Litchi, the Bihar Queen

by Tarakeswar Dubey

June 5, 2006

Mango, the king, and Litchi, the queen resembles perfect "JODI" and both arrive at the same period during summer vacations. Both constitute soft skin and a large seed within. The litchi like a true queen is too sensitive, soft and fragrant.

Our Chief Minister should gift buckets of Litchi to members in United Nations Security Council as he did recently to Indian Parliamentarians. When the top brass of the UN will dig their teeth in snow-white Flesh of Litchi, the response will be "Oh my God ! Where was this Adam's fruit concealed till now?"

In India, the packed Litchi juice of Muzaffarpur is marketed by Litchika and Tropicana. Even Mahabaleshwar has Litchi yards, but its Litchi tastes like sugar water and only help in damaging the impression of Litchi. So Litchi from Muzaffarpur deserves to be categorized specially and marketed aggressively. When I was in Mumbai, I introduced Litchi juice to several non-Bihari friends and felt satisfaction on this service to our beloved motherland Bihar. We, all Biharis on next visits to other states or abroad,
should carry two three bottles of Litchi juice/nectar/crush and let the alien friends taste it once. This way, we can spread brand Bihar. Jai ho Litchi behana ki.

Recently, the Mittal group has shown interest in Litchi processing units that will boost Bihar's economy and pride.

Let's have a brief walkthrough on Litchi's biography:

Litchi cultivation has been reported since 1500 BC by the people of Malayan descent then introduced in China-Burma (end of 17th century), India (about 100 years later), Madagascar - Mauritius (1870), Hawaii (1873), Florida (from India, between 1870 and 1880), California (1897), Australia (1954), and Israel (between 1930-1940).

The top five Litchi producing countries are China, India, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

In India, the major producing state is Bihar that holds the largest area under litchi cultivation with 26,000 h.a. (more than 46 percent of the total area) and accounts for more than 74 percent of the total production in the country.

The major Litchi importing countries from India are Netherlands, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Canada, Russia, and Yemen.

Productivity in India is relatively high compared to other growing regions, averaging about 3.1 tons per acre. Because cultivation occurs over a wide range of climates, the production period extends from the first week of May to the first week of July.

An interesting feature of Litchi distribution in India is its cascading production pattern commencing from the east, and spreading to the west. Litchi production commences in Tripura (first week of May), Bihar (third week of May), Uttar Pradesh, Punjab (2nd-3rd week of June), Himachal (last week of June), thereby extending the total season of its availability to more than two months in a year.

Due to a very short production season of around two months in a year, market gluts and over-supply leading to distress sale are frequent happenings in Litchi trade. Diverting a part of the produce towards processing is a safe solution to the problem and is successfully adopted in other fruits like grape. Litchi is in demand both in fresh as well as in processed form. Estimates show that, annually more than 100,000 tons of Litchis are traded internationally.

Juicy Litchis could become available throughout the year with the government taking steps to enrich its variety, increase productivity, prolong its harvest period and to provide remunerative price to the farmers.

Progress has been made in Litchi pericarp browning and color maintenance. Fruits should be kept in high humidity and cooled to 5EC as quickly as possible. Hydro-coolers or cool rooms are frequently used for this purpose.

A National Research Centre on Litchi at Muzaffarpur setup by Indian Government is definitely a positive step. The Centre would conduct mission mode basic and applied research for enhancing the profit of Litchi growers by evolving improved varieties, developing better production technologies, integrated pest management and post harvest management.

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