3. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
KIWI
• Actinidia deliciosa Var. Deliciosa
• Chinese Gooseberry, China's miracle fruit/ Horticultural wonder of New Zealand'.
• Kiwi fruit is deciduous fruit of oblong shape, having rusty brown hairs and look like a sapota fruit.
• The fruit was known as Chinese gooseberry even in New Zealand, but to
promote sale, it was named as kiwifruit because of its brownish color and hairy
appearance like flightless bird kiwi, which is the national bird of New Zealand.
• It has been assessed as one of the important future fruits of our country because of
its wider adaptability, high nutritive and medicinal value, precocity in bearing and
higher yields and has no serious pests and diseases.
5. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
Nutritive value of Kiwi
Fruits are highly acclaimed for its nutritive value as it is a rich source of vitamin C
and E, fibre contents and minerals like phosphorus, potassium and calcium. Now-a-
days, fresh cut kiwifruits are also available in cities.
It is sweet sour in taste and has delicate distinct melon like flavour similar to
strawberry, rhubarb and gooseberry.
The fruits are eaten fresh after removing the hair present on fruit peel.
In addition, several value added products like leather, nectar candy, wine, juice, jam
and jelly can also be made from it. Such products retain higher amount of vitamins
even after processing in comparison to other fruits.
7. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION
The kiwifruit is native to China.
It was introduced to Japan, Russia, Europe, USA and New Zealand at the turn of
this century. However, its cultivation gained momentum after 1960.
Now, it is being cultivated commercially in New Zealand, Japan, China USSR,
USA, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, Australia, Chile and Spain.
In India, I was introduced at Bengaluru but the plants could not survive. Later,
plants were introduced at NBPGR, Shimla.
Now it is grown in mid-hills of H.P.J. & K, Uttarakhand Sikkim, Meghalaya,
Arunachal Pradesh and Nilgiri hills in South India.
8. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
Soil
• Kiwifruit can be grown in almost all types of soils, provided adequate
soil moisture available.
• Well drained sandy loam soil, which is fairly fertile with good amount
organic matter and with a minimum depth of 1-3 m is considered as
most ideal.
• Ideal soil pH for kiwifruit is 5.0 to 6.0.
• Kiwifruit has higher water requirement but susceptible to water-logged
conditions. Therefore, provision of adequate drainage is essential in
kiwifruit orchards.
9. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
Climate
The areas, which are warmer for apple and colder for subtropical fruits, are suitable
for kiwifruit. It can be grown in subtropical regions lying between 900-1800 m
elevations, which provide 600-800 chilling hours below 7°C required for breaking
dormancy in the winter.
• Spring frost is harmful as it destroys flower buds and actively growing young shoots.
• In summer, hot weather is beneficial but a temperature higher than 35°C and low
humidity is harmful, which cause scorching of leaves and sunburn of fruits.
• Well distributed annual rainfall of 150 cm is considered good for growth and
development.
11. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
Flowering, Pollination and Fruit-Set
• Kiwifruit starts bearing sizeable crop after 4-5 years of planting.
• Flowering starts in April and fruits are ready for harvesting during last week of October
or first week of November, depending on climatic conditions and cultivar.
• Being dioecious, pollination is a problem, if male plants are not in suitable proportion.
Without good pollination, fruits will be small and not up to marketable size.
• Kiwifruit is pollinated by insects, mainly by honeybees; however, wind also plays vital
role.
• Artificial pollination by rubbing the freshly opened male flowers on the stigma of female
flowers is always beneficial.
• Kiwifruit bears profusely; as a result, there is severe competition for nutrients and
photosynthates among the fruits.
12. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
• The fruits remain small in size and thus fetch low price in the market.
Therefore, it is necessary to thin out the crop.
• Only 4-5 fruits should be retained/cane.
• Fruit thinning can be done by hands.
• However, dipping fruits in CPPU (5-10 ppm) gives best results.
• Thinning should be carried out after about a month of fruit-set.
13. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
Plant Propagation
• Kiwifruit is propagated through several ways, but propagation through cuttings is
rapid, easiest and suitable method of propagation.
• Although, different types of stem cuttings (softwood, semi-hard or hardwood) are
used but best results are obtained from hardwood cuttings, which are prepared
during dormant season from one-year-old wood.
• Such cuttings should be 15-20 cm long and of pencil thickness (0.5 to 1.0 cm
diameter) and should have at least 4 healthy buds.
14. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
• Soft wood cuttings root easier and quicker than hardwood cuttings but they
require mist chamber for creating humid conditions.
• Such cuttings should be 10-15 cm long and 0.5 to 1.0 cm thick, with at least 4
nodes/buds and should be prepared from middle portion of the shoot.
• After preparation, these cuttings should be kept turgid and be dipped in 4,000-
5,000 ppm IBA solution for 10-15 seconds and planted in mist propagation
chamber.
• Kiwifruit can also be propagated by budding and grafting, but success is limited.
15. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
Planting and Orchard Establishment
• Flat land with gentle slope is ideal for planting of kiwifruit orchard.
• The land should be thoroughly ploughed and then pits of 1 x 1 x 1m size are
dug out in December and filled with mixture consisting of 30-40 kg FYM, 1
kg super phosphate and top soil.
• Planting is done in January-February in warmer area, while in colder areas,
planting should be done during early spring to reduce the risk of frost damage.
16. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
• Planting distance depends on several factors like cultivar, soil type, and training
system. However, in all planting distance of 5x3 m for Hayward and 6 x 4 m for
vigorous cultivars is suitable in T' bar system of training, 4 x 6 m and in pergola
system of training, a spacing of 6 x 6 m is recommended for the production of
quality fruits.
• Kiwifruit is a dioecious fruit plant and hence, male plants should also be planted in
appropriate proportion. This can be achieved by 1:6, 1:8 or 1:9 male to female plant
ratio
17. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
• Training and Pruning
• Training is very important aspect in kiwifruit and it requires constant
attention.
• In fact, training structures should be erected well before planting.
• Kiwifruit is usually trained to T' bar or pergola systems.
• In T bar, the pillars of iron or concrete about 1.6 m in height above the
ground level are erected at a distance of 6 m in a row.
18. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
• A cross arm (1.5 m) is fixed on each pole, which carries
5 outriggers wires at a distance of 45 cm each.
• Initially, a strong growing shoot is selected as main trunk
to carry vine up to the wire.
• The vine is staked to provide support and is tied with
tread at frequent intervals to prevent wind damage and to
avoid the twisting of vine.
As the vine attains the height of 2 m or reaches the one permanent leader/arm is allowed to grow
out in each direction along the central wire.
The main leader can be cut just below the wire to force the production of two leader growth,
which can be trained as leaders in two opposite directions.
From permanent leaders, temporary fruiting arms 20-30 cm apart are selected, which
bear the crop.
1.6 m
6m.
5 arms
45cm dist.
19. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
Pruning
In Kiwifruit vine, management is the most important aspect for obtaining
higher yields of quality fruits.
Pruning prevents dense and tangled vine growth and allows access to bees
during flowering periods, penetration of light, insecticide and fungicide
sprays, air movements to minimize the fungal diseases.
Adequate light penetration through open vines help to ripen the fruits and
increase in its quality.
The pruning operation in Kiwifruit is carried out in two seasons, i.e. during
summer and winter.
21. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
Winter pruning:
• First year is to cut the fruiting laterals of two vegetative buds.
• Second year, these vegetative buds produce the vegetative shoots, which
are pruned again.
• The arms on the lateral shoots are allowed to fruit during third or fourth
years. After fifth year onwards, the laterals are removed, leaving sixth to
seventh fruiting spur buds from the main branch.
• Other laterals are selected and pruned accordingly so that the balance
between vegetative and reproductive growth is maintained for the continuity
in fruit production.
• Dormant pruning must be completed by mid-February each year.
22. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
Nutrient Management
• For proper growth and yield of quality fruits, kiwifruit also requires plentiful supply of manure
and fertilizer althrough manural & fertilizer requirement is affected by several factors, but a basal
dose of 20 kg FYM coupled with 0.5 kg of NPK fertilizer mixture containing 15% N be applied in
2 dressings each year/vine.
• After five years of age per vine
FYM 40 kg
N - 850-950 g
P2O5 - 500-600 g
K₂O/vine- 800-900g
• N should be applied in two split doses first during January-February and remaining half in last
week of April or up to mid-May. Full dose of P and K should be applied along with FYM in
December-January.
• The fertilizers should be applied 30 cm away from tree trunk and mixed thoroughly.
23. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
Water Management
• Water requirement of kiwifruit is high because of vigorous vegetative growth
and larger leaf surface.
• Kiwifruit is also sensitive to water stress especially during April to mid-May
when there is high demand for water due to rapid vegetative and fruit growth.
• The frequency of irrigation depends on several factors like water holding
capacity of soil, rainfall distribution, age of plant and mulch material used.
• However, in general, kiwifruit should be irrigated at 8-10 days interval.
25. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
Plant Protection
• No serious insect-pest and disease has so far been reported in kiwifruit.
• However, with the establishment and spread of kiwifruit orchards, damage may
occur due to pests like leaf roller, greasy scale, two spotted mite and thrips and
diseases like root rot, crown rot, field rot and storage rots.
• These pests and diseases can be effectively controlled by proper control
measures recommended for such pests or diseases for other fruits.
26. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
Harvesting and Fruit Yield
• Kiwifruit takes 4-5 year to start bearing and about 8-10 years for commercial bearing.
• Harvesting period depends on cultivar, climatic conditions and management of orchard.
Usually, harvesting starts in the last week of October and lasts to December up in certain
localities.
• Fruits should be harvested at full maturity to get maximum benefits.
• In this fruit, there is no significant change in fruit color with the maturity.
27. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
• Similarly, fruit size is also highly variable to predict maturity of different maturity indices,
TSS is considered as the most reliable index for harvesting kiwifruit, and TSS of 6.2% or
more has been found satisfactory.
• In addition, days from full bloom (DFFB) to harvest can also be used but calculations vary
from location to location and variety to variety.
Table: Days taken from full bloom to harvest for Allison & Hayward varieties
Cultivar Under Solan
conditions
Under Shimla
conditions
Allison 192 ± 4 days 209 + 4
Hayward 202 ± 4 223 + 4
28. Sri
Konda
Laxman
Telangana
State
Horticultural
University
Mulugu,
Siddipet
• Kiwifruits are harvested manually (Pictures attached) by shaping off their stalks
at an abscission layer, which is formed at the base of fruit stalk.
• Larger fruits are harvested first and smaller fruits later, having had the chance to
improve in size and quality.
• At least two pickings are normally made during the season.
• The yield of kiwifruit depends on several factors like region, vine care and
management, cultivar, training and pruning, pollination and several cultural
practices.
• However, well maintained kiwifruit orchard can yield 25-30 tones fruits/ha.
• Under mid-hill conditions of HP, a vine can yield about 50-60 kg fruits.
