Horticultural Science and Technology 원예과학기술지 ISSN:1226-8763(Print) 2465-8588(Online)

In general, the storage life of hardy kiwifruit (Actinidia arguta ) is approximately one month, even in cold storage, which is a limiting factor for its commercialization due to the short marketing period. This short shelf life is in contrast to those of green kiwifruit (A. deliciosa , 6 to 8 months) and gold kiwifruit (A. chinensis , 4 to 6 months). To increase the storage life of hardy kiwifruit, we performed a cross between A. arguta (a local collection, ‘Hy2-1’, female) and A. deliciosa (‘Matua’, male) at Wando station at the Fruit Research Institute of JARES, Korea in 1999. After the first selection in 2006, we clonally propagated the hybrid plants by grafting them onto A. arguta seedlings in Gwangyang and Haenam province, Korea. We performed the final selection of this cultivar in 2012 and applied for plant protection rights from the Korea Forest Research Institute in 2013. Several experimental orchards have been established for commercial production. ‘Mansu’ begins to flower on May 20 in Gwangyang. The horticultural maturity date in ‘Mansu’, when the soluble solid content reaches 7°Bx, is October 15, whereas that of the control variety (‘Chiak’) is October 5. The average fruit size of ‘Mansu’ is approximately 15 g. The soluble solid content of ‘Mansu’ is approximately 16 to 17°Bx after ripening. The total yield of mature ‘Mansu’ vines is estimated to be 2.2 to 2.5 tons per 10a. The fruit firmness of ‘Mansu’ exceeded 1.5 kg/5 mmØ until 70 days after storage (at 0 and 1°C). Therefore, ‘Mansu’ fruits have much longer storability than the control. The cultivation and production of ‘Mansu’ may extend the marketing period for hardy kiwifruit.