Temperature studies on kiwifruit vines using relocatable greenhouses

Abstract A set of eight relocatable greenhouses has been built for studies of temperature effects on mature kiwifruit vines (Actirddia deliciosa (A. Chev.) C. F. Liang et A. R. Ferguson) growing in a typical orchard. Each greenhouse covers one half of a vine planted at 6 m within-row spacing on a T-bar trellis. Temperatures within the greenhouses are maintained at a constant differential above ambient air temperature. Details of the construction, operation, and performance of the greenhouses are provided. In an initial experiment carried out in spring 1985, the mean air temperature was increased by 0.7° C or 4.9° C for 41 days. At the higher temperature, bud burst was advanced by 7 days and full bloom by 14 days. In the wanner greenhouses, growth of the apical shoot was increased and the percentage of shoots which produced flowers was reduced. An interaction between the warmed and untreated halves of the vines was observed.