Litchi

National Research Centre on Litchi (NRCL) has successfully expanded litchi cultivation in India by providing technical help, plants and training to farmers.

• It is a sweet juicy fruit which is also known as lychee or lichee.
• Scientific name – Litchi chinensis under soapberry family (Sapindaceae).
• It is a small, oval roundish fruit that is native to Southeast Asia.
• Growing conditions – A sensitive fruit influenced by temperature, rainfall, humidity and soil suitability as well.
• Climate changes can make the fruit to grow smaller, less sweet and juicy and crack.
• In India – It mainly grows in the foothills of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand.
• Commercial cultivation – More than 0.1 million hectares of land across 19 Indian states including Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Mizoram among others.
• Litchi harvest – It takes place in summer in North India while in Karnataka, it takes place in the winter.
• Production – Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Assam accounts for 78% of the total production in the country.
• Bihar alone produces 43% of total litchi and occupies nearly 35% of the area in India.

Muzaffarpur region of Bihar, the litchi capital of India.

• Popular varieties – Shahi litchi, China, Gandki Lalima, Gandki Sampada and Gandki Yogita.

Shahi litchifrom Bihar known for its sweet, juicy, unique flavour and aroma with pearly white aril has a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

Litchi fruit contains a toxin, methylene cyclopropyl-glycine (MCPG), which is known to be fatal by causing encephalitis-related deaths.  This is especially harmful when consumed by malnourished children.