Kiwifruit - Tropical and Subtropical Fruits: Postharvest Physiology, Processing and Packaging - page 462

and these red-fleshed kiwifruits and a new pink-fleshed
variety were launched by Turners and Growers (New
Zealand) in the beginning of 2010 to international market
(Fig. 25.2).
Among different New Zealand cultivars of green-fleshed
kiwifruit A. deliciosa are 'Abbott,' 'Bruno,' 'Monty,' and
'Hayward.' 'Hayward' cultivar is the most planted green-
fleshed kiwifruit cultivar for international trade and de-
livers more than 90% of the world production. This cul-
tivar was selected by New Zealand plant breeder, Hay-
ward Wright, in the 1920s. 'Hayward' cultivar has large
fruits with a broad-oval shape and elliptical cross sec-
tion (Fig. 25.2). The skin is greenish brown with dense
brown hairs. The flesh is light green. Compared to green-
fleshed kiwifruits, yellow-fleshed kiwifruits from 'Jinta'
and 'Hort16' cultivars have smooth and hairless skin, more
aromatic flavor, and are sweeter. Since green-fleshed ki-
wifruit cultivars have longer shelf life than yellow or
red ones, this cultivar is mostly chosen for long-distance
trade and is widely available in the local and international
markets.
The development of kiwifruit have been done by tra-
ditional breeding and biotechnological techniques. Indus-
trial growers mainly propagate kiwifruits from cuttings (ei-
ther softwood or hardwood cuttings) or by tissue culture
and rarely by grafting. The latter technique is carried out
mostly for reworking purposes such as converting existing
kiwifruit orchards to new or other cultivars or improving
the pollinizers' distribution in the orchards.

1.50

1.35

1.18

1.20

1.02

0.89

0.84

0.90

0.60

0.30

0.00

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Figure 25.1. World production of kiwifruit since
1990 (source: FAO, 2011).

explored and planted (Fig. 25.2). Various A. deliciosa
cultivars have been planted for commercial green-fleshed
kiwifruit production such as 'Abbott,' 'Bruno,' 'Monty,'
'Green Light,' 'Summerkiwi,' 'Hayward,' 'TopStar,'
'Earligreen,' 'Bo-Erica,' and other cultivars. Commercial
yellow-fleshed kiwifruit cultivars are dominantly from
Jintao ('Kiwigold') and Hort16A (the fruit sold using
the name “ZESPRI” or “GOLD” kiwifruit) cultivars.
Plant and Food Research and Zespri (New Zealand
companies) have explored the breeding of red-fleshed
kiwifruits

from the 'Hongyang' variety (Fig. 25.3),

Table 25.1. Leading kiwifruit-producing, -exporting, and -importing countries, by quantity (metric tons).

2009 1 2009 1 Producers 2010 Exporters Importers

Italy 415,877 Italy 379,425 Spain 140,200

New Zealand 378,500 New Zealand 361,066 Belgium 133,194

Chile 229,000 Chile 182,717 Germany 120,105

Greece 76,000 Belgium 111,378 Netherlands 72,612

France 70,422 Greece 55,751 Russian Federation 64,910

Iran 34,200 Netherlands 36,632 Japan 62,963

USA 32,024 France 22,927 France 62,907

Japan 29,900 Iran 16,909 Italy 54,730

Turkey 26,554 USA 12,395 USA 53,550

Spain 23,100 Spain 11,649 China 51,379

Portugal 14,700 Lithuania 11,345 United Kingdom 36,938

Republic of Korea 10,400 Poland 9,714 Poland 33,807

1 Latest data available.
Source: FAO (2011).