Evaluation of fruiting potential and berry quality of kolomikta kiwi Actinidia kolomikta

Abstract

The criteria for the extensive cultivation of kolomikta kiwi are their distinctive and valuable properties, such as resistance to pests and diseases, winter-hardiness and significant amounts of biologically valuable substances [1,2]. The heterogenous genetic material of A. kolomikta in Kaunas Botanical Garden of VMU was a precondition for the comprehensive biochemical investigations. On the basis of the obtained results it is possible to state that the total number of fruiting shoots and average berry mass per metre length of two-year-old branch are important indexes in assessing and selection of cultivars. Female cultivars and clones of kolomikta kiwi differed significantly in the amounts of ascorbic acid, sugars, soluble dry solids, and chlorophylls. The average amount of ascorbic acid in the berries was 876 mg/100g. The largest amount of ascorbic acid was typical of the cultivars ‘VIR-1’, ‘Landė’, and ‘Krupnoplodnaja, the berries of which accumulated 1145.7, 1044.2, and 1022.3 mg/100g of ascorbic acid, respectively. Reliable differences in the amounts of chlorophylls were ascertained between the different cultivars. The total amount of a and b chlorophylls attained from 3.18 mg/100 g (‘Sentiabrskaja’) to 5.30 mg/100g (clone F1M1). Chlorophyll a on the average amounted to 2.4 mg/100g and chlorophyll b to 1.8 mg/100g. Investigations of skin firmness indicated that the technical maturity index was 230-322 N/cm2.