Composition and nutritional evaluation of kiwifruit grown in Italy

Different cultivars of kiwifruit ( Actinidia deliciosa ) (A. Chev.) C.F. Liang et A.R. Ferguson) were harvested in 4 consecutive years and analysed at harvest time. The cultivars were: ‘Abbott’, ‘Bruno’, ‘Elmwood’, ‘Fatma’, ‘Gracie’, ‘Hayward’, ‘Monty’, and two ‘Hayward’ clones—‘Priori’ and ‘Tenna’. Major differences, not only between cultivars but also within cultivars, were observed for vitamin C content ‘Bruno’ fruit had the highest and ‘Abbott’ the lowest mean vitamin C content The main nutrients (water, sugar, acid, pectin, dietary fibre), individual sugar, and organic acid composition and indicative sugar: acid ratios are reported. In terms of sensory characteristics, ‘Bruno’ and ‘Fatma’ fruit were favoured over the other cultivars. The relatively high dietary fibre content of the fruit is mostly insoluble. With regard to the organic acids, there was a prevalence of citric acid.