Chile: The challenges of kiwi varietal replacement in the medium term required by the industry

There are only a few weeks left until the Chilean kiwi harvest begins and with it the beginning of a new campaign, one of which has as one of its main challenges harvesting calmly to have fruit of optimal quality and storage. As an industry, in the medium term varietal replacement is a great challenge. Carlos Cruzat, president of the Chilean Kiwi Fruit Committee, commented that in the past the country has had difficulties producing new varieties. “At a global level, the trend is that yellow kiwis are going to grow significantly. Today, about 50% of exports are yellow kiwi, and the remaining 50% are green, which in a few more years will represent only 25% and yellow 75%. Therefore, Chile has the challenge of planting more yellow varieties; we have not had good results for 20 years. 1,650 hectares have been planted, of which there should remain just over 200 productive hectares. Our difficulty as an industry has been with Psa and Verticillium. Therefore, we are developing a variety ...