Actinidia Germplasm Resources and Kiwifruit Industry In China

Genetic Resources of Kiwifruit: Domestication and Breeding

“…Fruit Shape. Actinidia fruit are generally ovoidal or spheroidal (Li 1952;Liang 1984;Li et al 1985;Ferguson 1990d;Huang et al 2000bHuang et al , 2004Cui et al 2002). However, at least 15 different fruit shape descriptors have been used to describe the variation within the genus: ovoidglobose, obloid, globose, oblong, near globose, ellipsoid, short cylindrical, cylindrical, ovoid, obovoid, long globose, ovoid-cylindrical, long cylindrical, long conoidal, ovoid-conoidal, and ovoid-globose ).…”

“…Actinidia fruit consist of 4 zones, skin, outer pericarp, inner pericarp, and core, of which only the last 3 zones are usually eaten, although in some cases the skin can also be eaten. The relative proportions of these tissues can vary with genotype, especially in the ratio of the core to the pericarp diameter (Cotter et al 1991;Huang et al 2004). In a comprehensive study of 25 genotypes from 14 different Actinidia species, White et al (2005) found that the softening of these 3 edible tissue zones during ripening followed much the same pattern as for the whole fruit.…”

“…The various acids result in different perceptions of acidity, and ascorbic increases perceptions of acidity as well as other flavor components, whereas the various sugars appear not to differ in their effects on perceptions of sweetness (Marsh et al 2003). Fruit of the different Actinidia species contain very different amounts of sugars and acids (Huang et al 1983;Li et al 1985;Chen et al 1987;Huang et al 2000bHuang et al , 2004. Even within seedling populations of the one species (A. chinensis), there can be enormous variation in dry matter, soluble solids concentration, fruit flesh pH, and the concentrations of total acids, individual acids, and sugars.…”

“…Considering only A. chinensis: Huang et al (2004) cite a range 50 to 420 mg ascorbate/100 g FW; ascorbate concentrations in fruit of 200 wild vines from Henan varied from 16.6 to 400 mg/100 g FW (Yin and Li 1982); in vines from Guangxi 20 to 180 mg/100 g FW (Li et al 1985); in a population of 289 female vines arising from a factorial crossing of 3 females by 13 males, the family means for ascorbate content ranged from 21.4 to 238.1 mg/100 g FW (Cheng et al 2005); and in 143 fruiting plants from a single cross from 48.6 to 208.9 mg/100 g FW (A. R. Ferguson unpubl.). Similarly, published values for ascorbate concentrations in fruit of A. deliciosa range from 30 to c. 400 mg/100 g FW (Ferguson 1990d), and in a population of 65 female vines of A. eriantha raised from the one collection of seed, the ascorbate content was 195 to 720 mg/100 g FW (Bank and Ferguson 1986).…”

“…The genetic diversity at the isozyme level is extraordinarily high in both cultivars selected from the wild and in random representatives of different taxa (Messina et al 1991;Huang et al 1997;Huang et al 2004). For example, in 22 cultivars of A. chinensis and A. deliciosa, the isozymic heterozygosity of 10 isozyme loci averaged 65% and in the limited numbers studied from each taxon ranged from 68% to 100%.…”