Lychee production in the Philippines: problems and prospects

Professorial Chair Lecture

Metro Manila Commission Professorial Chair Lecture

Place

UPLB, College, Laguna

Date

6-27-2003

Abstract

World production of lychee has been confined to China, India, Thailand, Vietnam and other areas mostly between 17o and 30o North and South latitude. The major markets of lychee are Hongkong, Singapore, Japan, Europe, Canada, and U.S. The Philippines does not have a lychee industry to speak of but consumed about 850 tons in 2001 valued at US$ 204,000.

Despite availability of more than 100 lychee cultivars in China, the world's commercial cultivars are limited to very few. The Philippines has only one named cultivar, 'UPLB Red'. which is still being tested in the country. Most lychee-growing countries use marcot as planting materials, which is appropriate to the Philippines' typhoon-belt areas. Cleft-grafting, which has already been developed for 'UPLB Red', seemed to be a better method of propagation.

Lychee is a very exacting crop in terms of temperature and moisture. It is usually grown in low elevations in the subtropics and from 300 to 600 meters above sea level in the tropics where temperature and rainfall are generally favorable for flowering and fruiting.

There is a good prospect in commercial lychee production in the highland areas of the country where better flowering response is expected. However, constraints related to poor flowering and erratic fruiting must be addressed. Lack of water during dry season which coincides with flowering and fruiting and strong wind are two limiting factors in lychee growing in the Philippines.

The development of a local lychee industry lies on the development strategies that will address the mentioned constraints, particularly in cultivar evaluation and selection, improvement of flowering, controlling fruit drop and fruit cracking, and appropriate technologies on fertilization, irrigation, pest control, and post-harvest handling.

Location

UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section (USCS)

College

College of Agriculture and Food Science (CAFS)

Language

English

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