ISHS Acta Horticulturae 275: International Symposium on the Culture of Subtropical and Tropical Fruits and Crops
LITCHI CULTIVARS AND SELECTIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA |
| Author: | J.H. Oosthuizen |
| Abstract:
The most important limiting factor for the South African litchi industry is the absence of early and late cultivars. Currently, harvesting and availability of litchis, in South Africa, stretches over a period of 6 to 8 weeks which includes the Christmas recess. As labour, transport and storage create problems during this period, the selection of early and/or late cultivars for the litchi industry is a priority. A selection programme which is based on promising early and late selections which is established in an evaluation block, is currently in progress. Locally available cultivars as well as recently imported cultivars are included. The midseason cultivar, HLH Mauritius (Tai So) which accounts for the major share of the local crop, is used as a standard in the selection programme. The most important evaluation criterion is time of ripening, which should be either earlier or later than HLH Mauritius. Other selection criteria are improved fruit and tree quality. The long-term objective is to start a purposeful breeding programme. This is envisaged once the problems of controlled pollination and the long juvenile period of the hybrid seedlings are overcome. | |
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