Frost, fire and water cutbacks have delivered a mighty punch to
the gut of the California avocado industry. Yield is down, as
are the farmers. Fruit-set for next season is looking grim, and
while growers struggle to regain their feet, a nonstop stampede
of Mexican, Chilean and other foreign avocados is flooding the
market and deceiving consumers into thinking all's gravy in the
avocado biz. But it's not. The base of the problem stems back to
Jan. 1, when an emergency court order, intended to protect the
threatened Sacramento Delta smelt from death by pumping, called
for a 30 percent cutback on water flow from the delta to
Southern California. Farmers, in turn, received a prompt 30
percent reduction in irrigation water. Avocados, a jungle fruit
being grown in the desert, require between three and four acre-
feet of water per acre per year to remain vibrant and fruitful.
(Grapes, by contrast, require just one, as do blackberries.)
Thus, the men and women who grow avocados have been put in tight
quarters, and to