3. Plant Description:
HEIGHT- less than 19 m (62 ft)
The bark is grey-black, the branches a
brownish-red
ROOT- shallow rooted
Leaves-compound with leaflets in 2-4 pairs
flowers -small, yellowish-white
Inflorescence- compound raceme
Fruit type- nut, contain:- aril- 70-86%
peel-8-15%
seed-4-18%
edible portion- fleshly aril
Pollination system: cross pollinated crop
4. NUTRITIVE VALUE
Energy 276 kJ (66 kcal)
Carbohydrates 16.53 g
Sugars 15.23 g
Dietary fiber 1.3 g
Dietary fiber 1.3 g
Vitamin C 71.5 mg (86%)
5. AREA & PRODUCTION
`China` is the biggest producer of litchi in the world.
India rank second in the the world(Area & Production).
In india litchi is grown on large scale in Bihar.
State rank – `Bihar`(area & production)
`West Bengal`(productivity)
7. State-wise Area, Production & Productivity of
State Area
Litchi
(‘000 Ha.)
Production
(‘000 MT)
Productivity
(MT/Ha.)
Bihar 27.7 221.7 8.0
West Bengal 5.9 61.4 10.5
Assam 4.1 18.7 4.6
Punjab 1.2 11.6 10.0
Orissa 3.5 10.2 2.9
Tripura 1.7 9.0 5.1
Jharkhand 1.5 7.5 5.0
Uttaranchal 7.8 7.5 1.0
Nagaland 0.8 4.0 5.1
Others 4.0 4.5 -
TOTAL 58.2 356.2 6.1
8. ECOLOGICAL REQURIMENT
Litchi is subtropical fruit
Bearing tree are much affected by
HOT WIND causing fruit cracking
SOIL
Alluvial soil with good
drainage is suitable for litchi
orchard.
It can grow in wide range of
soils from light sandy to heavy
clay.
TEMPERATURE
The temperature should not
go beyond 40.5 0C in
summer and below freezing
point in winter
9. VARIETIES
EARLY-dehradoon(fruit have an attractive colour),
Early badam (seedless variety) ,
muzzafarpur, shahi
MEDIUM- rose santed, Mclean
LATE- seedless late(late bedana), calcttia, china
10. PROPOGATION
From Seed
Through vegetative.
SEED
Litchi seed loses its viability with in 4-5days of its extraction from the
fruit.
The trees raised from seeds are very slow to come into bearing and
may take 10-12 years to come to bearing.
VEGETATIVE
In vegetative propogation technique, litchi can be propagated
through cutting, budding, layering and grafting.
AIR LAYERING(in the month jun-july) is the Commercial method of
propogation.
11. Details Usual Practice
Planting Time • August – September
• Planting may be done in spring and early summer if irrigation facility is available
Planting Distance • 10×8m.
• Average no. of plants- 200 per ha.
Size of pits • 1x1x1 m (pits are dug a few weeks prior to planting)
Filling of pits • Pits are left undisturbed initially for a period of 15-20 days.
• Filled with top soil mixed with manures and fertilizers @ 20-25 kg FYM, 2 kg
bonemeal and 300 g muriate of potash per pit.
Planting • Square system of planting is usually followed.
• A small hole is made at the center of the pit and the desired material is planted.
Water is applied immediately after planting
12. Age of the plant
(in years)
Manure/Fertilizer applied (per plant/year in kg)
FYM CAN (Calcium
ammonium
nitrate)
Super phosphate Muriate of potash
1-3 10 - 20 0.3-1.00 0.2-0.6 0.05-0.15
4-6 25 - 40 1.0-2.0 0.75-1.25 0.20-0.30
7-10 40 – 50 2.0-3.0 1.50-2.0 0.35-0.45
Above 10 60 3.5 2.25 0.60
13. Irrigation
Methods- Basin or ring system of irrigation is recommended.
Two irrigations at an interval of 45 – 60 days during winter
months is required for bearing litchi trees.
The trees are irrigated from fl owering onwards until the
completion of the post-harvest fl ush. However, the growers
normally irrigate the tree at 7 to 10 day intervals from panicle
emergence to fruit harvest or until the post-harvest fl ush
appears
14. Intercultural Operations
Mulching- The farmyard
manure, compost or straw
may be used for soil
mulching.
Cutting down of tall growing
weeds in the orchard and
spreading them over the soil
is another method of
mulching the soil.
Training & Pruning- After
planting, a certain amount of
pruning is often necessary to
give proper shape to the litchi
plant
Once the desired shape is
achieved, no pruning is
usually necessary, except the
removal of dead or diseased
branches
15. Weed control
Weeds compete with the trees for water and nutrients.
Mulches used include wheat, barley or rice straw, hay,
sorghum stubble and similar materials.
Reduce costs by growing mulch material between the
rows for later slashing.
16. Plant Protection Measures
Diseases
Litchi is almost free from fungal diseases in India.
Few diseases have been reported from any litchi-growing
locally.
1-Leaf spots
2-Red rust
17. Phiological Disorder
Fruit cracking
Presence of optimum moisture level in the soil
during fruit development is crucial for reducing fruit
cracking and quality litchi production Early varieties are
more susceptible to cracking than late ripening one.
Flower and fruit drop
Sunburn
18. Pest control
1- Fruit flies
They cause severe damage to litchi fruit, especially
during fruit formation.
2-Litchi moth
This species also attacks macadamia nuts and is
related to the false codling moth, Cryptophlebia leucotreta
(Meyrick), although it has not been recorded on citrus yet, which
is the main host of the latter pest.
Control-
The use of bait must be applied correctly and regularly to ensure
good results – 5 g trichlorfon 95% wsp + 25 ml protein hydrolysate
(or 800 g sugar) + 10 litres of water. Apply to each tree by using a
knapsack sprayer. Apply twice a week.
19. Harvesting
Depending on the tree age there are four growth phases in litchi
plants
young non-bearing stage (1-3 years),
young bearing stage (6-10 years),
junior adult bearing stage (11-20 years)
senior adult bearing stage (21 years and
above).
Harvesting is usually done in May and June.
The fruits are harvested in bunches along with a portion of the
branch and a few leaves.
20. Yield
the litchi tree yields 40-100 kg. fruits annually depending on the variety,
locality, season, nutrition and age
Processing
Processing of lychee is done in different forms. Canning of pulp, aseptic
packing and ready to serve lychee juice are common. Dried lychee
processing is not in practice. Pulp of lychee is aseptically packed and
stored at 2-3°C for preparing lychee juice.