NEW SELECTIONS OF ACTINIDIA ARGUTA FROM THE ROMANIAN BREEDING PROGRAM

The first kiwifruit orchard in Romania was planted in 1993 and since then a number of experiments have been carried out to determine optimal growing conditions. In 1993, a kiwifruit breeding program was also started at the Faculty of Horticulture in Bucharest using more than 1000 hybrid seedlings obtained from Vitroplant Italia, Cesena, Italy. These seedlings were produced from open or controlled pollination of different genotypes of Actinidia arguta. Based on the crosses undertaken, seedlings could be divided into two main groups: 'Jumbo' group and red fruit group. The first flowers and fruits were produced in 2001 and selection has continued since then. Fruit firmness at eating ripeness, varied between 0.55 and 5.80 kg/cm², giving an important indication of the time of fruit maturity and the likely storage life. The lowest total dry matter content (13.82%) was measured in fruit from selection R₈P₃, in 2002 and the highest (30.20%) from fruit of selection R₁₀P₃ in 2003. Ascorbic acid content ranged between 26.88 mg/100 g fresh weight (R₈P₃) and 86.04 mg/100 g fresh weight (R₁₀P₃). After four years of observations and tests, eight elite female plant with interesting fruit characteristics were chosen for propagation and testing under commercial orchard conditions.