Effect of Harvest Date on Fruit Quality and Storage Duration of Kiwifruit

The fruits of the 'Hayward' kiwifruit(Actinidia chinensis) were used to study the effects of eight harvest dates which were picked at 151,155,159,163,167,171,175 and 179 d after full bloom(DAFB,Ⅰ～Ⅷ) and stored in (0±1)℃ on the fruit physiological and bio-chemical characteristics.The results showed that:(1) The fruits of harvest Ⅰand Ⅱhad high firmness,starch content and titratable acid,and the soluble solid content was less than 6%,the respiration rate and ethylene production rate were higher than the other harvests;The fruit firmness of harvest Ⅶ and Ⅷ was lower than that of other harvests,so were starch content and titratable acid,but the soluble solid content was more than 8%.These two harvests reached the summit of ethylene production rate were 10 d less than that of other harvests.The fruit senile process is ahead of time obviously.(2)The weight loss ratio of harvest Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅶ and Ⅷ did not differ significantly.The rotted ratio of harvest Ⅰand Ⅷ also did not differ significantly,but the two harvests did differ significantly than the other harvests after storing 150 d.The soluble solid content of harvest Ⅲ,Ⅳ,Ⅴand Ⅵ were beyond 6.5%,and the fruit firmness,starch content,Vc content and titratable acid content kept high level in kiwifruit after storing 120 d,and they had low weight loss ratio and rotted ratio after storing 150 d.The results indicated that these days were suitable for harvesting.