Shudan Yan

Institute of Life Sciences, Jiyang College of Zhejiang A&F University, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
Bioscience Methods, 2026, Vol. 17, No. 1   
Received: 06 Jan., 2026    Accepted: 07 Feb., 2026    Published: 19 Feb., 2026

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Kiwifruit is an important economic fruit tree in China. Reasonable winter pruning is a key measure to achieve high yield and good quality of kiwifruit. This paper conducted a systematic study on the effects of different winter pruning intensities (light pruning, moderate pruning, and heavy pruning)on the tree structure and fruiting performance of kiwifruit. The results showed that the intensity of winter pruning directly affects the formation of fruiting branches and fruit quality of kiwifruit: as the pruning intensity increases, the number of fruiting branches and their proportion in the new shoots decrease, but the fruiting branches per plant are more robust; under heavy pruning treatment, the single fruit quality and soluble solid content of the fruit significantly increase, and the appearance and intrinsic quality of the fruit are optimized, but the number of fruiting branches per plant and total yield decrease; light pruning treatment increases the number of fruiting branches and fruits, increases the initial yield, but causes problems such as smaller fruits and reduced sugar content, resulting in a decline in quality. Moderate pruning at an appropriate level can maintain a high yield while also taking into account fruit quality, achieving a coordinated balance between yield and quality. The research provides a scientific basis for optimizing the intensity of winter pruning in kiwifruit orchards and is of great significance to the quality and economic benefits of kiwifruit products in the industry.

Kiwifruit; Winter pruning; Pruning intensity; Resulting branches; Fruit quality