What's eating my fuerte avocado?

Fuerte Avocado shares the key pests of all Persea americana cultivars — persea mite, avocado thrips, and shot-hole borer — but its thinner skin makes thrips scarring especially visible. Greenhouse thrips also colonize the leaves. Rats and opossums are common vertebrate raiders. Good beneficial insect habitat reduces chemical intervention needs significantly.

Brown feeding patches on upper leaf surface in circular colonies; premature leaf drop weakens tree and reduces yield Predatory mite releases; horticultural oil sprays; avoid dust on leaves by wetting access roads

Silvery-grey stippling on leaf undersides; black varnish-like frass; fruit surface scarring Spinosad or insecticidal soap; shaded interior branches most affected — prune for airflow; parasitic wasp Thripobius semiluteus is an effective biocontrol

Entry holes in bark; Fusarium dieback of branches and scaffold limbs; staining and gumming at wounds Remove infested branches; no fully effective chemical control; notify local agricultural authority; avoid wounding bark unnecessarily