Breeding of red-fleshed kiwifruit cultivar ‘Donghong'

NAbstract:ew cultivar‘Donghong'was selected from the F1 offsprings of open- pollinated kiwifruit‘Hongyang'at Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The seeds of‘Hongyang'werecollected in autumn of 2001, and then sowed to culture the seedlings in spring of 2002. In total, 347 F1 seedlings were obtained and 24 plants set fruits in 2005. Plants demonstrating superior characteristicsboth in cultivation and fruit(e.g., vigorous, red-fleshed and good flavor fruit) were selected to test theadaptability of different ecological environments. A plant(‘H-2') which showed sustainable stability ofgood flavor, outstanding storage life and high yield in different regional trials was selected and named to‘Donghong'. Molecular markers of Fluorescent- AFLP confirmed obviously genetic differentiation be-tween‘Donghong'and related cultivars(e. g.‘Hongyang'). The Plant Variety Protection of‘Donghong'was applied in 2011 and authorized by Ministry of Agriculture, China in 2016(Variety Right NumberCNA20070118.5). The fruit are medium-sized, average weight 65-75 g(maximum weight 112 g), and uni-form; in general, they are long cylindrical, the stylar end is slightly protrusion or round, the fruit skin isgreen-brown. The fruit flesh is golden-yellow with red radiation around the seeds. The fruit has a tendertexture, fine, juicy, sweet and aromatic taste. The content of soluble solids, dry matters, total sugars, total ac-ids and vitamin C is 15.6%-20.7%, 17.8%-22.4%, 10.8%-13.1%, 1.1%-1.5% and 1 130-1 600 mg·kg-1fresh weight, respectively. The fruit development period of‘Donghong'is 140 days. In Wuhan city, itstarts to bloom at mid-April and fruit mature in early September. The percentage of bud germination,shoot forming and fruiting caneis are 71.8%, 100% and 88%, respectively. Flowers are on the third tonight of the fruiting shoots, predominantly singly or inflorescences of 3 flowers.‘Donghong'has a good re-sistance to soft rot, and better performance under bacterial canker of kiwifruit, heat and drought.‘Dong-hong'fruit store well and have a long shelf life: storage life 1-2 months at ambient temperatures and 5-6months at cool store; the shelf life at room temperature after softening to eating ripeness could be 15-20 days at ambient temperatures and 3-4 months at cool-stored condition. The climatic region similar as Hu-bei and Sichuan province are suitable for cultivation.‘Donghong'is precocious and stable yields of fruit;grafted plants start fruiting at the second year and can produce 1 000 kg per 666.7 m2 at the fourth yearafter grafting.‘Donghong'is suitable for cultivation in sub-acidity, fertile soil and moisture condition.Planting density could be 2 m×4 m or 3 m×4 m, using the pergola and T-bar systems, with a single trunk,two permanent leaders and multiple side branches. The recommended polleniser is‘Moshan male No. 2'and‘Moshan male No. 1', at a planting ratio of female: male 5-8∶1.