Litchis on sale at a market in Ranchi last week. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, May 29: Litchi lovers, get ready for a bigger summer bite.

Compared to previous years, Jharkhand has produced a bumper crop of sub-tropical favourite Litchi chinensis in 2013 — 40MT compared to 36MT last year.

It’s a summer of celebration for Jharkhand’s litchi baskets Gumla, Ranchi, Simdega, Khunti and Ramgarh as well as 50,000 farmers. Orchards in Ranchi district’s Namkum, Bariatu, Morabadi and areas in around CIP, Kanke, saw the fruit in abundance.

In the state capital, litchis are selling for Rs 40 per kg in Kutchery and Lalpur areas, Daily Market and near Albert Ekka Chowk. It is not unusual for the fruit to sell for Rs 200 per kg in Chennai and Mumbai.

According to officials of state horticulture mission and ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Plandu, Jharkhand’s litchi story deserves a mention both because of its quantity and quality.

Both the shahi — with a distinctive rose scent — and Chinese variants are without cracked shells. “Cracking was much, much less this year,” confirmed ICAR fruit scientist Bikash Das. “The weather god was on our side. In other summers, hot winds caused cracks. This year, the sizzling breeze came later. The fruits got the chance to mature in peace,” he added.

Prabhakar Singh from the state horticultural mission agreed with Das. “Climatic conditions helped growers this year. Hot winds and stormy rains were absent,” he said. “Till mid-June, customers can get to choose between shahi and Chinese litchis. The shahi is sweet and aromatic, while the Chinese one is less sweet and more watery,” he said.

Litchis, like mangoes, are prized because they are available for only around a couple of months the whole year. In Jharkhand, May and June are the litchi months.

Some litchi orchards date back to the Raj, such as McCluskieganj and CIP. But ICAR scientists want to explore the potential of litchi orchards in the hinterland. Horticulture mission’s Singh also added that they were planning to expand litchi orchards in the state. “We are eyeing West Singhbhum district. Let’s see,” he said.