Which litchi variety is best and how do I prevent fruit cracking?

Shahi is our main variety here in Muzaffarpur. The years with hot dry winds the cracking is worse, so I keep the soil evenly moist and mulch the basins. That reduced my cracking and fruit drop a lot.

The worst cracking I saw came after a dry spell when I suddenly flood-irrigated. The fruit swelled too fast and split. Now I keep the moisture steady with smaller, regular waterings through the development stage rather than one big soak.

Mulching the basin with straw held the moisture and kept the soil temperature steadier in the hot loo winds. Bare soil dried and cracked between waterings and so did more of the fruit. The mulch also cut down my irrigation frequency.

Shahi is early and fetches the top price, but China comes a little later, so keeping both spread my harvest and my labour. The picking and marketing of litchi is a rush, so having two windows eased the pressure for our family.

If you plan to spray any nutrient or growth product for cracking, please confirm it and the dose with the NRC Litchi first and follow the label and pre-harvest interval. Litchi has a short window from set to harvest, so a late spray with a long PHI can be a problem at sale.

Fruit borer was eating into my litchi near harvest and the holes look a bit like cracking damage at first glance. Getting the pest identified correctly at the KVK mattered, because the management is completely different. Do not assume every damaged fruit is from cracking.

Harvesting at the right maturity, not too early and not over-ripe, cut my losses. Over-ripe fruit on the tree cracks and drops fastest in our heat. We pick in the cooler morning hours and move it quickly, which also helps the fruit hold up to market.