Juicy Delight

Muzaffarpur, March 7: Profuse blooming of litchi flowers has led scientists of National Litchi Research Centre (NLRC) at Mushahri in Muzaffarpur to speculate a bumper production this season.

The soil and the climatic conditions of north Bihar between February and April is known to favour high yields of litchi in Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Motihari, Bagaha, Bettiah, Samastipur, Begusarai, Khagaria, Katihar and Bhagalpur. A senior scientist and Vishal said the farmers should clean their orchards and start spraying pesticides to keep pests and fungus at bay. NLRC has advised farmers to water their trees at least once or twice a season to resuscitate the stems of the plants.

Cultivated across an area of 26,000 hectares, litchi production has been increasing over two per cent annually. Litchi, particularly those belonging to the Shahi and China varieties, is in great demand.

It is estimated that litchi production in the state stands at over 10,000 tonnes annually. However, the state is witnessing a 22 per cent loss in production because of faulty method of harvesting, lack of storage facility, mismanagement and mishandling, loss in transit and more importantly, unsuitable and unscientific packaging. Clones of two varieties of litchi brought from Vietnam, namely Rambutan and Logan, are being experimented with to enhance the quality of the litchis. Flowers of these varieties have started blooming and it is expected the fruits would be big.

Scientists at NLRC are anxious to improve the shape and size of the fruit to attract the global market of litchi buyers. The ministry of commerce and industry has authorised the Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP), Hyderabad, an apex body, for promotion of marketing standards in the country.

Traditional farmers of litchi are being trained properly by NLRC. Agriculture Technology Management Authority (Atma) has been taken up a World Bank-aided agency to promote foodgrains and fruits for the cause of the farmers.

Bholanath Jha, a former representative of Atma, has submitted a memorandum to chief minister Nitish Kumar demanding cooling vans at Muzaffarpur to help export litchi consignments for national and international markets.