Actinidia deliciosa - Kiwi

Habitat

Exposition

Plein soleil ou mi-ombre

Humidité

Humidité moyenne.

Sol

Tous sols.

pH

Acide

Rusticité

Zone 7

Habitat originel

Derived in cultivation from A. chinensis, it is not known in a truly wild situation.

Origine géographique

Asie orientale - Chine

Comestibilité

• Fruits - crus ou cuits .
• A delicious flavour[1, 2, 3, 11, 105], the fruit can be up to 8cm long, it is very juicy when fully ripe and has a refreshing, acid flavour [K].
• It contains a number of small seeds, but these are easily eaten with the fruit [K].
• Rich in vitamin C [183].
• Fresh fruits contain 100 - 420mg vitamin C per 100g and 8 - 14% carbohydrate [218].
• Acidity is 1 - 2%, mainly citric acid [218].
• The fruit ripens in November and can store for 3 - 4 months [132].
• Yields of 8 - 30 tonnes per hectare are possible [218].
• Leaves are a famine food [179].

Usages médicinaux

• The fruits, stems and roots are diuretic, febrifuge and sedative [147].
• They are used in the treatment of stones in the urinary tract, rheumatoid arthralgia, cancers of the liver and oesophagus [147].

Autres usages

• Paper is made from the bark [178].
• If the bark is removed in one piece from near the root and placed in hot ashes, it becomes very hard and can be used as a tube for a pencil [178].

Culture

• Prefers a sound loamy acid soil, it dislikes alkaline soils and becomes chlorotic at pH 6 or higher [11].
• Tolerates a pH in the range 5.5 to 7.3 .
• Succeeds in semi-shade but full sun is best for fruit production [3, 126, 200].
• Prefers a sheltered position [200].
• Does well when grown into trees [K].
• Plants requires a 6 - 8 month frost-free growing season [160, 200].
• They are hardy to about -12°c when fully dormant but young growth is very subject to damage by late frosts, being killed back at -2°c [160, 200].
• Plants also require a winter chilling of 600 - 1100 hours below 7°c and a long warm summer to ripen the fruit [200].
• Plants fruit on second year wood or on fruit spurs produced on older wood[126], any pruning is best carried out in the winter [219].
• The flowers are sweetly scented [245].
• A very ornamental plant[1], it is widely cultivated in warm temperate zones for its edible fruit, there are many named varieties [183, 200].
• The fruit can store for up to 9 months at 0°c with a relative humidity of 90%, but under domestic conditions 4 - 6 weeks is optimal [200].
• This is a rampant climbing plant, supporting itself by twining around branches etc [200].
• Plants have been seen with very good crops of fruit at the Hillier Arboretum in Hampshire in several autumns .
• These plants had outgrown their planned supports and had climbed 15 metres into neighbouring trees .
• The main problem with them would be how to harvest the fruit [K].
• The female 'Heywood' is the most commonly cultivated form in Britain (1993), its fruits store well but it tends to flower late and there can be problems with pollination [126].
• The cultivar 'Blake' is said to be fast cropping and self-fertile [200].
• The male 'Tomurii' is free-flowering and disease-resistant [202].
• Les plantes de ce genre sont notamment résistantes aux armillaires (champignons) [200].
• Plants are usually dioecious, but hermaphrodite forms are known .
• However, the fruit quality and yield of these hermaphrodite forms is usually inferior [11].
• Male and female plants must usually be grown if seed is required, one male to five or six females is normally adequate .

Propagation

• Graines - semez au printemps sous serre [133].
• It is probably best if the seed is given 3 months stratification[113], either sow it in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in November or as soon as it is received .
• Fresh seed germinates in 2 - 3 months at 10°c, stored seed can take longer [133].
• When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least their first winter .
• When the plants are 30cm or more tall, plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts [K].
• Most seedlings are male [126].
• The seedlings are subject to damping off, they must be kept well ventilated [113].
• Cuttings of softwood as soon as ready in spring in a frame [K].
• Boutures de bois mi-mûr, Juillet/Août sous chassis .
• Very high percentage [113].
• Cuttings of ripe wood, October/November in a frame .