Improvement in kiwifruit storage life caused by withholding early‐season irrigation

Abstract

We investigated whether irrigation can affect the storage potential of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa (A. Chev.) C.F. Liang et A.R. Ferguson).Two experiments were carried out on mature kiwifruit vines growing in a deep silt loam near Gisborne, New Zealand. Experiment 1 (1990/91) mainly compared the effects of irrigation applied to replace different fractions of the shortfall between the weekly totals of potential evapotranspiration and rainfall. It also included a treatment in which early-season irrigation was withheld. Experiment 2 (1991/92) compared the effects of withholding irrigation at different times during the season. Fruit firmness was measured by penetrometer at intervals during storage. Withholding irrigation for the entire season improved fruit firmness during storage, but was accompanied by a significant depression in fruit size. Withholding irrigation until midsummer resulted in only mild water stress (fruit size was unaffected) but increased by c. 30 days the time H94046 taken for the firmness of stored fruit to decrease to 1 kgf or 0.2 MPa (the critical value for market acceptability). The mechanisms by which irrigation affected fruit storage properties are unclear.

Physicochemical and colour properties of organic and conventional kiwifruits as affected by storage periods

“…Ecological factors cause the changing of the fruit firmness. Water stress usually increases abscisic acid export from roots to shoots, although we are unaware of any clear evidence that abscisic acid can regulate fruit firmness in kiwifruit (Reid et al 1996).…”

Effect of Deficit Irrigation on Physico-chemical Characteristics in Various Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa Chev.) Cultivars

“…Fruit size has somewhat inverse correlation with fruit firmness, fruit TSS and sugar contents. A mild drought stress during early fruit growth can result in beneficial effects on the post-harvest storage characteristics as fruits from non-irrigated vines were firmer and stored better than fruit from irrigated vines (Reid et al, 1996;Ruiz-Sanchez, et al, 2010). Increased fruit firmness due to water stress may be due to the low Ca level in leaves and high Ca levels in berries, as the Ca plays important role in enhancing the berry skin thickness (Porro et al, 2010).…”

Controlled Water Stress to Improve Fruit and Vegetable Postharvest Quality

“…Differences in firmness and performance during storage were not detected for stressed kiwifruit. However, in a similar experiment conducted by Reid et al (1996), kiwifruit harvested from vines exposed to a less severe drought stress were unaffected in size and fruit firmness was retained for 30 days longer in comparison to control (fruit harvested from fully irrigated vines). Bordonaba & Terry (2010), testing strawberry (Fragaria X ananassa Duch.…”

“…It became noticeable that in water stress related studies, vegetables are evaluated mainly in terms of health promoting compounds while fruit are evaluated mainly in terms of sensorial related attributes (Table 1 Miller et al (1998) Hayward -Firmness () (=) Reid et al (1996) Strawberry Elsanta -Sweetness () Velez et al (2007) Du et al (2008) Grapevine Moscatel Anthocianins () Phenols () Colour () (=) Santos et al (2007) Tomato (Cogo et al, 2011) a TSS: Total soluble solids. b TA: Titratable Acidity.…”