THE COOL DOWN - Scientists at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), have successfully developed a new avocado tree after more than 50 years of research and development. UCR’s news website reported that the patent-pending avocado, the Luna UCR, was invented by a team of agricultural scientists at the university. Luna UCR avocados are said...
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - This time last year, nobody knew how our bodies regulate age-related decline or why some people still hadn’t gotten sick from COVID-19. The origins of the human species remained murky and the world’s avocado supply was more vulnerable to disease. What a difference a year makes. Thanks to the tireless curiosity...
TIME MAGAZINE - The Luna UCR is one very special avocado. The result of a decades-long breeding program at the University of California, Riverside, it has a flavor similar to that of its popular relative, the Hass, but a bit more “floral,” says program horticulturist Mary Lu Arpaia. The Luna UCR is ripe as soon...
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE - A new kind of avocado — created by UC Riverside researchers — may be appearing in grocery stores in coming years. The Luna UCR avocado will soon be marketed to growers worldwide, though it will be a little longer before you can buy it at the supermarket. It’s not unusual for UCR...
SLATE - The Hass avocado is the fruit that likely comes to mind when you’re picturing the “perfect” Instagrammable avocado: dark and lightly textured skin, an almost ombre green interior with a precise “give”-to-firmness ratio, and a relatively small, dark pit. It’s “meal-size,” which, entranced by convenience and plagued by mushy brown avocados, we love...
ALLRECIPES.COM - Avocado fans know the struggle of timing the exact window of ripeness for enjoying the fruit. But that could all change with a new avocado breed that’s set to hit the market soon. The “Luna” avocado is a new variety of the fruit that's grown on trees that are smaller in size and...
FOOD & WINE - The University of California Riverside (UCR) has been nicknamed “the Highlanders,” but should they ever decide to switch mascots, the Avocados might be a good choice. The university’s College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences has an acclaimed avocado breeding program that started in the 1950s, and has patented and released eight...
AXIOS - Meet the "Luna," a new variety of avocado grown on a smaller tree and easier to harvest than the dominant Hass breed. Why it matters: The Hass, with its creamy texture and wonderful taste, has fueled our love affair with guacamole and avocado toast. A competitive alternative could make supplies of the fruit...
EARTH.COM - Avocado weevils are small beetles with long snouts that drill through fruit to lay their eggs, with their grubs or larvae boring into avocado seeds to feed, and rendering these fruits inedible. Now, a team of researchers from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) has set to find ways of preventing the “evil”...
FOOD52 - A few years ago, an Australian company called Naturo Technologies invented a machine—the Natavo Zero, aka the Avocado Time Machine. This ATM supposedly miraculously slows the avocado ripening process, keeping it from turning brown for up to 10 days without the use of chemicals—or olive oil, or lemon juice, or red onion. (Naturo...