Effect of supplemental pollination on fruit set and quality of Hayward kiwifruit

Incomplete pollination of kiwifruit flowers could be the main limiting factor which reduces marketable kiwifruit quality. Therefore, in this study effect of pollen suspension and dry pollen as supplemental artificial pollination on characteristics such as fruit size, fruit weight, seed number, dry matter percent, tissue firmness, total soluble solid, and vitamin C content, mineral nutrient elements such as nitrogen, phosphors, potassium, calcium, and magnesium of Hayward Kiwifruit were evaluated. The results showed that pollination with dry pollen at 60 percentage of full bloom increased marketable fruits in compare to other treatments. There are more seed number in this fruits (11 and 5% respectively), which result to increase fruit size, length and diameter as compare to pollen suspension and control. Fruit vitamin C could not affected by pollination, but fruit dry matter of flowers which pollinated at 60 percentage of full bloom was the higher than the other treatments. Supplemental pollination with dry pollen increased fruit calcium, which result to improve nitrogen to calcium, potassium to calcium, the sum of potassium and magnesium to calcium, the sum of nitrogen and potassium to calcium ratios. Overall, it seems that supplemental pollination especially with dry pollen at 60 percentage of full bloom stage could improve pollination and ovules fertilization. The same fruits have more seed number and strength sink for accumulation assimilate and mineral elements especially calcium.