SOMIS, Calif. (AP) — Andreas Tompros lost his home and at least a third of his avocado orchard to a wildfire last year, but the 47-year-old grower is not worried about his farm making a comeback.

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Consumers’ love for avocados in the United States seems to know no bounds.

The Knights Templar and La Familia Michoacana took nearly 13 percent of profits from Mexico’s national avocado production over the course of five years, demonstrating the type of criminal incursion ...

Some of the most successful avocado growers are not traditional agriculturists but professionals, who left careers in engineering, corporate management, academia, and technology to pursue farming ...