The original intent of AvoGreen was to reduce the number of pests found on avocados. The industry was finding that the calendar spray programme which had been undertaken for many years, was not achieving the results they hoped. Growers were spraying whether they needed to or not, most times applying a chemical because the neighbour was spraying and it was cheaper to use the same chemical while the sprayer was in the district. Most times, they had no idea what insect was in their orchard, or what damage that insect may be causing.
Another major reason for changing to a more environmentally friendly practice, was to reduce the amount of sprays being used. This change was mostly driven by markets and those that saw that the harsh sprays being used were not good for the environment or those working in the orchards.
The take up of the Voluntary Avogreen system was greeted by some enthusiastically, but others very reluctantly. Those reluctant growers were not happy when the AvoGreen program became mandatory in 2010, as they didn’t believe it would work, but would only increase costs to the industry. However this was not the intent of the programme. The intent was to decrease insect damage to fruit through limiting sprays, but having targeted chemicals applied only when needed. This in turn would lead to better returns for the grower.