ISHS Acta Horticulturae 694: International Symposium on Harnessing the Potential of Horticulture in the Asian-Pacific Region
WHY WERE KIWIFRUIT INITIALLY SUCCESSFUL ONLY IN NEW ZEALAND? |
| Author: | A.R. Ferguson |
| Keywords: | Actinidia chinensis, Actinidia deliciosa, domestication, history, marketing |
| Abstract:
The kiwifruit of international commerce are the fruit of Actinidia chinensis and A. deliciosa. The first botanical specimens collected were of A. chinensis but the first plants successfully cultivated outside of China were of A. deliciosa, and the kiwifruit industry that developed first in New Zealand, and then in other countries, was based on good selections of that species. At the beginning of the 20th century, A. deliciosa was introduced into the United Kingdom, the United States and New Zealand, but in the United Kingdom and the United States, kiwifruit did not develop into a commercial crop but remained horticultural plants of limited appeal. New Zealand was fortunate in that both male and female plants were available, fruit were produced soon after the first introduction, and nurserymen propagated and distributed the plants. The first commercial orchards gave good returns and growers were therefore encouraged to plant more kiwifruit. Selection of the cultivar ‘Hayward’ was probably the most critical step in the development of the industry as, although this cultivar is more difficult to manage and crop, the fruit have a better flavour and withstand long-term storage better than fruit of other selections. This allowed the development of an industry based on export, with quality of the fruit when bought by the eventual consumer being one of the main drivers. | |
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