GROWTH AND YIELD OF KIWIFRUIT VINES PLANTED AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES ALONG THE ROW

Trials were carried out for 6 years on a ‘Hayward’ orchard trained to T-bar and spaced at 4.5m x 1.5m and 4.5m x 3.0m.
Observations concerned the following parameters: fruit production and mean fruit weight, dry matter partitioning among the various vine parts, leaf area, root system distribution.
Readily available water (RAW) in the soil volume explored by the roots was also calculated.
LAI was markedly higher in HDP as compared to LDP during the first 4 years, whereas in the 6 ^th year this relation was reversed.
HDP production per hectare was 12 MT/ha greater than that of LDP in the first year of cropping, whereas in the 6^th year the cumulated difference was only 19 MT/ha.
Mean HDP fruit weight tended to decrease progressively while in LDP this parameter remained high and fairly constant.
Competition among root systems in HDP resulted in limited soil exploration: only 1406 m³/ha in the 6^th year in HDP as compared to 2301 m³/ha in LDP. In the same year, RAW was 5.2 l/m ² of leaves in LDP as compared to 4.3 l/m² in HDP. Overall, the HDP system leads to higher productivity during the early years, but cropping efficiency and fruit quality tend to decline rapidly.
In contrast, LDP guarantees a good balance between growth and production, better soil utilization and more satisfactory fruit quality.

III International Symposium on Kiwifruit

R. Massai, D. Piccotino, M. Raffaelli, C. Xiloyannis, G. Baroni

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1997.444.24