History of KIWI.

A PLANT FROM CHINA VIA the ZEALAND NEWS Of the Chinese poems dating from the first millenium before Jesus Christ mention Actinidia which is described like a plant pushing in wet ground, with long growths, beautiful fruits and beautiful flowers. In the book "er Ya" (300-200 before J.C)il is written that the fruit of Actinidia is used to fight against the fever and its sap, like sticks in the manufacture of paper. The plant in itself was a plant of ornament giving of all small fruits.

Between 1740 and 1757, a French Jesuit: the father Chéron d' Incarville was the first European to collect the first seedlings of Yang CAT (literally "Fishing of Yang", pushing spontaneously in the forest skirting the Yangtze-Kiang river) in Southern China - Western.

In 1847, Jules Planchon, French botanist made the first description of the plant on specimens brought back by Robert Fortune during his first voyage to China (between 1843 and 1845). They were crop plants in gardens but also plants remained in a wild state. The botanist gave them the name of Actinidia Chinensis (Cf.page 37- Kiwuifruit, science and management by I.J Warrigton and GC Weston 1990).

Imported at the beginning of the century in Zealand News in its initial shape of plant of ornament, the first seedlings arrived at the same time to France in 1904 (at Selva Brancolar close to Nice) and in 1920 (with the Botanical garden of Paris).

The horticultural review of 16 April 1941, made state the single seedling female studied with the Natural history museum Main road of Natural History of Paris bore fruit for the first time in 1937 and gave a harvest of 85 kg in October 1940. The researchers then reflect in obviousness its antiscorbutic virtues and its exceptional content of vitamin C but do not have share with the French nurserymen directly their work. American started to observe this plant since 1910. (cf article: Fruit-bearing liana of Extrème the East interessante for our cultures and the food hygiene it re-examined Horticultural of April 16 1941).

Kiwi, It was called then "YANG CAT" or "MIHOU CAT" in China, "CURRANT OF CHINA" or "MOUSE VEGETALE" in France. Néo Zélandais, which called it "CHINESE GOOSBERRY" (currant of China) developed the culture of Actinidia and started to export the first fruits in 1952. Their first customers were respectively England and the States Unis.

The latter, in full cold war against Russia and China required of the New Zealanders to rename this fruit without political consonance. The name of "KIWI FRUIT" was retained taking into account its resemblance (color and aspect) to the bird, emblème national of the Zealand News. The success of the New Zealand orchards interested quickly of other countries like the States Unis, Italy France and Japan for the Northern hemisphere, Australia and Chile for the Southern hemisphere.

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