Litchi chinensis (Litchi): A General Account with Special Reference to Propagation Practices
Litchi cultivation is highly specific to its climatic requirements as different temperature and humidity conditions are required for flowering and fruit development. Soil factors (edaphic) are quite common for the cultivation of litchi which restricts the
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Prerna Chaudhary and Neeti Dhaka
Abstract
Litchi cultivation is highly specific to its climatic requirements as different temperature and humidity conditions are required for flowering and fruit development. Soil factors (edaphic) are quite common for the cultivation of litchi which restricts the spread of litchi genepool. Heterozygosity is another natural instinct which is unavoidable at generic growth of litchi progeny and eventually discourages the true-to-type concept at generation level. Several research articles have been published on the known limiting factors in terms of asexual and sexual growth and conditions. Here we address the postharvest technology and its implication in litchi biotechnology. Keywords
Litchi • Climate requirement • Soil factors • Postharvest technology
17.1 Introduction The lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonnnerat) is an evergreen, medium-sized tree of family Sapindaceae that has over 2000 species and 150 genera. Longan, pulasan, pitomba, korlan, rambutan, and ackee are the other fruits from the same species. Litchi has its origin in Southeast Asia and is known by several other names like litchi, lychee, licy, le-ci, lichee, and many others. The major litchi-producing countries of the world are China, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh, South Africa, and Nepal. It is also grown in Hawaii, Israel, Mexico, Australia, and South Africa as a commercial crop. P. Chaudhary • N. Dhaka (*) Department of Botany, Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017 M. Kumar et al. (eds.), The Lychee Biotechnology, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-3644-6_17
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Litchi is an evergreen long-lived tree growing new leaves, flowers, and fruit on terminal shoots with many panicles. Inflorescence in litchi is compound raceme, developed from both terminal and axillary buds. Pollination in litchi is done by insects including honeybees and flies. The fruit is a one-seeded nut and grows in bunches in various shapes and sizes. The fruits are translucent, having sweet juicy aril surrounded by red-colored pericarp. The fruit can be eaten directly as well as used to manufacture juice, vinegar, jelly, and wine. Dried litchi, commonly known as “litchi nuts,” are very popular among Chinese people. The fruits containing aborted type of seeds also known as “chicken tongue” are preferred over normal seeds as they have more flesh to seed ratio. Litchi fruits are rich source of flavonoids with high nutritional and medicinal values (Sabrin and Ibrahim 2015). Recently it has been reported that L. chinensis fruit and seeds have anti-cancer properties and are very effective against breast cancer. Various types of cultivars of litchi are grown all around the world depending on the climate (Sachin et al. 2010). Litchi plantation requires a highly specific tropical or subtropical climate. Sometimes the same cultivar grows differently in different climatic and soil conditions. Litchi is a cross-pollinated and highly het
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