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Essay on Litchi
Essay Contents:
- Essay on the Origin and Distribution of Litchi
- Essay on the Area and Production of Litchi
- Essay on the Importance and Uses of Litchi
- Essay on the Insect-Pests in Grapes
- Essay on the Diseases Seen in Grapes
- Essay on the Physiological Disorders of Litchi
Essay # 1. Origin and Distribution of Litchi:
The litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) is a delicious fruit and generally consumed as a table fruit. It is one of the most popular fruits of India which is commonly taken as fresh or in dried forms. The fruit of litchi comes to the market in May or early June when very few other fruits are available, thus, they fetch remunerative prize in the market.
It is indigenous to Southern China, particularly the provinces of Kwangtung and Fukien. The litchi has been grown in China for over 3000 of years. In 1059, T-Sai Hsiang wrote a monograph on litchi cultivation which is considered to be the oldest publication on this fruit.
The spread of litchi from China to other parts of the world was slow probably due to the exacting soil and climatic requirements of this fruit as well as very short life span of its seeds. The litchi had reached the West Indies by 1775, South Africa in 1869, the Hawaii Islands by 1873 and in Florida in 1833. It spread into other countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Southern Japan, Formosa, Australia, New Zealand, Mauritius, Brazil, etc.
In India, litchi reached through Burma. It was first introduced into Bengal about the end of the 17th Century and spread further into other parts of India.
The litchi was introduced into Punjab around 1920 by Mahajan family from Dehradun to Pathankot. Justice D.K.Mahajan went to Bihar in 1934 and brought with him one hundred litchi plants. In this way, a beginning was made for the commercial cultivation of litchi in Punjab.
The major litchi producing countries are China, India, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Israel, Australia, Africa, Mexico and Central and South America.
Essay # 2. Area and Production of Litchi:
China is the biggest producer of litchi in the world. India ranked second in the world in respect of area and production. India and China account for 91 per cent of the world litchi production. In India, it occupies an area of 80400 hectares with annual production of about 6.7 lakh tonnes.
The states growing litchi are Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Tripura. Bihar is the leading state in litchi production with a share of 43.9 per cent. The average productivity of litchi in India is 6.7 mt/ha.
Litchi is ideally suited to be sub-montane areas of Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, SAS Nagar and Ropar districts of Punjab. The total area under this fruit is about 1752 hectares and it constitutes only about 2.4 per cent of the total area under fruits. Annual production of litchi in Punjab is 15137 metric tonnes.
Export Potential:
The litchi fruits are exported to Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, Ireland, UAE, Germany and Singapore. During the year 2011 – 12, 320 mt litchi fruits are exported to different countries and Rs. 39 lakhs was earned as foreign exchange. Bangladesh has 61.6 per cent share of total export of litchi fruits from India. It was followed by Nepal where 34.8 per cent litchi fruits were exported.
Essay # 3. Importance and Uses of Litchi:
The litchi fruit is very popular and mostly eaten fresh in our country. Litchi squash is a popular product which has a pleasant flavour and is very refreshing. The pickles, preserves and wine are also made from litchi in China. Dried litchi commonly known as ‘litchi nut’ is very popular among the Chinese living all over the world.
The fruit is dried either in the sun or in an oven. Sun dried litchi is considered better than artificially oven dried fruit. Litchi fruits can also be frozen with minimum handling. The natural covering of the fruit is a good packing material by itself. The whole frozen fruit makes an attractive product. The litchi fruit makes an excellent canned product and liked very much.
Litchi is a rich source of minerals like calcium and phosphorus and vitamins. It contains minerals 0.7 per cent, riboflavin (vitamin B2) 122 mg per 100 g pulp, protein 0.9 per cent and vitamin C 64 mg per 100 g pulp. It is a rich source of sugar and different varieties ranging from 6.7 to 13.8 per cent.
Essay # 4. Insect-Pests in Grapes:
i. Litchi Nut Borer (Blastobasis Sp):
It damages the fruit by entering through a small pin- head size hole near the attachment of peduncle and feeds inside it. Infested fruits become unfit for consumption. For the management of the pest, clean cultivation is necessary i.e., removing of fallen fruits (mummies) from the orchard and ploughing destroys the carry-over of pests to the next crop.
Alternate sprays of 750 ml Sumicidin 20 EC (fenvalerate) or 1000 ml Ekalux 25 EC (quinalphos) in 500 litres of water at fruit setting stage followed by another spray 20 days later should be given with the appearance of pest and at colour break stage.
ii. Leaf Roller (Tortix Epicyrta):
This pest is active from March to November. It is the most destructive pest and eats fresh growth coming out during September-October. A very active green caterpillar rolls the leaf and feeds the green matter within the roll. No Hibiscus plants should be grown near the litchi orchard. The rolled leaves should be collected and destroyed at the initial stages.
Spray 800 ml of Malathion 50 EC in 500 litres of water per acre during September-October or as soon as the attack begins. Repeat after 15 days if necessary. The orchard should be ploughed and irrigated during December-January to kill the hibernating caterpillars.
iii. Mites (Eriophyes Sp.):
Both adults and nymphs infest the leaves. They live at the base of hairs on the under surface of the leaves and cause a brown velvety growth of the leaves with pit formation. The leaves become thick, curl up and eventually dry. The attack of mites starts in March and the maximum activity is in July. The mites can be controlled by spraying the trees with 0.05 per cent Dimethoate.
iv. Back Eating Caterpillar (Indarbela Tetraonis):
It is pest of neglected litchi plantation. Larvae after hatching make holes in scaffold crotches and feed on surface of bark. The excreta of wood hang down at the holes. The girdling caused by the feeding of bark can be harmful to tree.
Clear the holes with a wire and inject kerosene oil and chlorpyriphos solution 50: 50 and plug the holes with mud.
v. Mealy Bug (Planococcus Citri):
Mealy bug does a lot of damage during flowering and fruiting stages i.e. January to April, when a large number of nymphs crawl up the tree and congregate on the growing shoots and panicles and suck the sap. The nymphs should be prevented from crawling up the trunk by applying a slippery or sticky band one metre above the ground level from end of December to beginning of January.
Apply a 15-20 cm wide sheet of alkathene to the basal end of the stem and secure both its upper and lower edges with twine. It is desirable to apply mud to the cracks on the bark under the lower edge of the alkathene sheet so that the nymphs are prevented from climbing up the slippery band. Or apply 5 cm wide band of Ostico or Esso fruit tree grease. Repeat as and when necessary after scraping off the crust. In case of severe emergence apply 50% of methyl parathion dust (Follidol 2%) on the compacted soil to kill the nymphs.
The nymphs congregating below the bands should be killed by spraying them with 200 ml of methyl parathion 50 EC in 100 litres of water. In case of sticky band, a flame can also be used to destroy the mealy bug. Drench the plants with 1875 ml Durmet/Dursban 20 EC (chlorpyriphos) in 500 litres of water on appearance of bugs. Repeat the spray if needed.
vi. Snails:
It is a minor pest of litchi and is active during July- August. The pest can be controlled mechanically or by applying 5 per cent Malathion dust during July-August.
vii. Bats and Birds:
They also cause considerable loss to fruits. They can be scared effectively by beating drums or by firing crackers.
Essay # 5. Diseases Seen in Grapes:
i. Anthracnose (Botryodiplodia Theobromae and Colletotrichum Gloeosporioides):
The spots start from the tip or the margin of the lamina which are chocolate in colour. Anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides) attacks leaves and branches, flowers and fruits. Lesions on the leaves may appear as small round light grey areas or irregular brown marks at the tips. It is also obvious on the flowers and fruits. The organism gets associated with fruits in the orchards and cause infection during transit or storage.
Prune the affected plants and burn such shoots. Spray 50% copper oxychloride (0.3%) or Bordeaux mixture 2: 2: 50 in February, April and September – October. It was found that fruit kept at 10°C remain free from infection.
ii. Fruit Rot:
It is serious problem in litchi. Fruit rot at the time of harvest in certain orchards. Such rotted fruits also cause rotting in healthy fruits and adversely affect the marketing of fruits.
The disease can be checked by spraying Bavistin @ 500 g in 500 litres of water one week before harvesting of fruits. Fruit stored at 5°C result slow rot development in fruits. Hot benomyl dip to fruits at 48 – 52°C slow rot development.
Essay # 6. Physiological Disorders of Litchi:
Splitting or Cracking of Fruits:
It is quite common in almost all the litchi growing areas of India, particularly under dry conditions. In severe cases, the crop losses due to this malady may be as high as 20 per cent or even more.
Causes:
Splitting of fruits has been generally attributed to abrupt changes in atmospheric temperature, relative humidity and soil moisture conditions, following rain or heavy irrigations. This disorder may occur shortly before maturity when rains follow a prolonged period of drought during which the fruit gets checked in growth. Excessive soil moisture aided by fluctuations in temperature and humidity may aggravate fruit splitting.
Early maturing varieties (Dehradun and Saharanpur) are more susceptible to cracking significantly possess higher number of stomata per unit leaf surface area than mid-late season ripening and less susceptible varieties (Calcuttia and Rose Scented).
Control Measures:
The following measures are generally considered appropriate for adoption to minimise fruit splitting:
1. Regular irrigation in the orchards helps in maintaining growth and expression in the fruit.
2. In the absence of rains during summer months, water spray may prove useful in keeping the ambient atmosphere of the fruit humid, as moisture has a good local effect on the fruit against splitting.
3. Some filler trees can be planted in quincunx system of layout in which the trouble is minimised.
4. The litchi plants should be trained to keep low headed. Such trained plants with dense foliage, can withstand more hot and desiccating winds as compared to tall trees and thus fruit splitting is the least in their case.
5. One or two rows of tall trees e.g. Eucalyptus alternating with small sized trees having dense foliage (mulberry, jamun, desi ber, etc.) may be planted around the orchard as windbreak. This wall of trees help to create humid conditions in the orchard, which prove favourable for the developing fruits and thus splitting, is avoided to a great extent.
6. The varieties which are less prone to splitting should be planted. Early varieties like Dehradun and Saharanpur split more than the mid-season or late varieties.
7. The litchi orchard should be planted by a hillock or near the large bodies of water or in between tall and dense trees like mangoes.
8. The plants can be guarded immensely against high temperature by sowing Jantar or Arhar along the tree rows or in the periphery of the plant basin. These help to minimise splitting of fruits, besides protecting the fruit trees from, the vagaries of hot weather.
9. NAA and 2, 4, 5-T at 35-100 ppm has been found effective in checking fruit splitting and increasing fruit size.