Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
100
Bleach
90
250 g
KCIO 3
80
70
60
50 g
KCIO 3
50
40
30
20
10
No
flowers
0
0
5
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
Days from treatment
Fig. 9.7. Induction of longan fl owering with potassium chlorate and bleach
(redrawn from Matsumoto et al. , 2007). No fl owers were observed for the fi rst 35
days.
Another advantage of this treatment is that blocks of trees can be forced to
fl ower sequentially to produce fruit almost year-round. Fruit quality is more
af ected by cultural management rather than potassium chlorate fl ower
induction. The application of potassium chlorate has changed the pruning
methods. Heavy pruning after harvest is now used to control tree size, followed
by potassium chlorate application.
Fruit
Litchi fruit takes from 80 to 112 days to reach maturity from anthesis,
depending upon the cultivar and environment (Fig. 9.8). Litchi aril growth
begins about 25 days after anthesis and the aril growth then parallels total
fruit growth. The fruits show a dramatic increase in total sugars from about
3 to 16-20% during the rapid growth period of the aril. Photosynthesis in the
leaves behind the fruit cluster is more important than photosynthesis in older,
shaded leaves or stored starch in the stem (Hieke et al. , 2002). The tart fl avour
 
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