Litchi breeding and plant management in Taiwan

Abstract

Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) was introduced from Fujian Province of China into Taiwan by immigrants nearly 300 years ago. It is an economically important horticultural crop. Now, the total harvested area under litchi cultivation is 11000 ha, roughly, and the main variety “Hak Ip” accounts for over 70% of all area. The main constraint in the litchi industry is the short production season lead to the imbalance between supply and demand in market, due to “Hak Ip” planting too much. The seven novel varieties released from Taiwan Agricultural research institute have different fruit maturity seasons and good fruit quality. Based on the policy of the “right cultivar for the right land,” cultivating them in proper ecological regions will effectively diversify/extend the production period and match market requirements. As for plant management, by means of studying the biology of flower and fruit development, researcher and grower have developed several special cultural technologies to apply for the commercial production of litchi. The current status of breeding, biology of flower and fruit development, and cultural research in Taiwan are discussed in this review.