desi sweetener

Muzaffarpur, Feb. 10: Indian litchis may soon find European home. the United Nations (UN) and the Horticulture Mission of India are all set to sign an accord for commercial production of litchi through scientific methods of cultivation.

UN, however, is keen to produce the succulent Indian fruit on European soil.

Victor Gallon, the food and agriculture adviser of the UN, and a team of scientists are on a visit to Muzaffarpur since February 3 to assess the quality of litchi produced in the state. They visited a number of litchi orchards in Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, East and West Champaran and Vaishali, inspecting the process of production and the quality of the fruits. The team members also met traditional litchi growers.

“We are here to assess the methods of litchi farming. The UN intends to sign an accord with the Horticulture Mission on February 14. We want to work together to improve the cultivation and post-harvest preservation of litchi,” Gallon told The Telegraph. Gallon had a detailed discussion with the experts of National Litchi Research Institute and also met Vishal Nath, the director of the institute today.

“The litchi produced in Bihar is undoubtedly matchless in taste. But there is room for improvement. Some of the fruits produced are too small. Improvement in shape and size will ensure better returns in both national and international markets,” said Gallon.

He also lauded the work being done by National Litchi Research Institute and said five species of the fruit have been exported to Spain. But some of the litchi varieties of north Bihar needed to be replaced immediately for better production, he said.

Nath said: “The officials of the institute have been working very hard to improve production and harvest. The farmers need to be persuaded to adopt the new methods of orchard management and maintaining trees.”

In an interactive session with the members of the visiting team, he said: “Some high-yielding of litchi have been brought from Thailand, Spain and France for experiments. These will be used for production. We are trying to ascertain on whether these plants will survive in the climatic conditions of north Bihar.

“The accord with UN will be a milestone towards boosting the production. It will provide a channel to export litchi. It would also help in adopting the latest methods of packaging and processing the fruit and ensure high profit,” added Nath.