From its roots in China to commercial fame in New Zealand, kiwifruit has landed in Clanton, Ala. —where researchers are now digging into its potential as a specialty crop. Kiwifruit is a high-value specialty crop with great potential to work for Alabama commercial fruit producers or even small-scale cultivation.
Starting in late 2024, this ongoing two-year project is funded through the Alabama Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. This program was designed to evaluate the potential for viable kiwifruit production in Alabama. The goal is to determine the commodity’s viability not only within the state but across the Southeast.
Jay Spiers, Auburn University associate professor of horticulture leads the project and has high hopes for the future of kiwifruit production in the state.
“A big part of this research is making the public aware that we can grow kiwifruit in Alabama, particularly the gold-fleshed cultivars. They are unique and known to be very nutritious,” Spiers said.
The Gulf Coast Research and Extension Center in Fairhope, Ala. and the Chilton County Research and Extension Center in Clanton, Ala. are home to the primary research orchards. These two outlying units are part of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station. They play an important role in providing regional support for agricultural research, outreach, and crop development.
Most people probably think of the ‘Hayward’ fuzzy kiwifruit, which is the most widely commercially produced cultivar. However, it is not the typical kiwifruit being researched at the Experiment Station’s outlying units. The plots are filled with ‘AU Golden Sunshine,’ ‘AU Gulf Coast Gold,’ and ‘AU Golden Dragon.’ Plants licensed by Auburn University contain yellow flesh with a sweet tropical flavor and generally lower acidity.
But this isn’t the first time kiwifruit production research has been conducted in Alabama; from 2014 – 2019, kiwifruit production was thriving in Reeltown, Ala. The Southeast Kiwi Farming Cooperative was created to focus on the export market and approximately 180 acres of gold kiwifruit cultivars (‘AU Golden Sunshine’ and ‘AU Gulf Coast Gold’). This large, innovative farm offered numerous research opportunities before operational funding was cut. It also served as further proof of concept that gold kiwifruit can be a productive crop in the southeastern U.S. The new project assesses the performance of the golden kiwifruit varieties that were grown previously. The AU kiwifruit plant licenses were part of the Southeast Kiwi Farming Cooperative venture, which resulted in limited plant availability for the public. Now, the AU gold-fleshed kiwifruits are available for interested Alabama growers for production purposes.
“These cultivars have been evaluated for many years, so we’ve learned a lot about their production requirements, and we are confident that they can be great for local sales, farm-to-school programs, etc.,” said Spiers. “There are few, if any, other gold-fleshed cultivars available for local production…and these have been grown for over 30 years at our research station in central Alabama (CREC), so we know that they can be productive.”
Spiers, the Experiment Station staff and graduate student researchers will also be testing the girdling process to evaluate its effectiveness. Commonly used in New Zealand, fruit girdling is a horticultural practice that involves cutting strips of bark from the trunks or branches. This process temporarily stops carbohydrates moving in the phloem to roots. Then, more energy is put into producing mouthwatering fruit. The team is conducting trials with girdling and no girdling treatments to examine the outcomes of the techniques.
Often referred to as a “super-fruit,” kiwifruit is packed with nutrients like antioxidants, fiber, potassium, and vitamins B, C, and K. With its heart-healthy and immune-boosting qualities, kiwifruit offers strong nutritional appeal. This project aims to deliver research-based insights to help growers make informed decisions about incorporating it into their operations.
“Kiwifruit is a major world-wide crop, but the U.S. only has commercial production in California —and this is almost entirely green-fleshed kiwifruit. The arid climate in California is stressful to gold kiwifruit,” Spiers said. “We have an advantage with our humidity and limited competition for domestic gold-fleshed kiwifruit production. I think there is a lot of potential. With kiwifruit being a new commercial crop for our region, I am focused on local, retail production in Alabama for the 5- to10-year outlook.”
Researchers at the Experiment Station are also hoping that kiwifruit will be a great addition to the farm-to-school program. The farm-to-school program is operated by the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries. In this program, agricultural producers are directly linked to schools and food banks to sell their fresh produce. This partnership benefits growers by building their network locally where they can supply fruits and vegetables to schools.
High value crops are always enticing to growers, especially in today’s agricultural economy with ever increasing input costs. Spiers sees strong market potential in gold-fleshed kiwifruit, positioning it as a viable income source for Alabama fruit producers.
“I think it is fair to say that a grower could get at least two-dollars per pound for gold-fleshed kiwifruit— I would retail higher— which would equate to $40,000 per acre if they got 20,000 pounds per acre. In New Zealand, they expect approximately 40,000 – 50,000 pounds per acre. Our current research assesses productivity with fewer inputs than New Zealand practices. Costs for trellis and labor can be high, but I believe there is room for good profits,” Spiers said.
Educational and outreach opportunities are available to growers at Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and Alabama Extension field days during the fall and upcoming spring. Additionally, reports and progress report data will be available at the Annual Fruit and Vegetable Grower’s Conference in February 2026.
