Electrostatic treatment enhances pollen viability and fruit quality in kiwifruit during low-temperature weather

• Electrostatic lastingly impacts kiwifruit’s physiology. • Electrostatic treatment on pollen can alter kiwifruit’s aroma profile. • Electrostatic pollination can modify biosynthesis of flavor compounds in kiwifruit. • Electrostatic pollination imparts enhanced resistance to chilling stress in kiwifruit. Cold temperature during pollination causes low nutrients and malformed fruits in kiwifruit, while electrostatic treatment enhances chilling resistance. Pollination with electrostatically treated pollen was conducted on two kiwifruit cultivars ( Actinidia deliciosa cv. ‘Xuxiang’ and ‘Hayward’) using electrostatically treated pollen over two years. Electrostatic applied on pollen exerted persistent effects on kiwifruit growth, significantly increasing fruit yield and nutrients. Soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA), dry matter content (DM) and vitamin C (VC) were detected throughout harvest and ripening stage, electrostatic pollination was beneficial to fruit quality, particularly increasing SSC and sugars (fructose, glucose, and sucrose). Concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) differed between kiwifruit cultivars, notably, electrostatic treatment with various voltages can affect VOCs concentration, particularly esters, observed differences can endow different kiwifruit cultivars with unique aroma profiles. This demonstrates that electrostatic pollination improves kiwifruit’s cold tolerance, offering a new approach to managing fruit quality in other crops.