Miho, Shizuoka Pref. 鈥� Tsutomu Uchida, 64, wipes the sweat from his face as he walks through a farming plot filled with avocado trees in a port district of Shizuoka. An occasional ocean breeze offers brief respite from the scorching afternoon heat in mid-June as Mount Fuji looms in the distance.
鈥淭his kid, right here, is Mexicola, which can be harvested earlier (than other varieties), around September,鈥� Uchida says, affectionately pointing to one of the 19 varieties of avocado he grows there. Most trees are less than 2 meters tall.
鈥淎vocado trees are usually much taller, like 5 meters, if you let them grow. I鈥檝e cut the tops off the trees, so harvesting is easier.鈥�
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