Kiwi

Detailed Description

Kiwifruit vines require vigorous pruning, similar to that of grapevines. The fruit is set on one-year-old and older canes, but production declines as each cane ages. Canes should be pruned off and replaced after their third year. In the northern hemisphere the fruit ripens in November, while in the southern hemisphere it ripens in May. The plants produce their maximum when they are 8 to 10 years old. The seasonal yields are variable; a heavy crop on a vine one season is generally followed by a light crop the following season.

All nutrients should be applied in plant-available forms. K should preferably be applied as chloride (unless the soil Cl is high, i.e. > 150 ppm and/or soil N is low). K is much more readily absorbed by the kiwifruit in chloride form than as sulfate. Yield differences of up to 30% have been recorded as a benefit of the chloride. Special attention should be paid to boron (B) and sodium (Na), as the kiwifruit is extremely sensitive to the excess of both of these elements in the soil.

Another very important element is Mn, as the kiwi is very susceptible to the deficiencies of this element; it is a precursor for the production of vitamin C, of which the kiwi has a high content.

From sprouting to early flowering, fruit set, fruit growth and harvest, COMPO EXPERT offers a fertigation program for kiwi cultivation with NovaTec^® Solub, and for foliar application Basfoliar^® Kelp SL, for the flowering (a very delicate stage for kiwis) Basfoliar^® ZnMn Flo as well as the NKP Original GOLD.