Package of Practice

Kiwi Cultivation

An Initiative of North Eastern Council (NEC)

Implemented by North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi)
Model Project Profile

Kiwi
Actinidia deliciosa
Actinidiace

Kiwifruit is a high value cash crop. Kiwi fruit has refreshing and delicate flavor, pleasing aroma and
high nutritive and medicinal value. It is rich in Vitamin-C and contain more of potassium, phosphorus
and iron and low in calories. Kiwi is known as “China’s miracle fruit” and “Horticulture wonder of
New Zealand”. A large number of processed products such as jam, jelly, candy, squash and wine
are prepared from kiwifruit.

Climate and Soil: Kiwifruit is very hardy deciduous vine can withstand a wide range of
climatic conditions. For high yield and quality fruits, it requires 700-800 chilling hours
below 70C. A soil pH 5.5 to 6.5 is considered ideal for vine growth and fruit production.
Deep well drained, sandy-loam soil with good amount of organic matter is ideal for its
cultivation. Kiwi can be successfully grown at 800-1500above mean sea level and a rainfall
of about 150cm/year.

Varieties:
Abbott, Allison, Bruno, Hayward, Monty, Tomuri, Matua

Propagation:

• Kiwifruit is commercially propagated through cuttings, grafting and budding

and tissue culture. Nursery management practices like weeding, irrigation,
staking of grafted plants are done at regular intervals.

Planting:

• Land having gentle slope is ideal for planting of kiwifruit. Planting is done at a
spacing of 6 m from plant to plant and 4 m from row to row in varieties like
Allison, Abbott and Monty trained on T- bar Trellis system. Hayward is less
vigorous and is planted at a spacing of 5m x 5m. In pergola system of training,
a spacing of 6m x 6m is recommended for getting better fruit production.
• Planting is done during dormant season (December to January).
• One male plant is planted for every 9 pistillate plants.

Training:

• T-bar trellis and pergola systems are more popular training structures used for
training a kiwi vine.
Pruning:

• The vine pruning is carried out in such a way that the fruiting areas are available
every year requiring the wood to be young. This is achieved by 3-4 years lateral
replacement system. In dormant pruning, the fruiting lateral is cut back to 2
vegetative buds beyond the last fruit. In the second year, these vegetative buds
produce the fruiting shoots, which are pruned again. The arm on lateral shoots

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are pruned and allowed to fruit for 3-4 years. In summer pruning shoot is cut
beyond 6-8 buds from the last fruit during June-July.

Pollination: The Kiwifruit crop is highly dependent on pollination as the plants are
functionally dioecious. For effective pollination, one male plant is planted for every 9 pistil
late plants. Honeybees colonies about 8-9 per hectare are required in kiwifruit orchard for
effective pollination.

Manures and Fertilizers:

• Generally, a basal dose of 20 Kg FYM along with 0.5 Kg of NPK fertilizers

mixture containing 15 per cent N be applied each year of age.
• For fully bearing vines (8 years and above) 60-80 kg FYM, 800g N, 560g P2O5
and 1200 g K2O/vine is applied every year per vine.

Intercropping: During the initial two years, intercrops like strawberry, peas, beans,
cowpeas and vegetable crops like tomato, ginger etc. can also be grown in the vacant area
between the trees.

Mulching: Clean cultivation with mulching of the tree basin area with 15 cm thick hay grass
or black polythene mulch is recommended for kiwifruit orchards.

Weed management: The natural weed cover provides good and helps conserve soil and
organic matter. The sod or the natural weed cover should be regularly mowed and can be
used as a mulch (10cm thick) during summer.

Water Management:

• Kiwi fully grown vines require 80-100L of water for total daily transpiration
from 16-17 m2 canopy area during summer.
• Young vine should be irrigated at 2-3 days intervals, while bearing vines are to
be irrigated at 20% depletion of soil moisture from field capacity (5-6 days
intervals) during summer to get better size fruits.
• Drip irrigation at 100% gives higher yield of quality fruits.

Harvesting and Yield:

• Kiwi fruits having 6.2% TSS are ideal for harvesting.

• Kiwi fruits can be harvested from October to December.
• Kiwi vine starts bearing at the age of 4-5 years while the commercial production starts
at the age of 7-8 years.
• On an average, kiwi yield varies from 50-100 kg fruits/vine. Vines on trellis
produce about 15-25tonnes / ha after 7 years.

Post-Harvest Management:

• Kiwi fruits can be stored at ambient temperature for 6-7 weeks, but for good commercial
storage refrigeration is necessary. It can be stored for 4-6 months in cold storage at -0.60 to
0oC and 90% relative humidity.
• Fruits are graded on the basis of their weight. Fruits weighing 70 g. and above are graded as
‘A’-grade fruits and between 40-70 g. as ‘B’ grade fruits.

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• Polythene liners in storage cases are very effective in maintaining high humidity and can be
used to maintain kiwi fruits in good condition for a longer period.

Plant Protection Measures:

Insect Pests:
Brown headed leaf roller /Green headed leaf roller: They web together leaf edges or leaves and fruit
to form a shelter to live in often rolling the leaves into a tube. The caterpillars eat leaves and fruit’

Control: Follow proper training and pruning in the vineyards. • Infested leaves should be removed and
burned to destroy the eggs and caterpillars. Release or augment the biological control agents like
Predators: Predatory mite, Predatory Wasp and Larval parasitoids like Trigonospila brevifacies,
Braconid wasp, Dolichogenidea tasmanica, Goniozus jacintae.

Greedy scale: Infestations are spread by the mobile, young scale nymphs or ‘crawlers’ older nymphs
and adults are sedentary. Scale insects attack the bark and fruit of kiwi. • Heavy infestations affect the
vigor of the plant and result in the presence of scales on fruit, causing it to be off grade.
Control:

Use propagative material that is free of scales. • Adequate plant spacing is important because armored
scales seldom spread from plant to plant unless the crowns of the plants are in contact. • As plants grow,
pruning maintains spacing and allows maximum coverage when using insecticides. • Scraping and
scrubbing to remove scales from plants are effective mechanical control tactics. • Release or augment
the biological control agents like parasitoids Aphytis wasps, Encarsia sp. and predators: Green
lacewings, Minute pirate bugs, and Ladybird beetle, Chilocorus bipustulatus, Chilocorus infernalis,
Chilocorus cacti.
Passion vine Hopper: They suck sap from succulent shoots and the result is distortion of fruit and
leaves. Plants will get stunted, wilted and dieback overall. Because of the copious production of
honeydew the likelihood of sooty mould is very high.

Control: Heavy winter pruning of egg laying sites. • Spray them with Neem; it acts as a deterrent and
anti-feeder. Biodegrades within two weeks when exposed to sunlight. Repeated application. •
Companion plants such as geranium and petunia, marjorams, coriander, chamomile and yarrow • Egg
parasitoids Aphelinidae (Hymenoptera), Scolypopa australis. predators:Spider, birds.
Two spotted spider mite: It penetrates plant cells, preferably on the undersides of leaves, and ingests
their contents. Each minute 1-2 dozen cell can be destroyed this way. The first visible symptoms are
small whitish speckles, mainly around the midrib and larger veins. When these spots merge, the empty
cells give areas of the leaf a whitish or silvery-transparent appearance.

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Control: Maintain proper plant canopy microclimate by using timely training and pruning of the plants.
• Predatory mites like Amblyseius, Metaseiulus, and Phytoseiulus; ladybird beetles, Stethorus; the
minute pirate bugs, Orius; the thrips, Leptothrips; and the lacewing larvae, Chrysopa. Scolothrips
sexmaculatus, Phytoseiulus persimilis, • In greenhouses, the ghost ant, Tapinoma melanocephalum
(Fabricius are good predator)
Thrips: Thrips uses its mouth-parts to rasp the leaf surface, rupture the epidermal cells, and feed on
exuding cell contents. Feeding spots turn yellow then brown, and the surrounds become silvery where
air enters the emptied cells.

Control: Sprinkle water over the seedlings to check the multiplication of thrips Biological control •
Release or augment the biological control agents like larval parasitoids- Thripobius semiluteus and
predators like Predatory mite, predatory thrips, hover fly, mirid bug etc.
Root knot Nematode:

Formation of galls on host root system is the primary symptom • Roots branch profusely starting from
the gall tissue causing a ‘beard root’ symptom • Infected roots become knobby and knotty • In severely
infected plants the root system is reduced and the rootlets are almost completely absent. The roots are
seriously hampered in their function of uptake and transport of water and nutrients • Plants wilt during
the hot part of day, especially under dry conditions and are often stunted.

Disease:

Root rot, collar rot and crown rot: Reduced shoot growth. Leaves are small and chlorotic. • Vines
may collapse suddenly or show a gradual decline in productivity over several seasons. • Red-brown
discoloration of roots and root crowns which is visible when root is cut in two.

Control: Control of the disease is reliant on good water management. • Kiwi should be planted in well-
draining soils where water does not pool after rain or irrigation; • Vineyard should be allowed to dry
out between irrigations.

Bacterial leaf spot and blossom blight: Symptoms include angular shaped spots, often associated with
a halo, although not all leaf spots clearly exhibit the halo, brown discoloration of buds and, in advanced
stages of infection, the leakage of red-rusty gum. Not all symptoms appear at the same time.
Control: Control of the disease relies on the avoidance of injuries to the plant which allow bacteria to
enter. • Infected areas should be pruned by cutting 1 foot below the edge of 26 the canker. • Disease
severity can be reduced by protecting plants from freeze injuries during winter.

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Fungal Leaf spot: Vines may completely collapse; white mycelial mats may be present under bark
close to the soil line; cortical tissue has a dark discoloration and white mycelial strands are present; root
like rhizomorphs extend from roots into soil.
Storage Rot: Symptoms of decay and signs of the pathogen develop as shriveled fruit that may have
gray fungal growth mostly at the stem end and occasionally around the sepals or over the entire surface
of the fruit. Diseased internal fruit tissues appear water-soaked and dark green. In advanced stages of
the disease black, irregular-shaped sclerotia of the fungus up to about 0.2 inch (5 mm) in diameter may
form on the infected fruit.

Rhizoctonia stem Rot: The pathogen causes a reddish brown dry cortical root rot that may extend into
the base of the stem. Later in the season, infections at the base of the plant (cortical rot) may result in
plants snapping off during high winds. Foliar symptoms yellowing or wilting of leaves.

Sclerotinia rot: Infected fruit and stem first appear water soaked. • Fluffy white cottony fungal growth
is seen on infected area. • Small hard black fungal structures known as sclerotia eventually develop
embedded in the cottony mold. • Fruits are often infected through the blossom end and became rotted
and watery sclerotia may be inside these rotted fruits.

Control: Implement deep ploughing during summer. • Use proper vineyard sanitation practices.

Cost and Returns of Kiwi: (Rs./ha.)

(approx. Amount in Rs.)

Particulars Cost & Returns

Land Preparation & development 50000
Cost of planting material 35000
Manures & fertilizer cost 25000
Plant Protection cost 20000
Cost of Drip Irrigation system 25000
Cost of Labour wages (intercultural operations) 20000
Cost of Farm machinery heiring charges and agril equipment 5000
Rental cost of land 20000
Cost of Harvesting 15000
Cost of Marketing 10000
Miscellaneous cost 5000
Total cost of cultivation 230000
Average Yield 15t/ha
Average selling price of Kiwi Rs.50/ kg

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Average Total Income / Return 750000

Net Income 520000

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