I had written on the topic of litchi cultivation as an assignment of Pomology given by Mr. manoj Basnet, Department of Horticulture. This consist of different sub topics including varities, method of planting, diseases of litchi etc

1. LITCHI CULTIVATION
INDEXING:
1. INTRODUCTION
2. ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION
3. USES
4. BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION
5. CULTIVARS
6. PROPAGATION AND CULTURE
6.1. SEED PROPAGATION
6.2. VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION
7. ESTABLISHMENT OF ORCHARD
7.1. LAND PREPARATION
7.2. PIT DIGGING
7.3. PLANTING SEASON
7.4. PLANTING SYSTEM AND SPACING
7.5. INTERCROPPING
8. CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF ORCHARD
8.1. TRAINING AND PRUINING OF PLANTS
8.2. MANURE AND FERTILIZER
8.3. WEEDING
8.4. MULCHING
8.5. SUPPLIMENTARY IRRIGATION
8.6. DISEASES,PEST AND DISORDERS
8.6.1. INSECT PEST
8.6.2. DISEASES
8.6.3. PHYSIOLOGICAL DISORDERS
9. HARVESTING FRUITS
9.1. HARVESTING TIME
9.2. YIELD
10.REFERENCES

2. LITCHI( Litchi chinensis, Sapindaceae)
1.INTRODUCTION:
Litchi is one of the important sub-tropical fruit crops of Nepal after mango, banana and guava.
Litchi is delicious, juicy fruit famous for its excellent quality, pleasant flavor, juicy pulp (aril) with
attractive red colour.
2. ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION:
 Litchi was originated from northern China, northern Vietnam and Malaysia.
 Litchi is a sub-tropical crop and needs sub-tropical frost free areas during winter and
favours well-drained moist soil rather than dry soil. It is, therefore, the Terai districts of the
Central Developmental Region that have the highest areas under litchi followed by Terai
districts of the Eastern Development Region. The lowest areas under litchi are in the
Western, Mid-Western and Far Western regions of the country.
3.USES:
 The ripe fruit is eaten fresh, where edible portion is fleshy aril.
 It makes an excellent canned fruit.
 A highly flavored squash is also prepared from it.
 Various other products such as pickles, icecream, candy, sherbet, wine etc are made from
litchi.
 The leaves of litchi can be fed to goats and cattles as a fodder.
4. BOTANICAL DSCRIPTION:
The litchi tree are long lived, medium to large, much branched, round topped, handsome evergreen,
reaching upto 10m or more height with short stocky trunk,
5.CULTIVARS:
Broadly, there are two types of litchi cultivar in Nepal, namely the Terai and the Hill cultivars
 Mazzafarpur, Raja sahib, Rose scented, Shahi, culcuttia, Deharadhun(Terai cultivars/
from mid-May to mid-June)

3.  Pokhara local, Tanahun local, Chitwan local, Gorkha local (Hill cultivars/ end of May to
the end of June)
6.PROPAGATION AND CULTURE:
In Nepal litchi plants are propagated by the following methods:
6.1.Seedpropagation:
Propagation by litchi is not common in Nepal because the plants raised from seed takes 7-12
years to come into bearing. But, in the past 15-20 years litchi plants were produced from seed in
the hills. This practice was common among the farmers who had no litchi plants for using other
methods of propagation.
6.2.Vegetative propagation:
Litchi can be propagated successfully by cuttings and grafting(Splice and Inarching). Budding is
not commonly practiced. The most common and easiest method is air layering.
Air-layering
It is also called as “marcotting” in China and “gottee”. About 2 cm wide bark is removed just
below a bud in a year old pencil shaped branch.The cut is then surrounded by a moss to retain
moisture and to create lightless environment for root growth. When after 2 months, sufficient
root are formed, the branch is cut below sphagnum mosss and planted in nursery.IBA(2-10 g/lit
of water) is the most effective in root promotion in air layering.
The air-layering is done from spring to early summer (mid-March to mid-May. Success rate is as
high as 90 percent in spring to summer and decreases gradually when the air-layering practice is
carried out too late.
7.ESTABLISHMENT OF ORCHARD:
7.1. LAND PREPARATION:
Lychee plants are planted on uplands. The selected piece of land for the lychee orchard is
ploughed and made weed-free. These operations are done from March to April.
7.2.PIT DIGGING:
Pit dimension of 1m3 size should be dug at the desired places a few weeks before actual
planting.

4. 7.3. PLANTING SEASON:
Wherever watering is possible after planting, lychee plants are planted from April to May.
Where there are no irrigation facilities and lychee is cultivated under rainfed condition, the
saplings are transplanted from 15 June to August. However, early planting (April-May) has
given good results in terms of plant growth
7.4.PLANTING SYSTEM AND SPACING:
In the Terai flat land, a square system is widely used and in the hills, depending upon the land
position, a contour, rectangular or sometimes even a square system of planting is practiced. In
the early days of planting neither planting systems nor recommended spacing were followed.
However, in recent years the recommended spacing between the plants or rows is maintained at
10-12 m. In the hills, this distance is reduced to 8-10 m due to the terraced type of land.
7.5. INTERCROPPING:
In Nepal none of the orchard field is initially kept free from crops. When the trees are large and
producing fruits, usually after 5-6 years of planting in the Terai and 7-8 years after planting in
the hills, the intercropping of arable crops is avoided.
8.CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF ORCHARD:
8.1. TRAINING AND PRUINING OF PLANTS:
It is necessary to provide good framework to tree and also to rejuvenate old and weak trees.
Usually, training and pruning are not done in lychee due to its evergreen nature. However, some
farmers remove the branches or twigs from the soil surface to 45 cm height of the plants while
others remove up to 60 to 75 cm height of the plant.
8.2. MANURE AND FERTILIZER:
Litchi is grown in neutral alkaline soil. A little or no manure is given.
Fertilizer schedule for litchi:
Age of
plant(years)
Farmyard
manure
Calcium
ammonium
nitrate
superphosphate Muriate of
potash
1-3 10-20 0.3-1.00 0.2-0.6 0.05-0.15

5. 4-6 25-40 1.0-2.00 0.75-1.25 0.2-0.3
7-10 40-50 2.0-3.0 1.5-2 0.3-0.5
Above 10 60 3.50 2.25 0.60
Where fertilizer application is in Kg/plant/year.
Fertilizer should be applied just after harvesting during rainy season.
8.3. WEEDING:
Weeds in well developed trees are not a problem. They are a problem in the early stages of
plant growth. Farmers keep the young plants and the orchard clean by hand weeding and use
mulches of dry grass like rice-straw to keep down the growth of weeds around the young
lychee plants and conserve moisture
8.4. MULCHING:
Mulching of young plants around the root and stem zone by using local materials like dry
grass, dry weeds, dry straw etc., immediately after planting is a common practice followed by
lychee growers due to the advantages of weed control, soil moisture conservation and
addition of organic matter to the soil.
8.5. SUPPLIMENTARY IRRIGATION:
Lychee is cultivated under non-irrigated/rainfed conditions in both the hills and Terai except
in a few isolated cases. However, growers who were able to provide water just before
blooming to the fruit maturing stage (mid-February to early-May) reported that fruit quality
and production increased significantly. Hence, in recent years the introduction of drip
irrigation has become very popular among the resource rich farmers where water is scarce.
However, in all cases, regular watering is applied to the seedlings after planting until the
plants are well established so that root zones are kept moist.
8.6. DISEASES, PEST AND DISORDERS
8.6.1.INSECT PEST:
 Fruit borers: The caterpillar bore into developing fruits and seeds, those holes are
filled with excreta of caterpillar and start rotting of fruits.
Control: Collect all affectef plants and destroy them. Spray Fenthion (0.05%) at
10 days interval.
 Fruit fly: Maggots of fruitfly(Bactrocera dorsalis) feed on food pulp and induce
rotting.

6. Control:Use of pheromone trap and malathion.
Some other pests are Lychee mite (Eriophyes litchi), Lychee bug, Fruit worm.
8.6.2. DISEASES:
In Nepal, no serious diseases limiting production and productivity of lychee have been observed
or recorded.
8.6.3.PHYSIOLOGICAL DISORDERS:
Fruit cracking
This problem is more serious in Terai orchards and is most common in dry than in
relatively moist orchard soils. Cracked fruits are commonly seen in the mid-western
Terai districts because the soils of this area are drier than those of central and eastern
parts of the country.
Control:
Use of PGR, mulching, and frequent irrigation controls it to some extent.
9. . HARVESTING FRUITS AND YIELDS
9.1.Harvesting time
Fruits in the Terai are harvested from the third week of May to mid-June, though this varies from
cultivar to cultivar. In the hills, the fruits are ready to harvest from the end of May to the end of
June.
Maturity indices:
 Generally fruits turn deep red when fully ripe.
 The shape of tubercles on ripening become somewhat flattened and the epicarp becomes
smooth.

9.2.YIELD:
Varies from 80-150 kg fruit/ tree depending on variety and tree vigour.

7. 10. REFERENCES:
 http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/ac684e/ac684e0a.htm
 Fruit physiology and production by Amar singh
 A text book on Pomology by T.K. chattopaddhaya
 Fruits-Tropical & Sub tropical by Bose and Mitra
 A class note on Fruits and plantation crop production by Madhav Dhital.
 Chadha, K.L. 1968. Litchi cultivation in India. Indian Hort., 12:13-16.