Yalova Kiwi, or Yalova Kivisi, is one of the province’s best-known agricultural products and an important symbol of Yalova’s modern fruit-growing tradition. The registered product is based on the Hayward cultivar, with Tomuri or Matua used as pollinators, and is recognised for its relatively large fruit, bright green flesh, juicy texture, balanced tart-sweet character, and strong cold-storage performance.
Kiwi cultivation in Yalova developed through research, grower experience, suitable Marmara conditions, irrigation, orchard management, and the expansion of specialised cold-storage facilities. In 2021, Yalova Kivisi received a Turkish geographical indication as a designation of origin, formally linking its recognised characteristics and production method with Yalova Province.
The geographical-indication specification identifies Hayward as the principal fruiting cultivar.
Harvest normally takes place from the end of October into the beginning of November.
Yalova Kiwi is especially valued for maintaining quality during extended cold storage.
Yalova Kivisi has been registered by TÜRKPATENT as a designation of origin since 2021.
Essential information about one of Yalova’s most important agricultural products.
Produced within Yalova Province in northwestern Türkiye, on the southern side of the Sea of Marmara.
Open Yalova on Google MapsHayward kiwifruit, with Tomuri or Matua cultivars used as pollinators in registered production.
Usually from late October to early November, once the fruit reaches suitable harvest maturity.
Registered by TÜRKPATENT as Yalova Kivisi, registration number 851, on 17 August 2021.
How experimental cultivation developed into one of Yalova’s defining fruit industries.
Yalova’s climate, fertile horticultural areas, access to irrigation, and long tradition of fruit growing created favourable conditions for experimenting with kiwifruit. The province already had strong agricultural research and nursery expertise, making it a natural place to test a crop that was still relatively unfamiliar in Türkiye during the late twentieth century.
Official agricultural sources date organised kiwi studies in Türkiye to 1988, coordinated by specialists from the Atatürk Horticultural Central Research Institute in Yalova. The first kiwi orchard in the province was established in 1991 in Subaşı, Altınova, helping demonstrate that commercial production could succeed under local conditions.
As growers gained experience, kiwi orchards spread through suitable parts of Yalova. Training, orchard-support projects, irrigation systems, pruning knowledge, pollination management, crop thinning, cold storage, and marketing all contributed to the development of a specialised local production culture.
Yalova Kiwi became especially associated with the Hayward cultivar, appreciated for fruit size, flavour, productivity, market acceptance, late ripening, and storage life. The province’s growers also developed strong expertise in handling the fruit after harvest, allowing the crop to remain commercially available long after it leaves the orchard.
This relationship was formally recognised in 2021, when Yalova Kivisi was registered as a geographical indication with the status of menşe adı, or designation of origin. Today, kiwi remains an important part of Yalova’s agricultural identity alongside aronia, ornamental plants, nursery production, persimmons, vegetables, and other fruit crops.
The registered product is defined by its cultivar, fruit dimensions, flavour, texture, ripening behaviour, production practices, and performance during storage.
Yalova Kivisi is produced from the Hayward cultivar, one of the world’s best-known green kiwifruit cultivars and the principal commercial variety used in Yalova.
Kiwifruit plants are normally male or female, so fruiting orchards require compatible pollen-producing vines. The Yalova registration identifies Tomuri or Matua as pollinator cultivars.
The fruit has brown to greenish-brown skin covered with short, dense, soft hairs. Inside, the flesh is a vivid green surrounding the pale centre and small dark seeds.
Fruit size is one of the characteristics emphasised in the geographical-indication specification. Registered Yalova Kiwi generally falls within a broad commercial size range.
Individual fruits vary from cylindrical-oval forms to more rounded ovoid shapes. Shape and weight are among the registered product’s important identifying characteristics.
At eating ripeness, Yalova Kiwi is juicy, moderately sweet, lightly aromatic, and pleasantly tart. The flavour develops after harvest as starches convert and the fruit softens.
Kiwi is harvested at physiological maturity before it reaches its softest eating stage. It continues ripening after harvest and is marketed when sweetness and texture reach suitable levels.
One of Yalova Kiwi’s recognised strengths is its ability to maintain important quality characteristics and experience relatively low weight loss under suitable cold-storage conditions.
Yalova Kivisi is officially registered by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office as a geographical indication with the status of menşe adı, or designation of origin. This means the protected product is tied to the defined geographical area and must follow the characteristics, production method, and inspection conditions described in the registration.
The official protected name is Yalova Kivisi.
The geographical-indication registration number is 851.
The registration was completed on 17 August 2021.
The product is registered as a menşe adı, corresponding to a designation of origin.
The registered geographical boundary is Yalova Province.
The registration holder is the Yalova Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry.
The specification defines the Hayward cultivar and its pollinators, fruit appearance and size, harvest maturity, eating ripeness, orchard establishment, male-to-female plant ratios, trellising, pruning, thinning, irrigation, storage, packaging, geographical boundaries, and inspection procedures.
Kiwifruit needs a long growing season, reliable moisture, fertile soil, protection from severe climatic extremes, and careful orchard management. Yalova’s humid Marmara environment, mild coastal influence, irrigation possibilities, and specialised horticultural knowledge have helped the crop become firmly established in the province.
Yalova’s relatively mild winters and warm growing season are well suited to perennial horticultural crops when orchards are established in appropriate locations.
Kiwifruit has high water requirements, especially during active growth and fruit development, making well-managed irrigation essential.
Fruit develops from spring flowering through summer enlargement and is harvested only in late October or early November.
Research institutions, experienced growers, pruning expertise, orchard-support systems, and cold storage all reinforce Yalova’s kiwi-growing tradition.
Yalova Kiwi follows a long annual cycle. Vines move from winter dormancy into spring growth, flowering and pollination, followed by months of fruit enlargement before the late-autumn harvest.
For travellers interested in the agricultural side of Yalova, late October and early November are the most characteristic kiwi-harvest period. Unlike soft fruit that must be eaten immediately, kiwifruit is picked while still firm and then continues toward eating ripeness after harvest.
The registered Yalova product is normally harvested at the end of October and the beginning of November.
Growers can use soluble-solids readings with a refractometer to help determine suitable harvest maturity.
Fruit is collected before reaching the soft eating stage, which supports handling, transport, and long-term storage.
The geographical-indication specification states that fruit is offered for consumption when soluble solids reach roughly 14–17%.
If your main reason for visiting is to see active orchards or the harvest itself, arrange access in advance. Kiwi orchards are working agricultural properties, and harvest timing can move slightly according to weather, orchard location, and measured fruit maturity.
A properly ripened Yalova Kiwi has bright green flesh, abundant juice, moderate sweetness, a refreshing tart note, and a light aroma. Texture changes considerably as the fruit ripens: freshly harvested kiwi is firm, while eating-ripe fruit becomes tender and succulent.
Natural acidity gives the fruit a lively flavour that balances its sweetness.
Sweetness increases during post-harvest ripening as the fruit approaches eating maturity.
The registered description specifically characterises the flesh as abundant in juice.
Because kiwi is climacteric, the texture becomes softer and more aromatic after picking.
For the best eating experience, choose fruit that yields slightly to gentle pressure without feeling mushy. Very firm kiwi can usually be left at room temperature to continue ripening before refrigeration.
Long storage life is one of the most commercially important characteristics highlighted in the Yalova Kiwi registration. Suitable harvesting, rapid cooling, careful handling, temperature control, and humidity management allow the fruit to be marketed over an extended period rather than only during the short harvest window.
The geographical-indication specification states that Yalova Kiwi may be stored for up to approximately nine months under cold-storage conditions.
Tests used in the registration process highlighted relatively low weight loss during storage compared with fruit examined from other production areas.
Important physical and chemical characteristics are intended to remain stable during suitable storage.
Cold storage allows Yalova-grown fruit to reach consumers well beyond the late-autumn harvest period.
Kiwifruit is a vigorous woody vine rather than a self-supporting tree. Its shoots can grow several metres in a season, so commercial orchards use posts, wires, and training systems to carry the canopy and fruit crop.
Posts and wires support the heavy vines and help keep fruiting canes arranged for light, airflow, harvesting, and pruning.
Dormant pruning controls the number and position of fruiting canes and is one of the most important annual orchard operations.
Canopy management during June and July helps balance vigorous vegetative growth with fruit development.
Growers remove misshapen or excess fruit so that the remaining crop can develop better size and commercial quality.
Regular watering is essential because kiwi vines have strong growth and high moisture requirements.
The registration notes that properly managed vines can enter full production around years four to five and remain productive for decades.
Kiwifruit production depends on successful pollination because the fruiting Hayward vines and pollen-producing vines are separate plants. Orchard design therefore includes male pollinators positioned among the female vines so that flowers receive enough pollen during the short flowering period.
Kiwi has become one of Yalova’s strategic agricultural crops. Its value comes not only from orchard production but also from the network surrounding it: nurseries, irrigation systems, seasonal labour, packing, cold storage, transport, wholesalers, exporters, and technical services.
Official provincial figures reported 14,384 tonnes of kiwi produced in Yalova in 2024.
The same official 2024 figures reported approximately 775 kiwi producers in the province.
Registered provincial reporting placed Yalova’s 2024 kiwi-growing area at approximately 5,420 decares.
The growth of kiwi production has encouraged investment in large-capacity cold-storage facilities around the province.
Production changes from year to year with weather, frost, disease pressure, pests, orchard area, and market conditions. For that reason, annual tonnage figures should be treated as a snapshot rather than a fixed measure of Yalova’s long-term output.
Yalova’s Atatürk Horticultural Central Research Institute played an important role in the early research and adaptation of kiwifruit in Türkiye. Official provincial agricultural records trace coordinated kiwi studies to 1988, years before commercial orchards became widespread.
The Subaşı area has hosted traditional kiwi festivals and harvest celebrations bringing together growers, residents, agricultural institutions, local officials, and visitors. These events reflect the strong connection between kiwi production and the communities where the crop first expanded commercially in Yalova.
Kiwi events are generally associated with the late-October and early-November harvest period.
Subaşı in Altınova has an especially important place in the local story because Yalova’s first kiwi orchard was established there.
Festivals and harvest ceremonies provide opportunities to highlight producers, orchard traditions, and regional agricultural identity.
Festival dates, venues, and whether an event is held can change from year to year, so current local announcements should always be checked.
Fresh Yalova Kiwi is harvested in late autumn, but long cold-storage potential means locally grown fruit may remain available for many months. Availability depends on the season, retailer, storage stocks, and the origin of the fruit being sold.
Fruit-and-vegetable markets in Yalova may carry locally grown kiwi during and after the harvest period.
Some growers and agricultural businesses sell directly during harvest, although arrangements vary and orchard access should be organised in advance.
Local fruit shops are an easy place to ask specifically for geographically indicated Yalova Kivisi.
Official harvest ceremonies and seasonal agricultural events can provide a useful introduction to the local crop and producer community.
If purchasing the protected product is important to you, look for the Yalova Kivisi name and the appropriate geographical-indication marking rather than assuming every kiwi sold in the province was grown within Yalova.
Late October and early November offer the best chance of seeing harvest activity in kiwi-growing areas.
Commercial kiwi is picked firm and reaches its softer eating stage later, so freshly harvested fruit may not be ready to eat immediately.
If you want the protected local product, ask specifically for Yalova-grown kiwi and check the label when packaged.
Never enter fields, walk under trellises, or pick fruit without the grower’s permission.
Although firm kiwi travels well, bruising can accelerate softening and reduce storage quality.
If a kiwi is very hard, allow it to soften naturally before eating, then refrigerate ripe fruit if necessary.
Kiwi-growing areas can be combined with Altınova, Hersek, Yalova city, Termal, botanical gardens, museums, and coastal stops.
Harvest ceremonies and festival programmes can change, so confirm current dates before planning a trip around an event.
Kiwi is part of a broader agricultural landscape shaped by fruit growing, berry production, ornamental horticulture, nursery cultivation, beekeeping, and specialised research.
A geographically indicated dark-purple berry that has become one of Yalova’s most recognisable newer agricultural products.
A regional product connected with the province’s forested landscapes and flowering chestnut trees.
Persimmon production forms another part of Yalova’s diverse fruit-growing economy and autumn harvest season.
Yalova is one of Türkiye’s most important centres for ornamental plants, nurseries, cut flowers, and garden horticulture.
A kiwi-focused visit can be combined with Yalova’s wetlands, coastal landscapes, thermal heritage, botanical collections, museums, and historic sites.
Explore the district closely connected with Yalova’s kiwi story, together with coastal heritage and the wider Hersek area.
Discover one of Yalova’s important wetland habitats, known for birdwatching and seasonal migratory species.
Experience the province’s famous mineral waters, historic bath culture, forest scenery, and peaceful thermal-resort atmosphere.
Explore an exceptional botanical collection that reflects Yalova’s deep connection with horticulture and plant cultivation.
See miniature trees shaped through long-term horticultural care and discover another side of Yalova’s plant-growing culture.
Visit the waterfront pavilion remembered for Atatürk’s decision to move the building rather than cut a plane tree.
Learn about Yalova’s local history, culture, settlement, economy, and changing relationship with the Marmara region.
Continue your agricultural journey with another protected local crop and discover Yalova’s deep-purple berry harvest.
Yalova Kiwi is geographically indicated Hayward kiwifruit produced within Yalova Province according to the characteristics and production conditions defined in its Turkish registration.
The protected local name is Yalova Kivisi.
The geographical-indication specification identifies the Hayward cultivar as the principal fruiting variety.
The registered specification identifies Tomuri or Matua as pollinator cultivars.
Yes. Yalova Kivisi is registered by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office as a designation of origin.
The registration number is 851.
The registration was completed on 17 August 2021.
Harvest generally takes place from the end of October into the beginning of November.
The registered specification gives an approximate fruit weight of 80–150 g, with a width of about 4–6 cm and a length of about 6–9 cm.
At eating ripeness it is juicy, lightly aromatic, moderately sweet, and pleasantly tart, with the characteristic fresh flavour of green Hayward kiwifruit.
Kiwifruit is climacteric, meaning it continues to ripen after harvest. Picking it firm supports transport and storage before it softens to eating ripeness.
The geographical-indication specification states that the fruit can be maintained for up to approximately nine months under suitable cold-storage conditions.
Official provincial agricultural records state that the first kiwi orchard in Yalova was established in Subaşı, Altınova, in 1991.
Official sources trace coordinated kiwi research in Türkiye to 1988, with specialists from the Atatürk Horticultural Central Research Institute in Yalova playing a central role.
Only with permission. Kiwi orchards are private working farms, so visits should be arranged with growers rather than entering independently.
The Subaşı area has hosted traditional Yalova kiwi festivals and harvest celebrations. Dates and programmes can change from year to year, so check current local announcements before travelling.
Locally grown fruit may be available through greengrocers, produce markets, growers, wholesalers, and seasonal agricultural events. Availability is highest from harvest onward and can continue through storage.
A ripe kiwi usually yields slightly to gentle pressure. Very hard fruit generally needs more time to ripen, while excessively soft fruit may be overripe.
Yalova played an early role in kiwi research and commercial orchard development, built strong grower expertise and storage infrastructure, and remains one of the country’s important production centres.
Yes. For travellers interested in local produce and regional agriculture, it offers an easy-to-taste connection with one of Yalova’s most important modern farming traditions.
Kiwi orchards offer distinctive photographic scenes because the fruit hangs beneath broad leaves and wire-supported canopies. Late autumn adds harvest baskets, workers, crates, and the rich green-and-brown colours of mature fruit.
Photograph clusters of kiwi hanging below the large leaves to show the vine’s unusual growth habit.
Rows of posts and wires create strong geometric lines and depth, especially when photographed down the centre of an orchard row.
Freshly picked kiwi in orchard bins or crates gives a strong sense of the scale and seasonality of production.
The contrast between brown skin, bright green flesh, pale centre, and dark seeds makes ripe kiwi especially photogenic.
With permission, close-ups of careful hand-picking can add human context to the agricultural story.
Soft morning or late-afternoon light can reveal leaf texture, fruit hairs, and the structure of the trellis system.
Always ask permission before photographing private farms, workers, or producers at close range. Avoid handling fruit, moving equipment, or stepping into crop rows unless invited by the grower.
Yalova is compact enough to combine orchard country with wetlands, historic sites, botanical collections, thermal springs, and coastal landscapes.
Build a varied day around agriculture, nature, history, and the province’s distinctive Marmara landscapes.
Explore the district connected with Yalova’s earliest commercial kiwi story, then continue toward Hersek’s cultural landscape, lagoon, and Marmara coastline.
Explore Altınova & Hersek
Continue the horticultural theme with an exceptional collection of trees and ornamental plants that reflects Yalova’s long-standing expertise in plant cultivation.
Explore the ArboretumFor travellers combining Istanbul, Bursa, Yalova, İznik, or the wider Marmara region, private transportation and customised sightseeing can be arranged according to your route.
Create a personalised route combining Termal, Yürüyen Köşk, museums, wetlands, botanical gardens, coastal stops, and seasonal local products such as Yalova Kiwi and Yalova Aronia.
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