Hass - Carmen™
(also known as Mendez #1)
Origin
Carmen-Hass was selected (and later patented) from a Mexican
Hass
orchard in Michoaca because of its consistent 'off season'
cropping. In
some years, some Hass trees in avocado orchards in Mexico have
flowers
outside the normal spring season. This late summer flowering
matures
its fruit in early winter, when the normal crop is in short
supply in
the markets. This burst of flowering is called the 'Loca' crop
in
Spanish. Loca means 'crazy'. Crazy because it is not the
normal time of
year for Hass to be cropping, and crazy because there is often
a very
good apparent fruit set, only for the pin-head sized fruitlets
to fall
off. As a result, there is rarely much of an 'off-bloom' crop.
The
fruitlets possibly fall because temperatures are not warm
enough for
long enough to retain the embryonic fruit. It is only in those
years of
unseasonable warmth that the loca crop produces well.
'Off season' flowering is not confined to Mexico. It is a
well known phenomenon in some 'normal' Hass trees in
some years in
New Zealand. Some trees have a very modest and protracted
flowering
from march onwards, in some years right through winter to
'join up' to
the normal spring flowering. Fruit set is usually either very
light or
zero, and the winter part of this long flowering phase
generally don't
set any fruit at all, again, presumably because it is too
cold. As in
the Mexican experience, in some years initial set of
'off-season'
flowers looks promising, but either all, or almost all, fall
off.
However, in the late 1980's a tree in a Mexican commercial
Hass orchard
was noticed which consistently bore 'out of season'
flowers. It
not only had a loca crop every year, it regularly held
the
fruitlets to full maturity, producing good quality fruit at a
time of
year when the main Hass crop had yet to start. The commercial
value was
obvious, especially as high quality Carmen fruit are available
in june-
September in Mexico - a time when there are few good quality
avocados
available in the key USA export market. Realizing its
commercial
importance, the discoverer, Carlos Mendez Vega, propagated and
multiplied the tree. He supplied trees to surrounding
orchards, and he
also top-worked some of his own commercial Hass trees with
this unusual
form of Hass. The pattern of regular out of season bloom and
fruiting
continued. Over the next decade or so, enough blocks of trees
were
established that the fruit began to be recognized as a
distinct form of
Hass, and it became known as the 'Mendez type'. Ultimately,
the Mendez
Hass was imported into USA, re-named, and patented.
Hass-Carmen™ is patented in New Zealand, and at 2012 is
being
made available solely to growers. As at 2018, around 1,500
trees are
being trialled around New Zealand, according to the NZ Avocado
Industry
Council
The name 'Hass Carmen® 'is a registered trademark, as well as
being the
strictly correct name for the variety. Inevitably it will end
up being
colloquially referred to as as 'Carmen-Hass', or perhaps
simply
'Carmen'.
The tree
Carmen
is probably a
bud sport of the conventional Hass. A molecular marker
comparison was
done in 1996, and at least some differences were
identified, but
details are murky. It is nearly identical in appearance to any
Hass
tree, although there are claims it is less open. The tree has
a further
flush from the tips of the branches carrying its out-of-season
flowers, so this may partly explain the denser foliage.Its
growth
pattern is to produce relatively thick but short soft new
initial
growth. This takes longer than Hass does to mature, but once
mature the
tree tends to produce numerous new laterals.
Carmen might be able to be trained as a single leader tree. I
pruned
new laterals on my young trees to force branching closer
to the
trunk (especially near the top of the trees). Well established
young
Carmen seems to flush vegetatively very vigorously, and
pruning out of
new vegetative growth had to be done regularly until a period
of
extended dry in mid summer. The picture on the left shows 3
shorter
laterals that have grown out and matured flower buds from a
summer
pruned vegetative shoot.
Carmen is regarded as precocious, being quick to come into
bearing from
planting out.
Flowering
Like the normal Hass, Carmen-Hass flowers in spring, and
matures a
'main crop' from about december onward. But, unlike Hass,
Carmen has
another flush of flowers in mid to late summer. The fruit from
this
flowering matures from late winter onward. Occasionally, early
summer
flowers mature a small crop in late autumn.
In 2014, several young trees here developed some flowering
panicles in
early autumn (late march). This was after a very warm dry
period from
mid summer extending into late march and beyond. Daytime
temperatures
at that time anything from about 22oC to 31oC, and nights were
almost
uniformly over 10oC. Skies have been largely clear. Conditions
are
ideal for pollination.


Young Carmen Hass flowering in early june 2013
Carmen
Hass
flowering in early march 2014
Experience here has seen lighter flower panicles develop over
autumn
and winter, but it is rare for fruit to set. Not only is the
weather
colder, but there are almost no pollinating insects active.
But exactly
how Carmen will behave in other growing areas of New Zealand
is yet to
be seen.
Overseas experience is that Carmen will vary in flowering time
according to differing local climatic conditions and
seasonality.
In California, for example, the main flowering is the
normal
spring flowering, the same as 'normal' Hass, but there is
another
flowering and fruit set in late summer (there will also be a
sporadic
winter flowering that will set either few or no fruit). There
is a good
fruit set in late summer because temperatures for fruit set
are much
better at that time (relative to spring). No fruit set in
winter. This
seems to be the most likely pattern that will develop in New
Zealand as
a whole, and it is certainly the pattern here in Helensville
to date
(2017). In the warmer parts of South Africa they have better
winter
flowering, and better fruit set, but, obviously, they also
have warmer
winter temperatures. (Although
in warmer years, some Carmen trees in the warm temperatures of
the far
North of New Zealand will set a spring, summer, and autumn
crop. These
summer-set fruit are broadly similar to spring-set Hass.)
The fruit

'Round' autumn set Carmen
Hass fruit
in early winter
Fruit from late summer and autumn 'off-season' bloom in 'normal'
Hass mature about late winter the next year. These are sold in
the
supermarkets as 'winter Hass', although they don't look much
like Hass
at all, being rounder
and somewhat shiny. Winter-mature Carmen fruit are similar in
appearance to these Hass off-bloom 'loca' fruit. In some years
they are
oval and shiny and don't mature until spring, when the fruit
become
dull. In warmer winters the fruit are rounder, and become
sufficiently
mature in late winter, at which point the shiny skin becomes
dull, and
sometimes a slight purplish blush. In warmer avocado growing
countries
the fruit are typically globular and become dull in winter,
suggesting
fruit shape and commencement of maturity is influenced by
winter
temperatures. In contrast, main Hass season Carmen fruit
are
identical to Hass, if sometimes a bit smaller (200 to 285
grams) if the
main season crop is heavy. In some parts of South Africa
Carmen comes
in at the same size range as Hass (190 to 305 grams).
The flavor of the (winter picked) off-season bloom
'normal' Hass
in New Zealand is poor, in my experience so far. It is likely
these
still shiny fruit should have been left longer on the tree,
however. In
contrast, the winter fruit of Carmen-Hass (ripe at
exactly the
same time as the off-bloom fruit of 'normal Hass'), is
said to
have fruit quality as good as main crop (summer) Hass.
This has
been the experience in Mexico, at least. It is almost true
here.
In 2017 dull fruit picked in late july ripened in 9 days in a
bag
with an apple. It was almost as good as a normal summer season
Hass,
oily, excellent texture; the flavor was good, but not quite up
to the
nutty depth of a summer season Hass. By late September 2017,
fruit
quality was outstanding - slightly dry flesh, very oily,
superb flavor.
Whether Carmen Hass or 'normal' Hass in an aberrant off-bloom
phase,
the phenomenon of off-bloom 'Hass'/Carmen flowering in late
summer-early autumn should give identical fruit quality. The
key is to
acknowledge that each year the proper time of maturity may
change; the
only reliable guide is a change from shiny to dull appearance
- no
matter how long that takes.
Fruiting
Young trees perform differently to older trees. In some years,
young
trees may 'skip' the mid summer flowering, and flower and
fruit exactly
like any normal Hass.In South Africa, the winter crop may make
up as
much as 40% of the total of the 2 crops. In parts of South
Africa it
has been found to be a relatively consistent bearer, in spite
of
carrying 2 crops, and the main season crop is also several
weeks
earlier than Hass. California (and Mexico) have had different
experiences. There, the degree of off-season bloom is affected
by the
size of the main crop. Heavier main crops result in less
flowering in
late summer-autumn and a light crop. Some trees within an
orchard
simply don't have an off-season flowering if they had a heavy
main
season crop. Others may skip the late summer flowering and
have a
winter flowering - which rarely sets any fruit.
A test plantings in Northern New Zealand was made in 2006,
but, for a
variety of reasons, have not established well as at 2012. The
Bay of
Plenty and Gisborne plantings have been successful, and will
hopefully
be informative.
As of 2017, the trees here have settled into a pattern where
the
'conventional' crop is much larger than the late winter crop.
Management
We are attempting to keep the trees here small - no more than
3 meters.
Well fed Carmen trees here flush and flower almost
continuously. The
winter flowers don't set, so are useless, in my opinion.
Vigorous
flushes - a feature of Carmen here - are counterproductive.
Therefore
we prune new flushes robustly, aiming for weaker new growth in
the
knowledge that formation of flower buds is not inhibited. We
happily
prune off both spent and developing flowering branches in late
July, in
the knowledge that fruit set didn't happen in the first case,
and is
unlikely in the last.