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Kiwi / Kiwifruit


 

 

COMMON NAME: Kiwi, Kiwifruit, Chinese gooseberry

 

BOTANICAL NAME: Actinidia deliciosa var. 'Hayward' (fuzzy kiwifruit) is most common, but there are many others.

 

FAMILY: Actinidiaceae

Actinidia sp has at least 60 species in this family.

 

HABIT: Perennial vine. Grown in temperate climates, needs warm summers.

Dioecious (male and female plants)

 

VARIETIES: 'Hayward' Fuzzy kiwifruit (most common), golden kiwifruit, Chinese egg gooseberry, hardy kiwifruit,

Arctic kiwifruit, purple kiwifruit, hearty red kiwifruit.

 

Native to China. New Zealand farmers developed the 'Hayward' cultivar ca. New Zealand in 1924. By the 1940s it was planted commercially.

 

TEXAS CONNECTION: Actinidia chinensis (golden kiwifruit) has been grown in Texas by scientists at Stephen F. Austin State University since 2014.
"These fruits do not share the appearance of the typical fuzzy-skinned, green-fleshed kiwifruits commonly found at supermarkets. These varieties, known as golden kiwis, have a smooth, edible skin and golden-colored flesh." https://www.sfasu.edu/10041.asp

 


From the SFA website: "Since SFA Gardens' initial kiwifruit harvest in 2014, the expanding plot of golden kiwifruit, located on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus, has produced more than 1,500 pounds of the small, tender-fleshed fruit. The plots, which produced Texas' first successful kiwifruit harvest, are part of ongoing research led by Dr. David Creech, SFA professor emeritus of agriculture and director of SFA Gardens, to determine this fruit's potential as a commercial crop in Texas. Pictured from left to right with this year's [2018] kiwifruit harvest are Duke Pittman and Malcolm Turner, SFA Gardens technicians; Elzanne Naude, Samantha Holding, Christopher Vondergroeben and John Dilday, SFA Gardens student workers; and Tim Hartmann, program specialist in horticulture."

 

Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiwifruit

 

 

 

 

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