Morphological, qualitative, and nutraceutical differences between fruits of Actinidia deliciosa (A. Chev.) CF Liang & AR Ferguson and A. chinensis Planch varieties

Background - The green-fleshed 'Hayward' cultivar has dominated the Italian kiwi market. Economic interest in yellow-fleshed kiwifruit cultivars belonging to Actinidia deliciosa species has increased of late. Objectives - Kiwifruit quality depends on several factors, including the growing environment. This study aimed to evaluate the qualitative and nutraceutical content of fruits of three Actinidia chinensis Planch cultivars and A. deliciosa (A. Chev.) C.F. Liang & A.R. Ferguson, 'Hayward' cultivar. Methods - The trial was conducted during two production seasons (2019 and 2020) on a farm located in southern Italy. 'Hayward' (HY), lintao' (JT), 'Gold3' (G3), and 'Donghong' (DH) trees were planted in spring 2015. At harvest, fruit biometric parameters, ripening indices, and nutritional parameters were recorded. All data were subjected to analysis of variance and PCA. Results and discussion - The cultivars 'Gold3' and 'fintao' had higher carpometric and quality values than 'Hayward' kiwifruit, especially in fresh weight, total soluble solids, flesh firmness, total polyphenols, ascorbic acid, and total antioxidant capacity. 'Donghong' significantly differed from the other cultivars in terms of the TSS/TA ratio, total polyphenols, and total flavonoids. Conclusion - The four cultivars significantly differed in quality parameters in the environment in which the experiment was conducted, with the yellow-fleshed cultivars exhibiting superior quality.