Carbohydrate changes in kiwifruit buds during the onset and release from dormancy

Carbohydrates were measured in axillary bud meristems from kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa (A.Chev.) C.F. Liang et A.R. Ferguson cultivar Hayward) to determine whether concentrations changed during winter dormancy. Buds were collected from kiwifruit vines growing in four sites, which spanned the climatic range that kiwifruit are grown in New Zealand, and from vines where the time of budbreak had been manipulated using hydrogen cyanamide. During winter, sugars comprised 78% of measured carbohydrates in meristems, with sucrose accounting for more than 86% of sugars detected (up to 200 mg g DW−1). Starch concentrations in bud meristems showed little change during winter. Meristem sucrose and hexose concentrations increased rapidly from autumn until mid-winter, and this was correlated with leaf abscission. Sugar accumulation ceased in mid-winter and concentrations remained stable until spring, suggesting that bud meristem activity was low. Four weeks before visible bud movement, a marked decline in sucrose and increase in hexose concentrations, indicated activity in the meristems had increased prior to budbreak. The patterns of seasonal change and peak sucrose concentrations in meristems were similar at all sites. The only difference was in the timing of events, with changes in meristem sugars occurring earliest in vines growing at the coolest site, coinciding with their earlier cessation of and resumption of vine growth. Advancing budbreak, by applying hydrogen cyanamide to vines in late winter, also advanced changes in sugar concentrations within meristems. This work suggests that the concentration of sucrose in kiwifruit bud meristems has utility as an indicator of whether they are being induced into, maintained or released from winter dormancy.