Relationships between timing of cane tipping and yield of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa)

Abstract

SummaryKiwifruit vines (Actinidia deliciosa (A. Chev) C. F. Liang and A. R. Ferguson cv. Hayward) were tipped either in winter, or in spring at the onset of heavy bleeding of xylem sap, for three seasons. Late tipping increased the percentage bud burst, the percentage of flowering shoots and the number of flowers per winter bud. The timing of winter tipping did not affect either the timing or the duration of bud burst and flowering. Late-tipped vines produced more export-sized fruit than early-tipped vines. Fruit size and storage quality were not affected by the tipping treatments. In one season, using individual canes as experimental units, canes were tipped at 51, 39, 25, or 12 days before the mid-point of bud burst (MBB), or three days after MBB. Tipping individual canes early (51 days before MBB) or late (12 days before MBB), produced similar results to tipping whole vines. However, canes tipped three days after MBB had a lower percentage of flowering shoots than early-tipped canes.