Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture J Sci Food Agric 84:485–492 (online: 2004)

DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.1595

Variation in the composition of Cretan avocado

cultivars during ripening
Stavroula A Vekiari,1∗ Parthena P Papadopoulou,1 Spiros Lionakis2 and
Athanasios Krystallis3
1 National Agricultural Research Foundation, Institute of Technology of Agricultural Products, 1 S Venizelou Street, GR-14123 Lycovrissi,
Attiki, Greece
2 National Agricultural Research Foundation, Institute of Subtropical Plants and Olive of Chania, Agrokipio, Souda, GR-73100 Chania,

Crete, Greece
3 National Agricultural Research Foundation, Institute of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, 5 Parthenonos Street, GR-14121

N Hrakleio, Athens, Greece

Abstract: The effect of ripening on the chemical characteristics of fruits of the avocado (Persea americana)
cultivars Ettinger, Fuerte and Hass was investigated. A study of some quality parameters of these main
avocado cultivars grown on the island of Crete was performed. As the fruit ripened, a decrease in the
moisture content was observed, with a high degree of correlation for all the cultivars. At the same time an
increase in the fat and protein contents was measured. The content of total sugars was high in the unripe
fruit but decreased during ripening. The fatty acid composition of the oil extracted from the fruit pulp
was determined by gas chromatographic analysis. The oil of the edible portion of the fruit was rich in
oleic, palmitic, linoleic and palmitoleic acids, while stearic acid was present in small quantities. During
the ripening process the amount of palmitic acid decreased and that of oleic acid increased in all the
cultivars. The ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids, which is considered as an indicator of
the nutritional value of the fruit, was also calculated. No significant differences were observed between
the cultivars. Principal component analysis was also performed to examine the relationship among the
quality variables of the cultivars. From these data, Fuerte was considered to be the cultivar with the best
characteristics.
 2004 Society of Chemical Industry

Keywords: avocado cultivars; Crete; compositional changes; fatty acids; ripening process

INTRODUCTION time. In general, avocados tend to continue growing

The avocado (Persea americana) is a fruit with a
high nutritive value and an unusual composition.
The outstanding compositional feature is the high fat
content, which varies significantly between different
cultivars. There are three general ecological groups or
races of the avocado: the Mexican, the Guatemalan
and the West Indian.1 The differences between
these races are related to their maturity and
oil content.
The most prominent cultivars in the Greek and
especially in the Cretan market are Hass, Fuerte,
Bacon, Ettinger and Benic, which all originate from a
Mexican seedling inoculated in the Mexican rootstock
topa-topa. The Mexican race is characterised by an
anise odour of the fruits, which are of small size
(75–300 g) and have a thin and smooth skin.1 In early
maturing cultivars the fruit increases in size when
mature, while in late varieties the growth increments
are smaller and decrease considerably before harvest
while attached to the tree.
Information on the composition of avocado fruits
dates back to 1922.2 The avocado fruit contains pro-
tein (up to 2%), sugars (mostly glucose, fructose and
sucrose), vitamins, tannins and free amino acids.3 – 5
The properties of avocado oil and its fatty acid
composition have been studied extensively.1,6 – 8 The
oil consists mainly of unsaturated fatty acids, the
predominant one being oleic acid, which increases
in concentration throughout the season. Other fatty
acids present in avocado oil are palmitic and linoleic
acids together with trace amounts of myristic, stearic,
cinolenic and arachidic acids.9,10
Strong varietal differences in the fat content are
found.3,11 The Fuerte variety, which is considered to
be one of the best cultivars, reaches the highest level
(300 g kg−1 ) among all the cultivars.
Identification of horticultural maturity is difficult for
avocado, because maturation is not accompanied by

∗ Correspondence to: Stavroula A Vekiari, National Agricultural Research Foundation, Institute of Technology of Agricultural Products, 1 S
Venizelou Street, GR-14123 Lycovrissi, Attiki, Greece
E-mail: itap@otenet.gr
(Received 29 July 2002; revised version received 12 August 2003; accepted 19 August 2003)

 2004 Society of Chemical Industry. J Sci Food Agric 0022–5142/2004/$30.00 485

SA Vekiari et al

changes in external appearance. Lee et al 11 examined
the feasibility of establishing picking dates and
proposed dry weight analysis as an index of maturity.
The objective of this study was to obtain information
on the physicochemical characteristics and fatty acid
composition of the fruit of the main avocado cultivars
grown in Crete. An attempt was also made to evaluate
the behaviour of these cultivars during the different
stages of ripening representative of the physiological
state of the fruit.
EXPERIMENTAL
Sampling
Fruits of the cultivars Ettinger (early season), Fuerte
(middle season) and Hass (late season) were harvested
at different stages of ripening representative of the
physiological state of the fruit from a plantation located
in Chrysopigi in the Chania Prefecture of Crete. The
sampling period was from September to February for
the Ettinger cultivar, from November to May for the
Fuerte cultivar and from December to July for the
Hass cultivar. Fruits were collected from three trees of
each cultivar at 20 day intervals and transported to the
laboratory within a few hours for analysis.
Chemical analyses
Samples of 20 fruits were peeled and sliced without
stones. A pulp was prepared in a Waring blender and
was used for the determination of moisture and fat
contents, total proteins and total sugars. Standardised
methods were used in the analyses of moisture, protein
and fat contents.12 Total sugars were determined
according to the anthrone reagent method described
by Roe.13 The caloric content was also calculated.
Extraction of avocado oil
Portions of avocado flesh from each sampling
and variety were ground and processed in an
experimental olive mill to obtain the oil. The fatty
acid content of the avocado oil was determined
by gas chromatography after metesterification with
methanol/BF3 reagent.14 The areas under the peaks
were calculated by triangulation. A Perkin-Elmer
Sigma 3 gas chromatograph equipped with a Sigma 10
flame ionisation detector (FID) was used. The methyl
esters of the fatty acids were analysed isothermally
at 180 ◦ C on a glass column packed with 10%
EGSSX Gas Chrom Q 100/120 mesh. The injector
and detector temperatures were 250 and 260 ◦ C
respectively.
Statistical analysis
Data were subjected to one-way analysis of variance
(ANOVA) using the least significant difference (LSD)
procedure to determine differences between variables
at P < 0.05. Principal component analysis was also
performed to evaluate the quality of each variety
by comparison of the different variables (moisture,
proteins, sugars, oil content and fatty acids).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Compositional changes
Typical changes in the main chemical constituents
of the edible part of the avocado fruit are shown in
Table 1. The water content of avocado pulp decreases
as the fat content increases.15 The moisture content
varied from 832 to 665 g kg−1 in Ettinger, from 792
to 593 g kg−1 in Fuerte and from 788 to 642 g kg−1
in Hass.
The fat content varied from 48 to 270 g kg−1 in
Ettinger, from 101 to 310 g kg−1 in Fuerte and from
127 to 277 g kg−1 in Hass. The average fat content
during the whole period of ripening was 158 g kg−1 in
Ettinger, 218 g kg−1 in Fuerte and 186 g kg−1 in Hass.
These values give a rough average for the whole crop of

Table 1. Compositional changes in avocado cultivars during ripening

Stage of ripening (month)

Chemical
Cultivar characteristic 1st 3rd 5th 7th 9th 11th

Ettinger Moisture 832 ± 0 776 ± 1.4 722 ± 0.6 665 ± 4.3

Fat content 48 ± 0 122 ± 0 191 ± 8.8 270 ± 15
Total proteins 14 ± 5.8 18 ± 13.4 33 ± 0 38 ± 1.1
Sugars 29 ± 0.1 12 ± 1.0 13 ± 3.6 8±0
Kcal per 100 g 60.4 121.8 190.3 261.4
Fuerte Moisture 792 ± 2.7 742 ± 13 716 ± 10.3 623 ± 30.7 593 ± 4.0
Fat content 101 ± 4.4 152 ± 16.3 231 ± 13.2 295 ± 7.9 310 ± 3.2
Total proteins 12 ± 2.2 24 ± 5.4 28 ± 9.4 48 ± 10.6 53 ± 2.9
Sugars 12 ± 1.2 9±0 7 ± 0.5 7±1 6 ± 0.6
Kcal per 100 g 100.5 150 221.9 287.5 306.6
Hass Moisture 788 ± 5.8 759 ± 17.8 717 ± 15.0 695 ± 30.9 686 ± 47.5 642 ± 33.2
Fat content 127 ± 11.6 130 ± 8.7 151 ± 19.9 209 ± 36.5 223 ± 60.7 277 ± 31.1
Total proteins 17 ± 2.8 26 ± 3.1 26 ± 1.2 30 ± 7.4 34 ± 6.6 45 ± 2
Sugars 13 ± 4.1 14 ± 0.8 12 ± 0.6 15 ± 1.2 11 ± 1.1 6 ± 0.6
Kcal per 100 g 126.3 133 151.1 206.1 218.7 269.7

Results represent mean values of three replicates ± SD expressed as g kg−1 .

486 J Sci Food Agric 84:485–492 (online: 2004)

 Seasonal variation in the composition of Cretan avocados

187 g kg−1 , which is higher than the value of 162 g kg−1
reported by Slater et al.15 In avocado fruit the oil
content is closely related to fruit development and
maturity.11 Since horticultural maturity is defined as
the development stage where harvested fruit undergoes
normal ripening and provides good eating quality, the
presence of a high oil content is likely to affect the
eating quality of the fruit.13
The sum of the water and fat contents was
constant and ranged from 88 to 94.7%. When
the percentage water content was plotted against
the percentage fat content, it could be seen that
they were inversely proportional (Fig 1) with a high
degree of correlation, especially in the Fuerte cultivar.
Concerning the moisture content, it can be assumed
from the data that no serious dehydration has
occurred, since the fat–water relationship remains
constant.
The protein content of the three cultivars increased
with increasing fat content and showed a good
correlation in the Fuerte cultivar (Fig 2). At the 5th
month of ripening, the protein and fat contents were

900

800

700

600 Ettinger Fuerte Hass

Moisture (g.Kg-1)

500 y = -0.7548x + 867.82

R2 = 0.9997
Ettinger
400

y = -0.8927x + 887.63
300 R2 = 0.9404
Fuerte
200
y = -0.8333x + 869.63
R2 = 0.9043
100 Hass

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Fat (g.Kg-1)

Figure 1. Correlation of moisture and fat contents in avocado cultivars for one harvest period.

60

50

Ettinger Fuerte Hass

40
Protein (g.Kg-1)

30 y = 0.1178x + 7.1743
R2 = 0.9352
Ettinger

20 y = 0.1834x - 6.9506
R2 = 0,9361
Fuerte

10 y = 0.1467x + 2.349
R2 = 0.8792
Hass

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Fat (g.Kg-1)

Figure 2. Correlation of protein and fat contents in avocado cultivars for one harvest period.

J Sci Food Agric 84:485–492 (online: 2004) 487

SA Vekiari et al

respectively 33 and 191 g kg−1 in Ettinger, 28 and
231 g kg−1 in Fuerte and 26 and 151 g kg−1 in Hass.
The avocado fruit is a good source of carbohydrates,
but the mechanism of their biosynthesis as well as their
biological function is still not clear.1 The carbohydrate
content in the studied cultivars showed a decrease
during the ripening process for all the cultivars. It
ranged from 29 to 8 g kg−1 in Ettinger, from 12
to 6 g kg−1 in Fuerte and from 13 to 6 g kg−1 in
Hass (Table 1). According to Biale and Young,1 the
avocado sugars are of hexose, heptulose and octulose
type. The level of sugars not only in avocado but also
in other species such as olive is variable and decreases
during ripening.1,2,16
The caloric content was calculated and is shown in
Table 1. Values of 9 kcal g−1 for fat and 4 kcal g−1
for proteins and carbohydrates were used in the
calculations. Average values for each sampling and
cultivar are shown per 100 g of fresh pulp. The caloric
value of the avocado is mostly accounted for by its
fat content, so the variation in fat content influences
proportionally the caloric content. The caloric content
increased as the fruit ripened, reaching final values of
261 kcal per 100 g in Ettinger, 307 kcal per 100 g in
Fuerte and 270 kcal per 100 g in Hass. The average
caloric content is correlated with the values reported
by Slater et al 15 for the cultivars Fuerte and Hass.
Fatty acid content in avocado oil
The composition of fatty acids in the oil, expressed as
g kg−1 of the total fatty acids of the lipids, is shown in
Table 2. The oil of the edible portion of the fruit is
rich in oleic, palmitic, linoleic and palmitoleic acids,
while stearic acid is present in very small amounts.
The major saturated fatty acid is palmitic acid and the
main unsaturated fatty acid is oleic acid. During the
ripening process the level of palmitic acid decreased
while the oleic acid content increased (Table 2). The
content of oleic acid varied from 548 to 681 g kg−1
in Ettinger, from 548 to 757 g kg−1 in Fuerte and
from 612 to 694 g kg−1 in Hass. The content of oleic
acid represented 54–76% of the total fatty acids,
which is in agreement with the results of Lozano and
Ratovohery,17 who reported that oleic acid accounted
for 65–80% of the total fatty acids in Mediterranean
avocado oil. The contents of the other fatty acids
varied as follows: palmitic acid, from 182 to 137 g kg−1
in Ettinger, from 149 to 92 g kg−1 in Fuerte and from
172 to 130 g kg−1 in Hass; linoleic acid, from 158
to 110 g kg−1 in Ettinger, from 210 to 104 g kg−1 in
Fuerte and from 150 to 114 g kg−1 in Hass; palmitoleic
acid, from 73 to 51 g kg−1 in Ettinger, from 62 to
35 g kg−1 in Fuerte and from 67 to 52 g kg−1 in Hass.
Ratio of fatty acids in avocado oil
The ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids
(P/S) is considered to be an indicator of nutritional
value.17,18 This ratio has been calculated and is
shown in Table 3. The mean values during the
whole sampling period were 0.75, 1.09 and 0.93
for Ettinger, Fuerte and Hass respectively. In the
same table the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty
acids (U/S) is also shown. The mean values during
the whole sampling period were 4.42, 6.73 and 5.64
for Ettinger, Fuerte and Hass respectively. However,
there were no significant differences in the average

Table 2. Variation in composition of fatty acids in oil from avocado cultivars during ripening

Stage of ripening (month)

Fatty
Cultivar acid 1st 3rd 5th 7th 9th 11th

Ettinger Myristic 17.0 ± 4.3 11.6 ± 4.8 5.5 ± 2

Palmitic 182.5 ± 2.4 190.3 ± 3.2 137.3 ± 8.9
Palmitoleic 73.3 ± 3.1 64.3 ± 3.4 50.7 ± 6.3
Stearic 15.1 ± 2.2 10.6 ± 0.7 4.7 ± 2.4
Oleic 548.5 ± 5.5 557.1 ± 6.6 681.4 ± 17.8
Linoleic 158 ± 4.7 135.5 ± 1.2 109.8 ± 3.7
Linolenic 6.2 ± 2.9 134 ± 0.8 7 ± 1.5
Fuerte Myristic 10.1 ± 1 6 ± 2.6 2.4 ± 0.1 8.8 ± 2.7 ND
Palmitic 149 ± 3.2 152.3 ± 2.4 115.4 ± 2.9 122 ± 4 91.8 ± 2.9
Palmitoleic 61.5 ± 5.5 49.5 ± 1.2 38.5 ± 2.6 35.4 ± 2.4 38.6 ± 1.6
Stearic ND 6.9 ± 0.3 5.8 ± 0.3 ND 3.3 ± 0.4
Oleic 547.8 ± 6.2 630 ± 4.3 695.3 ± 1.2 685.8 ± 16.5 756.8 ± 10.8
Linoleic 210.4 ± 8.2 141.5 ± 5.7 136.6 ± 4 140.2 ± 15.6 103.8 ± 8.1
Linolenic 8.8 ± 1.3 7.7 ± 0.7 4.9 ± 1.3 6.6 ± 1 4.6 ± 1.7
Hass Myristic ND ND ND ND 2.2 ± 0.3 5.7 ± 2
Palmitic 172.1 ± 4.2 166.7 ± 7.5 130.3 ± 16.6 143.3 ± 1.5 136.3 ± 1.6 154.2 ± 5.1
Palmitoleic 66.9 ± 1.9 62.8 ± 3.6 55.4 ± 3.8 54.5 ± 3.4 52.4 ± 2.1 63 ± 1.8
Stearic ND 4 ± 0.6 ND ND 3.4 ± 0 2.3 ± 0.5
Oleic 612 ± 3.2 653 ± 19.9 657 ± 10.9 680 ± 10.7 694 ± 2.2 651 ± 8.5
Linoleic 138.4 ± 4.6 109.8 ± 10.4 149.8 ± 29.9 115.7 ± 15.6 114.4 ± 1.4 124 ± 3.4
Linolenic 6.1 ± 0.9 6.3 ± 1.7 3.6 ± 1.2 4.1 ± 0.9 3.4 ± 0.6 3.4 ± 0.8

Results represent mean values of three replicates ± SD expressed as g kg−1 . ND, not detected.

488 J Sci Food Agric 84:485–492 (online: 2004)

 Seasonal variation in the composition of Cretan avocados

Table 3. Ratios of unsaturated (U) and polyunsaturated (P) to saturated (S) fatty acids in oil from avocado cultivars during ripening

Stage of ripening (month)

Cultivar Ratio 1st 3rd 5th 7th 9th 11th Mean

Ettinger P/S 0.78 0.69 0.80 0.75

U/S 3.76 3.62 5.88 4.42
Fuerte P/S 1.34 0.91 0.97 1.10 1.14 1.09
U/S 5.15 5.09 7.27 6.57 9.55 6.73
Hass P/S 0.82 0.69 1.24 0.82 0.81 1.18 0.93
U/S 4.71 5.00 6.75 5.90 6.11 5.37 5.64

values for the three cultivars. Thus the avocado fruit Ettinger
has a content of total unsaturated fatty acids that Scree Plot
is about five times higher than its content of total 6
saturated fatty acids. Slater et al 15 verify this for 5
Californian avocados.
4

Eigenvalue
Principal component analysis 3
In order to examine the relationship among the 2
variables of moisture, proteins, sugars, oil content
1
and fatty acids in the three cultivars, the technique
of principal component analysis (PCA) has been 0
applied. PCA is one of the oldest and most widely -1
used multivariate techniques. The basic idea of the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
method is to describe the variation of a set of Component Number
multivariate data of initially correlated variables in
Fuerte
terms of a set of uncorrelated principal components,
Scree Plot
each of which is a particular linear combination 8
of the original variables. The new variables are
derived in decreasing order of importance and should
6
account for the maximum variance possible of the
Eigenvalue

original data.19
Table 4 shows the aggregate results of PCA for the 4
three cultivars. The set of 11 initial variables comprises
‘moisture’, ‘proteins’, ‘sugars’, ‘oil content’ and ‘fatty 2
acids’ (seven variables). All principal components
with an eigenvalue greater than one account for a
satisfactory percentage of the initial variance, ranging 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
from 74% for Fuerte to 92% for Ettinger (Fig. 3).
Component Number
For Ettinger, three principal components are chosen
which exhibit eigenvalues greater than one. These Haas
three components account for nearly 92% of the Scree Plot
2.5
initial variance of the data for this variety. The
Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy
2.0
was 0.463 and Bartlett’s test of sphericity had 0.000
Eigenvalue

significance, which means that the initial variables

1.5
are correlated.
For Fuerte, PCA indicated that the first two 1.0
principal components have eigenvalues greater than
one and account for 74% of the variance in the 0.5
original data set. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure
of sampling adequacy was 0.497 and Bartlett’s test of 0.0
sphericity had 0.000 significance, which means that 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
the initial variables are correlated. Component Number
The same analysis for the Hass cultivar indicated
Figure 3. Scree plots for avocado cultivars.
that five principal components should be selected,
accounting for about 79% of the total variance. The
Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy significance, which means that the initial variables
was 0.487 and Bartlett’s test of sphericity had 0.038 are correlated.

J Sci Food Agric 84:485–492 (online: 2004) 489

SA Vekiari et al

Table 5 shows the component matrix for the

Cumulative %

23.925
40.194
54.328

79.345
87.045
93.024
96.603
100.000
67.408
three cultivars.
For Fuerte, of the 11 initial variables, 10 take part in
the first component, which alone accounts for 62.4%
of the initial variance. On the other hand, myristic
acid is the only variable in the second component.
These results indicate that 10 out of the 11 initial
Variance %

quality parameters are dependent (correlated) and

Hass

23.925
16.269
14.135

5.979
3.579
3.397
13.080
11.937
7.700
altogether define the fruit’s overall quality. In other
words, assuming that the fruit composition in terms
of moisture, proteins, sugars, oils and fatty acids
influences overall Fuerte quality, the latter is nearly
a one-dimensional construct of the type
Eigenvalue

QualityFuerte Y = 0.864 moisture − 0.925 proteins

2.153
1.464
1.272
1.177
1.074
0.693
0.538
0.322
0.306

+ 0.677 sugars − 0.935 oils + (0.897 palmitic acid

+ 0.782 palmitoleic acid + 0.648 stearic acid
− 0.982 oleic acid + 0.904 linoleic acid)
Cumulative %

99.997
100.000
62.435
74.295
83.309
89.353
94.291
96.918
98.159
99.305
99.794

From the magnitude and direction of the coefficients,

one can conclude that moisture, palmitic acid,
palmitoleic acid and linoleic acid influence quality
strongly positively, sugars and stearic acid moderate-
ly positively, and proteins, oils and oleic acids
2.543E-03

strongly negatively.
Variance %
Fuerte

For Ettinger, of the 11 initial variables, six take

0.203
62.435
11.860
9.014
6.044
4.938
2.627
1.240
1.147
0.489

part in the first component (moisture, sugars, myristic

acid, palmitoleic acid, stearic acid and linoleic acid),
which alone accounts for 46.6% of the initial variance.
Another three variables participate in the second
2.238E-02
2.797E-04
5.377E-02

component (proteins, palmitic acid and oleic acid),

Eigenvalue

while the remaining two variables belong to the

6.868
1.305
0.992
0.665
0.543
0.289
0.136
0.126

third component (oils and linolenic acid). These

results indicate that overall Ettinger quality is a three-
dimensional construct of the type
Table 4. Results of principal component analysis: variance of initial variables explained

QualityEttinger Y1 = 0.973 moisture − 0.856 sugars

Cumulative %

+ (0.864 myristic acid − 0.900 palmitoleic acid

46.685
73.008
91.937

100.000
100.000
100.000
100.000
100.000
100.000
100.000
100.000

+ 0.861 stearic acid + 0.749 linoleic acid)

QualityEttinger Y2 = −0.654 proteins
− (0.645 palmitic acid − 0.829 oleic acid)
−6.155E-15
−1.203E-15
−2.557E-15
5.700E-15
3.990E-15
1.500E-15
7.124E-15

QualityEttinger Y3 = 0.592 oils + 0.717 linolenic acid

Variance %
Ettinger

46.685
26.323
18.928
8.063

In other words, while for Fuerte all variables are

correlated to construct one-dimensional quality, for
Ettinger there appear to exist three underlying quality
dimensions, namely Y1: ‘moisture, sugars and fatty
−6.770E-16
−1.320E-16
6.720E-16
4.389E-16
1.650E-16
7.836E-16

−2.810E-16

acids’, Y2: ‘proteins and fatty acids’ and Y3: ‘oils and
Eigenvalue

5.135
2.896
2.082
0.887

fatty acids’. Hence moisture is correlated with sugars in

the first dimension, while proteins and oils determine
quality independently from each other in the second
and third dimensions respectively and from moisture
and sugar in the first dimension. As for different fatty
acids, they appear to function differently according to
component
Principal

their type, and influence quality in any case, being

correlated with either moisture and sugars, or proteins
10
11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

or oils.

490 J Sci Food Agric 84:485–492 (online: 2004)

 Seasonal variation in the composition of Cretan avocados

Similarly to Ettinger, for Hass, of the nine initial

5.78 × 10−2
−0.221
−0.110
0.479
0.302

0.492
0.225

−0.368
−0.173
variables (no data were recorded for myristic and

PC5
stearic acids), four take part in the first component
(proteins, sugars, oils and palmitoleic acid), which
alone accounts for only 23.9% of the initial variance.
A single variable participates in the second component

−9.34 × 10−2
(oleic acid). Of the remaining three variables, two
belong to the third component (linoleic acid and
−0.631
0.395
0.165
0.230

0.371
0.438

−0.223

−0.393
PC4

linolenic acid) and the last takes part in the

fourth component (moisture). No variable appears to
participate in the fifth component, which is the weakest
of all, with a very limited variance explained of 11.9%
Hass

These results indicate that overall Hass quality is a

−4.87 × 10−2
2.668 × 10−2

more complicated construct of the type

0.278
−0.347
0.224

0.382
0.123

0.728
0.575
PC3

QualityHass Y1 = −0.526 proteins + 0.760 sugars

− 0.653 oils + 0.646 palmitoleic acid
QualityHass Y2 = 0.794 oleic acid
−0.101
−0.495
0.200
0.517

0.389
0.171

0.794
−0.217
0.210

QualityHass Y3 = 0.728 linoleic acid

PC2

+ 0.575 linolenic acid

QualityHass Y4 = −0.631 moisture
0.156
−0.526
0.760
−0.653

0.311
0.646

−0.415
0.172
0.364
PC1

In other words, there appear to exist four underlying

quality dimensions, namely Y1: ‘proteins, sugars, oils
and fatty acids’, Y2: ‘fatty acids’, Y3: ‘fatty acids’ and
Y4: ‘moisture’. Hence proteins, sugars and oils are
−3.92 × 10−2

correlated in the first dimension, while fatty acids

−0.204

0.444
0.217

0.110
0.639
0.159
0.178
−0.560
−0.116

−0.462
PC2

determine quality independently from each other in

the second and third dimensions respectively (with
Fuerte

the exception of palmitoleic acid) and from proteins,

sugars and oils in the first dimension.
Overall, one can conclude that the determinants
0.864
−0.925
0.677
−0.935
0.229
0.897
0.782
0.648
−0.982
0.904
0.513

of avocado quality are interrelated in different ways

PC1

in the three cultivars under examination. The degree

of complexity of the quality construct also varies,
increasing from Fuerte to Ettinger and then to Hass.
4.936 × 10−2

4.503 × 10−2
−0.515
−0.327
0.592
0.146
0.454

−0.156
0.459
−0.395
0.717
PC3

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0.217
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PC2

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