New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science abstracts
Flower quality and fruit size in kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa)
H. G. MCPHERSON
The Horticulture and Food Research
Institute of New Zealand Ltd
Mt Albert Research Centre
Private Bag 92 169
Auckland, New Zealand
A. C. RICHARDSON+
The Horticulture and Food Research
Institute of New Zealand Ltd
Kerikeri Research Centre
P. O. Box 23
Kerikeri, New Zealand
email: arichardson@hortresearch.co.nz
W. P. SNELGAR
K. J. PATTERSON
M. B. CURRIE
The Horticulture and Food Research
Institute of New Zealand Ltd
Mt Albert Research Centre
Private Bag 92 169
Auckland, New Zealand
+Corresponding author.
Abstract Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa (A. Chev.)
C.F. Liang et A.R. Ferguson `Hayward') vines were grown at five sites that
represented the climatic range of the major kiwifruit growing regions of New
Zealand. Hydrogen cyanamide was applied to half the vines at three of the
sites. Measurements of flower quality over two seasons were used to determine
if this was linked to fruit weight at harvest. There was a progressive increase
in ovary fresh weight and ovary dry weight from warmer to cooler sites.
Hydrogen cyanamide increased ovary fresh weight by between 6 and 20% and fruit
weight by up to 11% at the two warmest sites. Variation in ovary fresh weight
and dry weight accounted for some of the variation in fruit weight 170 days
from flowering in the first season, but over both seasons, by itself, had no
predictive value. The highest correlation between fruit weight and flower
quality across both seasons was with the ratio of pedicel length to seed number
(r2 = 0.56). The relatively consistent relationships that
have previously been found between crop load and average fruit weight and
between flower quality and fruit weight at harvest did not apply over different
seasons and regions.
Keywords Actinidia deliciosa; kiwifruit; flower
quality; fruit size; fruit growth; hydrogen cyanamide
H00010
Received 13 April 2000; accepted 30 March 2001
New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, 2001, Vol. 29:
93-101
0014-0671/01/2902-0093 $7.00 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand 2001
PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (647K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)
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