Kiwifruit: Effects of thinning on fruit size, vegetative growth, and return bloom

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Abstract
On well pollinated kiwifruit vines (Actinidia deliciosa (A. Chev.) C. F. Liang et A. R. Ferguson var. deliciosa cv. Hayward) a reduction in fruit numbers by flower thinning increased mean fruit weight. Thinning reduced total yield and yield of fruit in the preferred export sizes (i.e., fruit weight >90 g). Reducing fruit numbers to less than 330 per metre of T-bar row increased yield of fruit in the two large size grades only (> 132 g). Flower production was less on vines that had a high crop load the previous season. This reduction was primarily because of fewer flowers per flowering shoot. Percentage bud break and the proportion of non-flowering shoots were not affected. Up to threefold differences in fruit numbers per vine were produced by the thinning treatments but this did not significantly affect vegetative growth or the soluble solids content of fruit near harvest.