
JORDAN DUNN | Cal Poly avocados are grown, cleaned, packed and shipped entirely by students.
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crew takes care of everything required to grow the fruit. The students carry out everything from applying fertilizer to managing irrigation and keeping trees healthy. It is very important that everything is carefully monitored and taken care of, Arturo Barajas, Agricultural Systems Management PAGE 46
junior, said. “On a daily basis, I do pretty much everything that has to do with irrigation,” Barajas said. “If we are irrigating that day, I turn it on. If there are any kinds of repairs to do, I’m in charge of those. I am basically responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the irrigation.”
The students take it upon themselves to make improvements in the way things are done, Barajas said. As the technologies related to crop production progress, so does the way Cal Poly students utilize them. “I’m kind of just modernizing the way we irrigate out here,” Barajas said. “Slowly but surely,
I’m converting the way that Cal Poly irrigates into the way of the future. Before, we would irrigate every Friday or however often. But now, I take a look at weather data, along with using a variety of different sensors.” Once the avocados become ready for harvest, the picking and marketing crew takes over. Because Cal Poly fruits are sold to a variety of local vendors, this crew takes on the task of distributing,
selling and delivering fruit to local markets for customers to enjoy. There are a variety of avocado cultivars (propagated cuttings) that are grown and sold by Cal Poly students. Some of the popular cultivars include Hass, Lamb Hass, Susan, Stewart, Harold and Fuerte avocados. During avocado season, the picking crew is responsible for harvesting during avocado season. From there, the fruit is run through
JORDAN DUNN | Cal Poly students provide all of the labor for the avocado orchards, including irrigation.
“I’m kind of just modernizing the way we irrigate out here.” ARTURO BARAJAS, AG SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT SENIOR JORDAN DUNN | Students sell their produce at the San Luis Obispo Farmers’ Market every week.
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The average
avocado
tree can
produce up to
500 fruit in one year. according to the California Avocado Commission
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various cleaning, waxing and sizing systems that prepare the avocados for market, Tory Blair, Fruit Science junior, said. Although fairly new to the crops unit, Blair is key in getting the fruit to its destination. “I deliver the fruit to all of the stores from Nipomo to [San Luis Obispo],” Blair said. “I
also run the Wednesday markets. Depending on my quarter, I also harvest and process the fruit. I pick citrus and avocado, run them through the processing line and store them in the cold storage.” Cal Poly’s student-grown avocados can be found across San Luis Obispo County at
JORDAN DUNN | Cal Poly avocados are sold at many location in San Luis Obispo, including Vons.
“I pick citrus and avocado, [then] run them through the processing line...” TORY BLAIR, FRUIT SCIENCE STUDENT
CREATIVE COMMONS | Avocados can be eated raw, or used as a replacement to fats or oils in recipes.
various markets. Avocados and citrus fruits are delivered to Vons in San Luis Obispo, Nipomo and Grover Beach. Vons displays the avocados with signs to tell customers which fruit comes straight from Cal Poly’s fields. Fresh fruit is also sold to popular breakfast spots such as the Big Sky Café in down-
town San Luis Obispo. Additionally, students personally market and sell the avocados at the weekly farmer’s market in downtown San Luis Obispo, at the Madonna Plaza, in Morro Bay and on campus. Cal Poly students draw quite a crowd with the delicious fruits of their labor and learning. CREATIVE COMMONS | Avocados are grown year round, PAGE but production peaks in the summer months.
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