Is Self‐Pollination Sufficient to Maximise Seed Set and Fruit Quality in Kiwifruit Hermaphrodites?

The purpose of this study was to determine whether supplementary pollination of each of two hermaphrodite kiwifruit selections was likely to produce any significant improvement in seed set or fruit quality, compared with self‐pollination alone. Three main pollination treatments were applied to floral shoots: self‐pollination alone and self‐pollination plus supplementary hand pollination with either self pollen or commercial male pollen. Fruit set and retention were recorded. Mature fruit were harvested and their weight, soluble solids content and dry matter content measured. Seeds were extracted, dried, weighed and counted. Results showed that these hermaphrodites can produce large fruit of good quality following self‐pollination alone. However, in one hermaphrodite, self‐pollination was associated with significant reductions in fruit weight, total seed number and total seed weight compared with supplementary hand pollination with commercial male pollen. In the other, self‐pollination reduced total seed number and total seed weight in one of 2 years but had no significant effect on fruit weight. We found no significant differences among treatments in soluble solids content or dry matter content for either hermaphrodite. Larger trials in a more realistic situation are needed to confirm the commercial potential of hermaphrodite selections.