Litchi: Production and Postharvest Management

India is by far the largest producer of litchi after China. Within India, Bihar is the largest producer of litchi. Because of low productivity and various kinds of pre and post harvest losses, litchi is slowly getting costly and going out of reach of the common man. Therefore, the question before us today is how to increase productivity and quality of litchi. The reasons for low productivity of litchi are many. Most of the commercial cultivars are location specific with long gestation period and late bearing habit. Commercial litchi farming so far is done by large farmers who are capable of sustaining long gestation period and failure of crops. When the tree is full of vigour, the dominance of vegetative phase prevails over reproductive phase in some varieties and at some locations which adversely affects flowering, fruit set and fruit growth, and some times fruit drop due to high competition for photosynthates also become limiting factor to litchi production. Besides, there are many pests, diseases and disorders which affect the economic cultivation of litchi. It has been observed that orchardists owner or contractors are active in their orchards only when flowers or fruits are present on the trees for rest of the period, they take little care of their orchards. To maintain vigour, growth and productivity, it is necessary to perform proper operations throughout the year. The main reason behind poor productivity and low profitability of litchi is the poor knowledge of farming community.