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AvocadoAll seasonsUngrafted seedling-origin type (no bred/released variety)Updated 2 September 2026

Purple (local seedling type)

An older, ungrafted seedling-origin type grown across India's avocado tracts before any formal variety programme existed — purple-skinned at maturity, typically picked around July in Sikkim.

SeasonAll seasons
Maturity period5–6+ years to first bearing as a seedling tree
Expected yieldVariable, tree to tree, since seedling origin does not breed true
Suitable soilLoam

Quick facts

Crop
Avocado
Type
Ungrafted seedling-origin type (no bred/released variety)
Season
All seasons
Maturity period
5–6+ years to first bearing as a seedling tree
Expected yield
Variable, tree to tree, since seedling origin does not breed true
Suitable soil
Loam
Release
Not a bred or released variety — a generic seedling-origin fruit-colour type predating India's named avocado cultivars

About this variety

The Purple type describes the many older, ungrafted seedling-origin avocado trees found across Coorg, Kerala and Sikkim that predate India's formal avocado variety programme and the arrival of named grafted cultivars. Because a seedling tree grows from a pip rather than a graft, it does not reproduce its parent tree's exact traits, so fruit size, quality and yield vary widely from tree to tree even within the same orchard. Purple-skinned fruit is typically picked around July in Sikkim, somewhat earlier in the season than the green-skinned counterpart. These trees remain common in older, established orchards, but a grower planting new trees is better served by a named grafted variety — Arka Supreme, Arka Coorg Ravi, Hass or Fuerte — for predictable bearing time, fruit quality and yield.

Key characteristics

    Plant typeUngrafted seedling-origin type (no bred/released variety)
    Maturity5–6+ years to first bearing as a seedling tree
    Yield potentialVariable, tree to tree, since seedling origin does not breed true
    Disease resistanceNot documented; variable by individual tree
    SoilLoam
    SeasonAll seasons

Sowing & cultivation

  • HarvestingPicked mature but firm, typically around July in Sikkim, and ripened off the tree over about 6–10 days like any avocado.

Yield & maturity

Maturity period

5–6+ years to first bearing as a seedling tree

Expected yield

Variable, tree to tree, since seedling origin does not breed true

Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.

Pest & disease considerations

Advantages & considerations

Why farmers may choose it

  • Already established in many older orchards, so an existing Purple-type tree needs no replanting decision to keep producing.
  • No dependence on nursery-sourced grafted material for a tree already in the ground.

Things to consider

  • Not recommended for new commercial planting — a seedling tree takes 5–6 years or more to bear, against 3–4 for a grafted variety, and gives no guarantee of fruit quality or yield.
  • Fruit quality and yield vary widely between individual seedling trees, even within the same orchard, so results from one tree cannot be assumed for another.

Suitable regions

Widely grown as older, ungrafted orchard trees across Coorg, Kerala and Sikkim — not a bred variety with an official recommended zone.

  • Karnataka
  • Kerala
  • Sikkim

Sourced from: Avocado Production in India — FAO (Saurindra P. Ghosh). editorial policy.