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Advanced production technology of Kiwi fruit

Presented byPawan Kumar Nagar M.sc Horti. 2nd sem

Reg. No. : 04- 2690-2015Department of HorticultureB. A. College of Agriculture

Kiwifruit

B.N.:  Actinidia deliciosaFamily: ActinidiaceaeChromosome No. : 58Origin : ChinaOther names: Chinese gooseberry, China miracle

Introduction

Kiwi is among the very few recent introductions which have surpassed in popularity due to its tremendous commercial potential in the sub Himalayan region of India.  A native to central China, it is being grown commercially in New Zealand, Italy, USA, Japan, Australia, France, Chile and Spain.  In India, kiwi was first planted in the Lal Bagh Gardens at Bangalore as an ornamental tree.  With extensive research and development support its commercial cultivation has been extended to the midhills of Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Nilgiri hills in India.

Kiwifruit is a rich source of vitamin C.The skin is a good source of flavonoid antioxidants. The kiwifruit seed contains on average 62% alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid.It also contains vitamin E and a small amount of vitamin A & potassium.

Some of the health benefits associated with the fruit include

Many scientists believe that the Sodium-to-potassium ratio is critical for heart health. This ratio is extremely favorable in kiwifruit.

The high content of Vitamin C in the fruit makes it an effective immunity booster. Regular consumption of kiwifruit ensures good Eye Health prevents Macular

degeneration. The fruit contains ample amounts of Inositol, which, as studies indicate is an

excellent way of treating depression.

Nutrition

Nutritive value per 100 g of Kiwi Principle Nutritive value Copper 0.09 mg Protein 2.1 mg Vitamin C 64 mg Sodium 2 mg Potassium 215 mg Calcium 23 mg Vitamin A 60 IU Iron 0.21 mg Vitamin B 0.019 mg

Climate

Kiwi is a deciduous vine which can withstand wide climatic conditions.  However, for high yield quality fruits, it requires 700-800 chilling hours below 7 C to break its rest period in the winter otherwise the bud break may be ⁰delayed. 

It may be damaged by:- (I) Autumn frost on the crop and the non dormant plant from October end to

November end (II) Frost at the end of the winter before and during the budburst (III) Spring frost after budburst. 

• In summer, high temperature (> 35 C) accompanied by high insulation and low ⁰humidity may cause scorching of leaves. 

In India, kiwi can successfully be grown at 800 -1,500 m above mean sea level.  • A rainfall of about 150 cm/ year is sufficient. 

Soil

It can be grown on a wide range of soils but deep, rich, well drained sandy loam soils are ideal. 

A soil pH slightly less than 6.9 results in maximum yield but higher pH up to 7.3 affects adversely because of Mn deficiency.

Varieties

1. AbbottThis is an early flowering and early maturing cultivar.  The oblong, medium sized, fruits are covered with dense hairs.  They are very sweet in taste with lower ascorbic acid content and medium titratable acidity.

  2. Allison

Fruits resemble those of Abbott, except that these are slightly broader in proportion to its length.  The petals of its flowers are overlapping and crimped along with margins.  It is an early ripening, heavy bearer and sweet in taste.  Ascorbic acid and titratable acidity are on the lower side.  This variety is most suited for Himachal Pradesh. 

3. Bruno

This cultivar requires comparatively less chilling period.  The fruits are tapering in shape towards the stem end.  They are longest among all the cultivars.  The fruits is dark brown having very dense, short and bristly hair, highest in ascorbic acid and titratable acidity. The bearing is very heavy. 

4. Tomuri

It is a good pollenizer for Hayward and Monty, the late flowering kiwi.  Flowers appear usually in groups of 5.

5. MontyIt is a late flowering cultivar but fruit maturity is not late.  The fruits are oblong, resembling those of Abbot and Allison. Being a highly prolific bearer cultivar, sometimes it needs hand thinning for obtaining good sized fruits. The fruit is somewhat wider towards blossom end with higher acidity and medium sugar content. 

 

6. Hayward

Most popular cultivar or the world, Hayward is comparatively shy

bearer with a tendency of biennial bearing. 

The fruit is broad and flat, being much wider in relation to length. 

It is superior in flavour with high sugar and ascorbic acid content. 

It requires comparatively more chilling hours.

Planting

Land having very gentle slope is ideal for it.  If possible its rows should be oriented in a north south direction to avail maximum sunlight. Preparation of pits, mixing of farmyard manure and filling of pits should be completed by December.   In T-bar, a spacing or 4m from row to row and 5-6 m from plant to plant is common, whereas in pergola system, a spacing of 6 m from row to row should be maintained.  January is ideal time for planting.  The soil should be firmly placed around the roots. Chinese gooseberry is a dioecious plant; therefore, interplanting of male plants is essential for fruit production.  Adequate pollination is essential for the development of good sized fruit while poor pollination may limit productivity.  In India, only 2 male clones-Tomuri and Allison are generally interplanted.  Planting male and female plants in a 1:9 ratio is common. 

Propagation

Hard wood cuttingHard wood cuttings are prepared during the dormant season (January-February) from the previous year summer growth. Well matured dormant shoots are used for cutting having at least three healthy bold buds from middle of the shoot. Tips of the shoots should be avoided as they give a very low rate of rooting.  The cuttings of the central and basal parts are ideal.  Cuttings having more number of spurs should not be selected.  The cuttings are treated with IBA (500 ppm) for 10 seconds and set deeply in moist rooting medium.  To prevent the cuttings from desiccation and rotting the top portion of the cuttings are waxed.  A rooting medium consisting of farmyard manure: sand: leaf compost: soil in the ratio of 1:1:1:1 results in highest rooting in open conditions.  Irrigations are given frequently.  Adequate drainage should be provided to keep the nursery bed weed free. 

 

Soft wood cuttings generally root easier and quicker than hard wood cuttings but they require more attention and sophisticated propagating structure (mist chamber). 

 Semi hard wood cutting

Semi hard wood cutting with 3 buds and 0.5 – 1.0 cm in thickness from the middle portion of the current season’s growth are taken in July. A wound of about 1 cm length is made on one side of the base just below the node.  Lower leaf on the basal bud are removed while two leaves are retained but reduced to 20- 50 % by a circular cut maintaining the natural leaf shape.  The cuttings are treated with sand as the rooting media.  Intermittent mist should be applied at 10 min. interval.In this method 70 -75 successes is achieved. 

 Grafting Kiwi plants are also propagated by grafting.  Though it takes almost two years to develop a nursery plant through grafting or budding onto the seedlings but this method is easiest and most economical.The kiwi plants can be raised through tongue grafting of kiwi seedlings during January- February.

BuddingSeedlings become ready for budding normally at the end of first growing season when the stem diameter is about 6-8 mm.  One or two buds are inserted on the main stem by T budding method at 10 cm above the ground level.Chip budding during mid February results in bud take as high as 95%.The bud is firmly secured into position by tagging with a polythene tape.When the bud has taken, the top or the vine is cut above the union during the following dormant season.The protection to the young growing shoot from the bud is very important because it is very brittle and easily breaks.

Training

The main aim of training is to establish and maintain a well formed framework of main branches and fruiting arms.  The supporting branches should be erected even before planting the vines or thereafter as early as possible. Three types of supporting structure (fences) are constructed.  A single wire fence is commonly adopted though another wire is sometimes provided by some growers and then structure takes the form of knife in system. One 2.5 mm thick tensile wire is strung on the top of pillars which are 1.8- 2.0 m high above the ground.  The pillars are made of wood, concrete or iron and are erected at a distance or 6 m from each other in a row. The wire tension at installation should not be over- strained otherwise wire can break at knot due to crop load.

A cross arm (1.5 m) on the pole also carries two outrigger wires.  This training is known as T-bar or overload trellis/ telephone system.  The laterals arising from the main branch are trained on canopy of three wires.  A flat topped network or crisscross wires is prepared to train vines on pergola or bower system.  The system is costly and difficult to manage but gives higher yield. 

Pruning

The vine should grow 2-4 m every year which may become over crowded and unmanageable if not controlled by both summer and winter pruning. The fruits develop only on current season’s growth, arising from the buds developed in the previous year. Only basal 3-6 buds of the current season’s growth are productive.  The shoots developed on older wood by heading back do not fruit normally in the first season.  Good quality fruits develop on the exposed vines.  

A shoot dies gradually if it is pruned just beyond the fruiting bud.Thus pruning in kiwi should be carried out in such a way that the fruiting areas are available every year requiring the wood to be young.  This is achieved by following a 3-4 year lateral replacement system which becomes a pruning cycle. In the beginning, a lateral arising from main rod is cut back in winter the provide enough space for 4-5 fruiting shoots at 4-5 bud intervals between two such shoots. The strong uprights or the shots arising at undesirable points are pruned in spring when they have not grown too long.  This is more applicable to Hayward variety, in which the shoots of only medium vigour bear fruits.  In others, vigorous shoots can be pulled back to horizontal position to convert them into fruiting wood. Thus the summer pruning constitutes in shortening back of fruiting arms, thinning out of crisscross and shading shoots. 

The secret of successful summer pruning is in the selection and encouragement of correct laterals to bear fruits in the next year and expose and vine to the sun.In dormant pruning, the fruiting lateral is cut back to two vegetative buds beyond the last fruit.  In the second year, these vegetative buds produce the fruiting shoots which are pruned again. The arms on the lateral shoot and allowed to fruit during third or fourth year.  After this, the laterals are removed from the main branch and other laterals are selected and pruned accordingly so that the balance between vegetative and reproductive growth is maintained for the continuity in fruit production.  The fruiting laterals which have lost vigour or become over crowded are remove to encourage the development of new laterals. Since the fruiting arm is removed after the third year it implies that about one third of the total fruiting arms are cut away from the vine each year.    Dormant pruning must be completed by mid February each year. 

PollinationFor a good yield of fruit, one male vine for every three to eight female vines is required.Kiwifruit is notoriously difficult to pollinate, because the flowers are not very attractive to bees.Generally, the most successful approach, though, is saturation pollination, where the bee populations are made so large (by placing hives in the orchards at a concentration of about 8 hives per hectare) that bees are forced to use this flower because of intense competition for all flowers within flight distance.

Manuring and fertilization

Thus N, P and K should be applied on yearly basis, while the other elements on requirement basis. 

Generally, a basal dose of 20 kg farmyard manure, 0.5 kg NPK mixture containing 15% N is applied each year. 

After five years of age, 850-900g N, 500-600g P, 800-900 g K and farmyard manure should be applied every year.

In contrast, excess levels of B and Na are harmful.  The N fertilizer should be applied in two equal doses, half to two thirds in January-February and the rest after fruit set in April- May. 

 

Aftercare

Permanent soil culture predominantly with clover and clean basin is the best system of soil management. 

In view of the danger of soil erosion in hilly areas, sod culture is more justified. 

The natural weed cover provides good sod and helps conserve soil and organic matter. 

The clover sod is most common in New Zealand. The sod or the natural weed cover should be regularly mowed and can be used as mulch (10cm thick) during summers.

Green manuring and intercropping with vegetables and leguminous crops can be practiced during initial 5 years of plantation. 

Irrigation

Kiwi plants require much water due to their vigorous vegetative growth, leaf size, vine habit and high humidity in their natural habitat. 

Therefore, it cannot be successfully grown in rain fed areas. 

Moisture stress during summer adversely affects fruit size and crop returns, therefore summer irrigation is essential to cope up with growing period of fruit. 

Irrigation is also needed during September and October when the fruit is in initial stage for growing and development. 

Irrigation at 10-15 days interval is quite satisfactory for good economic returns.

Harvesting and postharvest management

It takes 4-5 years for a kiwi vine to start bearing worthwhile fruits and 7-8 years for commercial production. 

The harvesting period varies from area to area. 

The fruits mature earlier at the lower altitude and later at higher altitudes because of variation in temperature. 

Under Solan conditions, the fruits can be harvested from October end to third week of November depending upon cultivars, whereas under Shimla condition, the fruits are harvested from last week of November to December. 

Kiwi fruits having 6.2% TSS are ideal for harvesting. But delay in harvesting deteriorates their storability. 

They are easily harvested by snapping off the fruit at the abscission layer at the base of the stalk.

At least two pickings are made.

Larger sized berries should be harvested first while smaller ones should be allowed to increase in size and improve in quality. 

After harvesting, the fruits are rubbed with a coarse cloth to remove stiff hairs found on their surface. 

Hard fruits are transported to the market.  Subsequently, they lose their firmness in two weeks at room temperature and become edible. 

On an average, kiwi yield varies from 50 to 100 kg fruits/ vine.  Vines on trellis produce about 25 tons/ ha after seven years. 

Storage

The fruits can be kept in a good condition in a cool place without refrigeration up to eight weeks.  It can be kept for 4-6 months in a cool storage at -0.6 C to 0 C.  ⁰ ⁰In India, there are no grading standards for kiwi. In international market, fruit weight of 72 kg is the minimum for export while 100 g is the preferred weight. In India the fruits weighting 70 g and above are graded as ‘A’ grade fruits and between 40 and 70 g are graded ‘B’ grade fruits.  Since there is no standard package for kiwi fruits, card board boxes of 3-4 kg capacity are generally used for packing. Polythene liners in storage cases are very effective in maintaining high humidity and can be used to maintain fruits in good condition for a longer period.

Insect and Pest 

1. Boxelder Bug Damage

Feeding before bloom is known to cause bud and fruit drop, as well as fruit malformation, which is apparent when the fruit is cut in half, but can also easily be seen when the fruit is left intact.

ManagementBoxelder bugs are mainly found in vineyards near the coast. Treatment, if needed, should be aimed at adult bugs and applied in early spring as flower buds are developing. It has been observed that deformities of the fruit are lessened if a bloom time spray is applied.

2. Armored Scales

Damage

Scale insects feed on plant fluids and can be located on the bark or fruit of kiwi.Heavy infestations affect the vigor of the plant and result in the presence of scales on fruit, causing it to be off graded.

ManagementAlthough management for all three species is the same, biological control may play a significant role in the management of greedy and latania scales. If the previous year's crop had an economic infestation of any of these scales, treatments are warranted.

Diseases

1. Crown Gall Symptoms

Foliar symptoms typical of a root and/or crown rot pathogen are lack of vigor, small leaves, poor terminal growth, open canopy, and yield reduction. Galls are the most obvious symptoms of crown gall; however, they are not always visible.

DamageAgrobacterium tumefaciens is primarily disseminated by infected plant material or in soil during cultivation. It enters the plant only through wounds, most commonly on roots or the crown. The roots of young vines may be injured during transplanting, while older vines can be injured by common cultural practices that use machinery. Additionally, vines may be wounded by frost, herbicide, pruning, removal of suckers, or they may develop growth cracks.

ManagementControl of crown gall is best achieved by avoiding injury to vines. A minimum of handling during transplanting and care during cultural practices using machinery should greatly reduce the risk of wounding.

2. Armillaria root rot Symptoms

Vines infected with Armillaria root rot usually completely collapse. Dark, rootlike structures called rhizomorphs grow from the root into the soil after symptoms develop on vines.

DamageThe fungal pathogen survives on diseased wood and roots below ground for many years. Flood waters sometimes spread infected roots in a vineyard. The fungus is favored by soil that is continually damp. Although the pathogen may produce mushrooms around the base of the vine trunk, they are not considered significant in disease spread.

ManagementWhen clearing land for planting or replanting vines, carefully remove and burn roots 1 inch or greater in diameter. Ensure that vines are properly irrigated and not overwatered.

Disorders

1. Freezing DamageFlesh translucency starting at the stem end of the fruit and progressing toward the blossom end as the severity increases. Susceptible fruit become somewhat yellow fleshed with prolonged storage. There was no "graininess" observed in the fruit that showed these symptoms. Freezing damage can occur on early picked kiwifruit when stored at temperatures below 0°C (32°F) or when subjected to an early frost in the vineyard.

2. Hard-Core This disorder is induced by exposure of kiwifruit to ethylene plus carbon dioxide levels above 8 percent. The fruit core fails to ripen when the remainder of the fruit is soft and ripe.

3. Internal Breakdown

These symptoms start as a slight discoloration (water soaking) at the blossom end of the fruit. With time this progresses around the blossom end and ultimately encompasses a large part of the fruit. As symptoms progress a "graininess" develops below the fruit surface beginning in the area around the blossom end of the fruit.

4. Pericarp Granulation

The occurrence of granulation is predominantly at the stylar end of the fruit, but as in the case of translucency may extend up the sides of fruit. This disorder also is more severe with prolonged storage and after ripening at 20°C (68°F).