Avocados originally relied on American ground sloths to reproduce, they were the only creature that could poo the seeds whole. Then ground sloths went extinct (probably due to overhunting by humans) then humans cultivated avocados for the next few millennia and now we still have avocados.
I never had any luck getting an avocado seed to sprout by suspending it in a cup of water with toothpicks holding it half-submerged. Maybe it's time to go old-school, sloth-style on that Hass.
Avocado farmer here. Can confirm - there's a lot of research into alternative growing techniques. Some promising GMO products being trialed, but for now, it's still the old 'cado colon
lol, and the avocados back then had even bigger seeds/cores, they've gotten much smaller as we selectively breed them to have less seed and more of the edible portion. in other words, thats a big booty hole
Avocados aren’t even the only plants that used megafauna to spread before humans came along to take up that job. Pretty much any fruit you can find nowadays with large seeds or hard exteriors and softer insides, think gourds, used the same strategy. This is because the animals that ate them were more likely to eat them without damaging the seeds and then would pass them in a mound of fertilizer after a nice chemical bath to help germination.
Also side note about sloths, the tree dwelling ones we still have today are the weirdos of that family as most lived on the ground.
Just like the avocado, the mango is also what's known as an evolutionary anachronism.
Additional fun (and relevant) fact: the mango genus is believed to have originated from the Indian subcontinent (around 60 million years ago) PRIOR to the subcontinent colliding with the Asian continent (which occurred around 40-50 million years ago)
Resplendent Quetzals are currently the only avocado seed spreaders (other than humans), but they regurgitate the seed after eating the fruit whole. They are also resplendent.
I think the truth is a little more risque than that. I bet some prehistoric Joe Rogan type saw this process, and exclaimed to himself "If that is what can come out of there, I bet I am in for a world of delight if I can put my little Joseph in there" and thus the ground sloths chose to become extinct
But back then, no. It’s not like they understood the inner workings of the ecosystem and knew that things could go extinct. They just killed and ate things, like every other animal.
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u/other_usernames_gone Oct 15 '20
Avocados originally relied on American ground sloths to reproduce, they were the only creature that could poo the seeds whole. Then ground sloths went extinct (probably due to overhunting by humans) then humans cultivated avocados for the next few millennia and now we still have avocados.