DEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF ‘BABY KIWI’ (ACTINIDIA ARGUTA PLANCH.)

The vines of Actinidia arguta have the reputation of being difficult to manage, the fruit ripen irregularly on the vine and the storage life and shelf life of the fruit is limited compared to those of A. chinensis ‘Hort16A’ or A. deliciosa ‘Hayward’. However, the wonderful flavour and convenience of the fruit more than compensate for these apparent difficulties.

There have been many attempts over the past 100 years to grow A. arguta commercially.
Most attempts have been unsuccessful because of the difficulties in managing the vine and the fruit and because the fruit has a relatively short storage life.
Commercial production is now underway on a small scale in Oregon, USA, in Europe, New Zealand and South America.

We describe a number of New Zealand selections of A. arguta that are currently being commercialized.
These selections have been chosen on the basis of good productivity, good fruit size and flavour, a range of complementary maturity dates to extend the season, and good storage and shelf life.

V International Symposium on Kiwifruit

M.H. Williams, L.M. Boyd, M.A. McNeilage, E.A. MacRae, A.R. Ferguson, R.A. Beatson, P.J. Martin

: Actinidia arguta, plant breeding, ‘Anna’, baby kiwi, hardy kiwifruit, ‘Hortgem Tahi’

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2003.610.8