Plant metabolomics within field-based food production systems is challenging owing to environmental variability and the complex architecture and metabolic growth cycles of plants. Kiwifruit cultivars of Actinidia chinensis are vigorous perennial vines grown as clones in highly structured orchard environments, intensively managed to maximize fruit yield and quality. To understand the metabolic responses of vines to orchard management practices, we needed to better understand the various sources of metabolic variability encountered in the orchard. Triplicate composite leaf, internode and fruit (mature and immature) samples were collected from each of six Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa ‘Hayward’ and A. chinensis var. chinensis ‘Zesy002’ kiwifruit vines at three times during the growing season and measured by LC-MS. In general, there was more variation in metabolite concentrations within vines than between vines, with ‘Hayward’ showing a greater percentage of within-vine variability than ‘Zesy002’ (c. 90 vs. 70% respectively). In specific tissues, the sampler, infection by Pseudomonas syringae var. actinidiae and the rootstock also influenced metabolite variability. A similar pattern of metabolic variability was observed from quantitative analysis of specific carbohydrates and phytohormones. High within-vine metabolic variability indicates that it is more important to obtain sufficient replicate samples than to sample from multiple vines. These data provide an objective basis for optimizing metabolite sampling strategies within kiwifruit orchards.
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