ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the growth and development of the kiwifruit vine to provide a basis for examining the physiological responses of the vine to environmental stress and opportunities for minimizing the effects of these stresses on fruit production and quality. The growth patterns are typical of vines grown under New Zealand conditions. The importance of recognizing the complex patterns that exist in the spatial arrangement of the leaves and fruit in the canopy lies in developing strategies for producing fruit of a more uniform quality. Canopy shape strongly affects the radiation environment for leaves at different positions. The irradiance on the surface of canopies trained on a horizontal Pergola shows no spatial variability, so temporal variability depends mainly on incoming radiation. Spatial variation in leaf arrangement and temporal variation in irradiance conditions lead to highly dynamic irradiance of individual leaves within the canopy.
