Correlation between ploidy level and fruit characters of the main kiwifruit cultivars in China: Implication for selection and improvement

Abstract

To understand the relationship between ploidy levels and fruit characters in kiwifruit, the ploidy of 30 important Chinese cultivars is determined by flow cytometry and eight fruit characters are described following the UPOV descriptors. The provenance of the cultivars is noted. The type of fruit hairs, fruit flesh colour and fruit weight are found to be related to the ploidy. Cultivars at different ploidies vary in fruit hairs, ranging from downy to hispid. Diploid and tetraploid cultivars have mostly yellow or golden yellow fruit flesh, whereas hexaploid cultivars have mostly green fruit flesh. Partial correlation analysis indicates a positive correlation between ploidy and fruit weight. However, fruit shape, fruit skin colour, soluble solids content, vitamin C content and total acid content vary and are not significantly correlated to ploidy. Cultivars are predominantly selected from the Xuefeng mountains, Mufu mountains, Qinling mountains and Daba mountains, centres of morphological polymorphism and ploidy variation of Actinidia chinensis var. chinensis and A. chinensis var. deliciosa. © 2010 The Royal Society of New Zealand.