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Kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa) which is otherwise also known as Chinese gooseberry is an important fruit crop of temperate regions and is widely grown in the mid hills of Himachal Pradesh, J & K, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand . They have been very newly introduced in the country and aren’t mostly grown locally. Estimation of area and production have not yet become available in terms of its high nutritive index and commercial value for the small and marginal farmers of mid hill range of Himalayan Mountains comprising Himachal Pradesh, Jammu n Kashmir, Uttarakhand and several north-eastern states such as Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. They have to be imported. Import means taxes, more transportation charge, and higher risk of damage. All this leads to higher prices. 

It is a small fruit loaded with several health benefits and flavours. It is a bright green coloured fruit that contains several vitamins and minerals. It is highly recommended for consumption of Kiwifruit to safeguard ourselves from current situation of COVID-19. Presence of antioxidants and vitamin C helps in asthma treatment. Adding fresh kiwi to diet is beneficial for asthma patients. It is loaded with fibre which ensures better digestion. It also contains ‘actinidin’ which is a proteolytic enzyme that helps in breaking down protein. High fibre content can also prevent constipation. Presence of Vitamin C also helps to boost immunity and repairing skin and also keeps it hydrated.

Cultivation of Kiwi in commercial way is having a greater importance for the growers of mid hill areas of Himalayas. It is highly resistant to different insects, pests & diseases, whereas on the other hand fruit crops like Apple, Pear, Peach and Plum are susceptible to various insect, pest and disease attack in the same regions. So, due to its natural resistance against different biotic stress factors we don’t use any chemical pesticides on Kiwi Orchard and get a highly nutritive, tasty, healthy and chemical residue free fruit which fetches a high demand among the local consumer.

In terms of its marketing aspects kiwi is having a special importance. They are highly demandable in the local mandis. Due to its climacteric nature it is harvested at physiological maturity stage. Large sized berries are harvested first while smaller ones are allowed to increase in size. After harvesting, the fruits are rubbed with a coarse cloth to remove stiff hairs found on their surface. Hard fruits are transported to the market. The process of ripening when kept under proper storage takes about 8 to 10 days after harvesting. Subsequently, they lose their firmness in two weeks and become edible.

India’s first commercial Kiwi orchard was established in the year 1985 at Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry, Solan-Himachal Pradesh. The kiwi plants which were established nearly 35 years back is bearing heavy fruit each and every year with a maximum yield up to 100 kg Kiwi/Plant is harvested at present time. The average yield is 60-70 kg per plant/year of Kiwi. The average yield of Kiwi is up to 25 MT/Htr when we maintain 416 number of plants in a area of 10,000 square metre. This yield is comparatively the same with the kiwi producing countries of the World like Italy, China and New Zealand.

ADVANCED TECHNIQUES FOR KIWI ORCHARD MANAGEMENT

ARTIFICIAL HAND POLLINATION

Kiwifruit have male and female flowers on separate vines. Flowers do not produce nectar to attract insects. If there are other flowers around a kiwifruit orchard, insects may visit them instead. Another problem is that female flowers produce ‘fake’ pollen to attract insects. It is not the same as male pollen because it does not contain genetic material or food. Both of these problems make it tricky to grow lots of big kiwifruit. Kiwifruit growers often use artificial pollination to make sure their plants get all the pollination they need. Farmer collects pollen by hand from male flowers and spread it onto female flowers. Artificial hand pollination is an important step in increasing the overall pollination percentage and the overall yield of Kiwi.

FRUIT THINNING

Kiwi, being a heavy bearer crop, fruit thinning plays a very important role after artificial hand pollination to optimise the yield in preferred size of fruits (i.e., 90-100 gram) by keeping optimum number of fruits during pea stage for the market. After fruit thinning only a maximum number of 3 fruits are kept from a single point and maximum 6-8 numbers are kept in a single branch so as to maintain a good size and healthy fruit for the market. By this method the fruits produced are of grade A with a average weight of more than 100 gram.

ARTIFICIAL IRRIGATION

Artificial Irrigation is very much necessary to keep vines growing, productive and to maximize the fruit size. Water stress can reduce fruit size, limit flower numbers and can cause premature fruity drop. Summer drought can cause leaf drop and premature fruit ripening. Drip system is an important step towards fulfilling the annual water requirement for Kiwi Orchard and also economize the water use.

CLIMATIC REQUIREMENT

Kiwifruit can be grown in an area experiencing 700-800 chilling hours (no. of hours during which temperature remains at or below 7⁰ C during the winter season). The plant can be grown at 800-1500 m. above mean sea level. It requires a high humidity and moderate temperature for its optimum growth, development and yield. High temperature during the month of summer is harmful for the growth of Kiwi plant. A moderate temperature in between 10-25⁰ C with a high humidity is best for its growth and development.

TRAINING AND PRUNING

TRAINING

Training is required to establish and maintain a well-formed framework of main branches and fruiting arms.  The supporting branches are erected even before planting the vines or thereafter as early as possible. A typical T-bar trellis consists of posts 5-6 foot long cross arm extending across in which the vines are trailed.

PRUNING

In kiwi, pruning is practised two times in a year.

1. Dormant Pruning

This is widely practiced during the winter season to initiate reproductive growth during the spring season.

• Summer Pruning

Normally we avoid summer pruning but being a vine crop, summer pruning should be practiced. In this case, we cut the top portion of the branch while remaining 10-12 leaves after the fruits growth point. It helps in blocking the food material diversion towards the tip point and diverts it towards the growing fruits behind the branch which helps in increase in the size and weight of the fruits.

HARVESTING

Normally 25 to 40 per cent of total produce of fruits and vegetables is loss in India due to post harvest losses. The annual loss of fruit and vegetables is estimated to be more than 60,000 corers annually. If we can able to save 5 to 10 per cent of that loss, we are adding it to the profit share 5 to 10 per cent more. The post harvest losses occur during different stages such as harvesting, storage, packaging, transportation etc. For a grower, important point is to prevent the post harvest losses by harvesting at the perfect time of harvesting maturity.

The harvesting maturity is clearly defined in other fruit crops such as Apple, Mango and Banana by changes in its peel colour which is not the same in Kiwifruit as it shows little visual change as it approached to maturity. Kiwifruit continue to increase in fresh weight and size until harvested, but the most rapid size increase occurs the first 100 days of after bloom. If kiwi is harvested at the right stage of maturity it gives a very nice taste with perfect blend of acid and sugar. TSS content (Total Soluble Solids) (° Brix) is the most commonly used maturity index for kiwifruit. TSS is measured with the help of hand refractometer. Cultivars are harvested at 6.5° Brix. Fruits at this stage will attain good quality in storage. TSS is around 12 to 18 per cent when ripe.

Whereas, in case of Allison variety of Kiwi we can detect the harvesting maturity when the hairs above the fruit surface fall down by simply rubbing with finger above the fruit surface. The fruit hairs contains the fruit ripening hormone called as ethylene which should not be removed after harvesting during packing as its plays an important role in ripening after harvesting during the storage.

Due to lack of knowledge about the right stage of harvesting of Kiwifruits, the farmers harvest the crop in the month of September when it is having sour taste.

CALENDER DATE

It is used for calculating the harvesting maturity in many crops such as Wheat which is harvested in April 13^th of each year on the day of Baisakhi. But due to climate change this method is not reliable in case of fruit crops.

DAYS FROM FULL BLOOM (DFFB) TO MATURITY

This is a most reliable method used in case of measuring the harvesting maturity of fruit crops when the plants having 60% of the total flowering till the maturity we calculate the number of days.

After taking this DDFB to maturity by various research trials at Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry, Solan, Himachal Pradesh is calculated for ALLISON (VAR): 190 days+- 1 week (7 days)

The days from full bloom to maturity varies according to the elevation (for Solan :190 days having elevation:1200-1500 m above mean sea level where as for Shimla its 190 plus 1 week extra having elevation:1500-2000 m above mean sea level)

CULTIVATED VARIETIES IN INDIA

Since kiwi is a dioecious plant, it bears pistillate (female) and staminate (male) flowers separately. Commercially grown important pistillate and staminate cultivars are:
Abbott : This is an early flowering and early maturing cultivar. The oblong, medium sized, fruits are covered with dense hairs. This cultivar is very sweet in taste with lower ascorbic acid content and medium titrable acidity.

Allison: Fruits resemble those of Abbott, except that these are slightly broader in proportion to its length. The most suited variety for Himachal Pradesh. It is also used for pollenizing different cultivars.

Bruno : This cultivar requires comparatively less chilling period. The fruits are tapering in shape towards the stem end. They are longest among all the cultivars. The fruits is dark brown having very dense, short and bristly hair, highest in ascorbic acid and titratable acidity.

Hayward : Most popular cultivar or the world, Hayward is comparatively shy bearer with a tendency of biennial bearing. The fruit is broad and flat, being much wider in relation to length, It is superior in flavour with high sugar and ascorbic acid content. It requires more chilling hours comparatively to other varieties.

Monty : It is a late flowering cultivar but fruit maturity is not late. The fruits are oblong, resembling those of Abbot and Allison. Being a highly prolific bearer cultivar, sometimes it needs hand thinning for obtaining good sized fruits. The fruit is somewhat wider towards blossom end with higher acidity and medium sugar content.

Tomuri : It is a good polliniser for Hayward and Monty, the late flowering kiwis.

PRESENT STATUS OF KIWI CULTIVATION IN INDIA

Due to its origin in South China, the climate of Arunachal Pradesh of India is having the best suitable climate for kiwi cultivation in India. Most of the commercial largescale big orchards are established in the state of Arunachal Pradesh occupying more than 60 per cent of the total Kiwi cultivation area of India.

PRESENT STATUS OF KIWI MARKET

The Indian fruit market has always been a thriving one. However, the demand for ‘exotic fruits’ has been rising recently because of a prospering urban class, an enhanced exposure to the cultures of different countries, and a rising demography of health-conscious people. Among all exotic fruits, Kiwi has witnessed the fastest growth, with a compound annual growth rate of 80-100%. Normally, we import Kiwi from Italy, Chile and New Zealand to meet the annual demand of Kiwifruit in India. But due to restrictions of import during this situation of COVID-19, the local Kiwi growers will hopefully get a higher price and higher profit in the coming season.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

“There is no doubt we get a good price by harvesting before the right maturity stage but due to low sugar acid ratio, the consumer could not get the taste and satisfaction. From the last 15 years of my experience harvesting of Kiwi at the perfect stage (second week of October) it tastes very sweet and get a overwhelming response by the people who purchased Kiwifruit from the University Kiwi Orchard.”- Dr. Vishal Singh Rana (Principal Scientist)

The harvesting date is October second week for Solan, whereas it can be harvested 1 week later in Shimla.

ADVANCE STEP TAKEN BY SOLAN KIWI GROWERS IN MARKETING

Many farmers of solan are doing online marketing of Kiwi through courier service of kiwi direct to consumers across India.

FUTURE PROSPECTS OF KIWI CULTIVATION IN INDIA

Kiwifruit have shown a tremendous potential in recent years. The major problem faced by our farmers of mid-hills from fruit crops like apricot, plum, peach is due to attack of different diseases and insect pest, whereas kiwi has assumed huge popularity and preference among the growers as well as consumers due to its favourable properties such as resistant to all these different diseases and insect and for easy maintenance and marketing besides having high nutritional and medicinal values.

A sharp decline in Peach production is observed in Rajgarh area ‘Peach bowl of Himachal Pradesh’ of Solan district due to different insect pest and disease attack. Due to its high nutritive value its sold in the Indian market up to 25 to 30 rupees per fruit and the health conscious urban consumer are ready to offer a good price for kiwi. Monkeys are an important animal pest in Himachal Pradesh for ruining the agriculture and horticulture produce, but in case of kiwifruit they do not attack the fruit as it is sour in taste during its growing period. People in north India during the Diwali celebrations are eager to gift kiwi fruit as a gift packet to relatives and friends in place of sweets. Kiwifruit has a bright future prospect in Himachal Pradesh. It has been assessed as one of the important future commercial fruits. It provides high return per unit area and the farmers can earn about Rs. 4 to 5 lakhs per hectare annually. Kiwifruit bears heavily every year with no crop failure. The kiwifruit could be developed into a vital industry for sustainable economy in hilly region. Its cultivation in our country is of recent, and the total production and productivity is very low, yet there is tremendous scope for its cultivation.

An improved Package of Practices of Kiwi cultivation is developed by Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry, Solan, Himachal Pradesh and the technology of kiwi cultivation has been transferred to other hilly states through continuous and regular research efforts. The technology of Kiwi cultivation is transferred to several states such as Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Meghalaya.

The horticultural development society of Himachal Pradesh is promoting Kiwi cultivation by providing subsidy to the kiwi growers through Himachal Pradesh Government. The farmers can contact their block Horticulture Development Officer to know more about the government schemes for Kiwi cultivation. Due to the financial support through subsidy scheme of the state government many farmers of Himachal are interested to take Kiwi as a successful fruit crop to get a high remuneration.