Lychee (Litchi) - Tropical and Subtropical Fruits: Postharvest Physiology, Processing and Packaging - page 232

13
Lychee (Litchi)

Yueming Jiang, Haiyan Gao and Mingwei Zhang

INTRODUCTION
Lychee ( Litchi chinensis Sonn.), also called litchi, a mem-
berofthefamily Sapindaceae, is a tropical to subtropical
fruit that originated in southern China and northern Viet-
nam (Huang et al., 2005). The fruit exhibits (Fig. 13.1) a
large amount of aroma compounds and high sugar contents
with several minerals and vitamins and can be eaten fresh
or as a processed product (Chyau et al., 2003; Jiang et al.,
2006b). The fruit exhibits rough, indehiscent red pericarp
(skin) due to the presence of anthocyanins surrounding the
succulent edible aril and a single seed in the center (Fuchs
et al., 1993; Huang, 1995). The pericarp color in lychee
fruit changes during maturity from green to reddish pink
with decreasing chlorophyll content and increasing antho-
cyanin synthesis (Huang, 1995; Wang et al., 2005). Lychee
fruit has gained popularity as an exotic fruit in temper-
ate regions and is prized on the international market and,
therefore, is in strong demand (Sivakumar et al., 2010).
Production has steadily increased over recent decades, par-
ticularly with the increase in exports from both southern
and northern hemisphere production areas into Europe and
North America (Ghosh, 2001; Jiang et al., 2006b). Fur-
ther market expansion of lychee fruit can be anticipated
with the recent development of postharvest and processing
technologies.

try in the world, with 950,000 metric tons of production in
2002. Lychee fruit sales make a significant contribution to
economic development in these countries, especially those
in Southeast Asia. The Asian region accounts for over 90%
of the world's lychee production. Most lychee fruit pro-
duced in Asia are marketed locally, with some regional
exports to Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore and fewer
exports to more distant centers in Europe and the Middle
East. The European markets import approximately 20,000
metric tons of lychee fruit, of which France imports around
50%, and the rest is mainly imported by Germany and the
United Kingdom (Sivakumar et al., 2010). The main ly-
chee suppliers for Europe over Christmas and New Year
are Madagascar and South Africa.
The United States produces a relatively small amount of
lychee, with an estimated production of about 433 tons
(196 metric tons) per year. Florida accounts for most
US

production, followed by Hawaii and California

(FIU, 2006).

Production, varieties, and harvesting
The cultivation of lychee in China antedates the beginning
of the Christian era (Li, 2008). Today, lychee is found in
most countries of Latin America as well as in the Caribbean,
India, Thailand, Mauritius, Africa, Australia, Israel, the
Canary Islands, the Madeira Islands, and many other coun-
tries. Lychee is generally multiplied by vegetative methods
of propagation as plants raised through sexual method grow
slowly (Paull and Armstrong, 1994). The most commonly
practiced method of vegetative propagation is air layering,
through cutting, grafting, and budding (Li, 2008). Lychee

Major production areas/countries
Lychee is grown as a commercial crop in China, South
Africa, Israel, Madagascar, India, Pakistan, the Philippines,
Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Brazil (Huang
et al., 2005). China is the leading lychee-producing coun-