Avocado is still a relatively unfamiliar fruit in many parts of the world, and with its remarkable growth in consumption, it is important to identify new regions capable of producing high-quality fruit.

Currently, the main avocado markets are Europe and the United States, where consumption increased by 16% and 4%, respectively, during the last season. However, Latin America must also be considered, particularly Chile, which stands out for its high per capita consumption, and Argentina, where avocado consumption doubled during the last season.

Considering the growth in consumption in Brazil, especially in São Paulo, developing avocado production in Europe and Africa is essential. In the near future, South American production may increasingly need to meet the growing demand within the southern part of the continent.

The Mediterranean climate, characterized by intense heatwaves, makes it difficult to achieve high yields, causing physiological stress, fruit abortion, and a greater incidence of wood-decay fungi in avocado trees. Moving away from the Mediterranean and toward the Atlantic coast, climatic conditions improve, offering greater potential for productivity.

Pruning practices aimed at opening up tree canopies to improve fruit set within the inner canopy, where flowers and developing fruit are protected from the wind, are showing promising results. Moving away from overcrowded canopies to encourage production on young wood is another important step.

These practices, combined with improvements in irrigation systems using three properly positioned drip lines, organic mulching, cover crops between tree rows to improve thermal conditions, and salinity management within the wetted root zone, are helping reveal the true productive potential of Moroccan avocado orchards.

Greater attention is also being given to cation competition and biostimulation through organic matter, amino acids, seaweed extracts, and silicon.

Although heatwaves are inevitable and may occur as early as late April, when fruit has just set, or in August, when developing fruit is better protected by spring–summer vegetative growth, proper use of elevated micro-sprinklers can help orchards withstand abiotic stress.

The long, warm Moroccan autumn then provides an opportunity for trees to recover their growth, catch up on fruit development and filling, stimulate root growth, and support autumn vegetative flushing, which is the longest and most vigorous growth flush of the season.

Over the past four years, field experience in Morocco has led to the development of an avocado management protocol adapted to extreme and very extreme growing conditions, with encouraging results in producing high-quality fruit.

These practices have demonstrated that avocado orchards can withstand the Chergui, the hot, dry wind affecting Morocco, both on farms located near the coast (approximately 10 km away) and those situated farther inland (more than 50 km from the coast).

These experiences should continue to be documented, published, and shared so that new avocado projects can start on solid foundations, with high-quality nursery plants, proper soil preparation, and appropriately designed irrigation systems.

Morocco has significant potential. What is now needed is greater knowledge sharing and dissemination of practical experience.

The seminar held in Tangier provided an excellent opportunity to initiate this exchange of information and field experience among avocado industry professionals.