Soil and management factors differentially affect kiwifruit quality: a multivariate approach

Kiwifruit is one of the most appreciated fruits in the world, which organoleptic and nutritional quality is influenced by many factors. Although the contributions of different factors individually considered on fruit quality were reported, their simultaneous effect is missing. In this work, a multivariate approach was performed to evaluate management, fruit maturity (different harvest time) and soil properties on kiwifruit quality. The principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that soil properties explained the largest variability (91%) as compared to management and harvest time (73%). In particular, physical soil properties as high silt values, low sand content, availability of macro- (N, and K) and micro-nutrients (Fe, Mn and Cu) could be considered as the main factor affecting fruit quality, thereby reducing fruit softening.