Supplementary Pollination Effect on the Postharvest Quality of Hayward Kiwifruit during Cold Storage

Different four methods of supplementary pollination included as open pollination, hand pollination from male flowers of cv. Tomori, spray pollination with pure pollen and spray pollination with impure pollen (collected from the entrance of bees' nests at the time of opening kiwifruit male flowers) was conducted in three replications in ۲۰۲۱. When the fruit reached the maturity stage (۶.۲ °Brix), it was harvested and stored for ۹۰ days at ۰ °C. The results showed that kiwifruit decay (۱.۷۰%), weight loss (۳.۱۴%), total soluble solids (TSS) (۱۴۹.۶۲%) and TSS to titratable acidity (TA) ratio (TSS/TA) (۳۳۳.۰۴%) significantly (P ≤ ۰.۰۱) increased during ۹۰ days of cold storage, whereas, fruit firmness (۳۸.۲۴%), TA (۴۲.۱۰%), total chlorophyll (۵۳.۷۲%), carotenoid (۱۸.۶۵%), vitamin C (۱۰.۳۴%), flavonoid (۱۲.۸۷%) and antioxidant activity (۱۳.۲۹%) significantly decreased through storage time. Furthermore, total phenolic content (TPC) significantly increased at the ۳۰ days of cold storage and then significantly reduced. Generally, fruits produced from vine sprayed with impure pollen had higher firmness, bioactive compounds, and sensory attributes, as well as lower decay and weight loss after ۹۰ days of cold storage. Overall, spraying kiwifruit vines with impure pollen could be recommended as a practical supplementary pollination in kiwifruit cv. Hayward regarding maintaining postharvest quality.