Progress of Actinidia selection and breeding in China

Programmed selection and breeding of Actinidia in China started at end of the 70s, and can be divided into two periods. The first is from 1978 to 1990. The major objective during this time was to select elite strains and/or cultivars with big fruits (>80 g) in A. chinensis and what is now known as A. deliciosa. More than 11 cultivars and 40 strains of A. deliciosa, and more than 40 cultivars and 80 strains of A. chinensis have been named. The second period is fi om 1990 to the present. The main objective was to select and breed new cultivars and/or strains with longer fruit storage-life, better soil and climate adaptation and high productivity as well as particular horticultural characters. During this period, more than 10 cultivars of A. deliciosa, 8 of A. chinensis, 4 of A. arguta, 3 of A. eriantha, and 5 from interspecific hybridization have been obtained. In addition to pistillate cultivars, more than 10 staminate cultivars have been released. In this paper, the most important cultivars in each species and from their interspecific hybrids are briefly described, and others are tabulated. The problems of and prospects for Actinidia improvement are discussed.