Characteristic of fruit development for optimal harvest date and postharvest storability in 'Skinny Green' baby kiwifruit

Abstract

Actinidia arguta, commonly known as hardy kiwifruit or baby kiwifruit has become very popular in the market due to its taste and can be eaten raw without peeling. However, characteristics of fruit development for optimal harvest date and postharvest storability of baby kiwifruit is diverse in contrast to those of green kiwifruit and yellow kiwifruit. This study was conducted to find the characteristics of fruit development for optimal harvest date and storability period post harvesting in baby kiwifruit for two years (2013-2014). The results showed that fruit weight increased showing a single sigmoid curve. The starch and sugar contents increased significantly and reached to a maximum level at 130-133 days after full bloom (DAFB) respectively. The soluble solids content (SSC) and fruit dry matter also increased and reached to a maximum stage until harvesting. Post-harvested fruits were examined after cold storability at 1 degrees C for 65 days. The physiochemical measurements such as SSC, fruit firmness increased with a reduction of starch content and titratable acidity (TA) at initial DAFB. However, the fruits harvested at latter stage (approx. 130-133 DAFB) after cold storability showed higher SSC content and a lower TA and fruit firmness. Moreover, the respiration rate in fruit increased till 20 days of storage and thereafter decreased slowly. This study demonstrated that quality of baby kiwifruit can be optimized through identification of ideal harvest date and by controlling storage conditions.