Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
tree can be af ected. It is ef ectively controlled by sprays of wettable sulfur at
2.3 kg per 378 l of water. It does not infest other relatives in Sapindaceae .
In Taiwan, a trunk borer ( Anoplophora macularia ) can cause death
of trees within a few months by boring into the trunk and damaging the
conducting tissues. The litchi stink bug can cause serious damage to fruit;
the bug is ef ectively controlled by a parasite, Anastatus sp. In Australia, the
macadamia nutborer ( Cryptophlebia ombrodelta ) is considered a serious fruit-
damaging insect.
Mediterranean fruit fl y ( C. capitata ) does not attack either species, except
where the fruit skin has been broken by other means and the pulp is exposed.
The Oriental fruit fl y ( D. dorsalis ) does infest these fruit, causing punctures,
which are often the focus of entry of fungal organisms that cause fermentation
and decomposition. Other fruit fl ies can be serious pests in other countries.
Other pests are birds and fruit bats. In Hawaii, the White-eye ( Zosterops
palpebrosus ) and the bulbul ( Pycnopus cafer) can cause severe damage as fruits
approach maturity. Fruit bats ( Pteropus sp.) or fl ying foxes have caused severe
losses in South Africa and Australia.
Weed control
Weed control is most important from the time of fi eld transplanting up to 3
or 4 years old. As trees grow and expand horizontally, there is a decreasing
amount of weed growth underneath the canopy, due to shading. Use of
polyethylene mulch about a metre square around the plant at transplant
time reduces weed growth near the plant. Litchi are reported to be adversely
af ected by organic mulches around the base.
HARVESTING AND POSTHARVEST HANDLING
Harvesting
Fruits are ready for harvest when they attain full red colour. Fruits harvested
before full maturity are acid and do not ripen further or improve in fl avour.
These are non-climacteric fruit and do not respond to ethylene. Litchi and
longan are harvested by cutting or breaking of the entire panicle with the
cluster of fruit. The practice is to remove the panicle together with a variable
portion of last year's wood in many countries, to enhance the production of a
higher number of terminals that may fl ower next spring (Galán Saúco, 1989).
Panicles without fruit are also cut, as the presence of old panicles is reported
to delay the next fl ush. In small orchards, bamboo or aluminum tree-pruning
poles and tall ladders are used. In large orchards, mechanical 'cherry picker'
platforms greatly facilitate harvesting. Harvesting fruit clusters on older,
 
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