darbhanga. Litchi means Bihar. It is the main fruit of Bihar. But it is a little delicate. There may be a change in weather or even a slight lack of care. It gets spoiled immediately. That is why it is very important to take care of it from the tree to the fruit.
Litchi is an important sub-tropical evergreen fruit. It belongs to the Sapindaceae family. It is basically a Chinese fruit. In India, it is called the queen of fruits. It is cultivated only in a special climate. For this reason, it is limited to a few countries of the world. In India, litchi came to India through Burma in the 18th century and from here it spread to many countries. India and China account for 91 percent of the total world litchi production. In Bihar, litchi is the livelihood of millions of people as it provides both agricultural and non-agricultural employment.
Bihar is the state of litchi
According to the data of the year 2020 – 2021 of the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation of the Government of India, litchi is being cultivated in 97.91 thousand hectares in India. This produces a total of 720.12 thousand metric tons. In Bihar, litchi is cultivated in 36.67 thousand hectares. This gives 308.06 thousand metric tons of litchi fruit. The productivity of litchi in Bihar is 8.40 tons / hectare. Whereas the national productivity is 7.35 tons / hectare.
Shahi and China Litchi
Dr. SK Singh, Professor of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, says that about 40 percent of litchi is produced in Bihar. Litchi is also cultivated in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal. In Muzaffarpur alone, there are litchi orchards in 11 thousand hectares. Most of the farmers in Bihar cultivate Shahi and China varieties of litchi.
Climate and soil
The changes taking place in the agricultural climate of Bihar are emerging as a serious threat to litchi cultivation. This year too, the temperature being more than 40 degrees Celsius in the months of April and May is a matter of concern for litchi producing farmers. For successful cultivation of litchi, it is necessary that the maximum temperature should not exceed 38 degrees till the fruit is harvested. But in the months of April and May itself, the temperature reached around 40-43 degrees Celsius. When the fruit is growing, if there is excessive heat or hot winds blow, the fruit bursts. To protect it, it is necessary to always keep the soil of the litchi orchard moist.
Sprinkler irrigation on litchi tree
Prof Singh says that for the last many years I have been advising to install overhead sprinklers in litchi orchards. If the orchard is irrigated for 4 hours daily with overhead sprinklers, then the yield and the quality of the fruit increases a lot. This also reduces diseases and insects in the orchard. The temperature in such orchards is 5 degrees Celsius lower than normal. If you spray either 100 ppm NAA or 0.2 percent borax during the fruit development stage, then the fruits will not crack.
Tags: Agricultural producers, darbhanga news
FIRST PUBLISHED : June 12, 2024, 15:00 IST