Ajeet Kumara* & Om Prakash Singhb
aDepartment of Zoology, B.R.A. Bihar University, Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India
bPrincipal, L.N.T. College, B.R.A. Bihar University, Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India
Received :2nd January, 2016 ; Revised : 24th February, 2017
Abstract: Fruit cracking is one of the major limiting factors in the cultivation of lychee especially early cultivators (Singh, 1986). The early varieties are more prone to the problem of fruit cracking in comparison to late cultivars. The low atmospheric humidity, high temperature and hot winds during fruit development and maturity stage favour fruit cracking. Light irrigation to maintain soil moisture and to improve humidity has been found to minimize this problem through maintenance of a better micro-climate. Mulching with farm residues and 3 irrigations significantly reduced the cracking (Singh, 1986) in a trial conducted on the cultivar Shahi. In addition, spraying with either 100 PPM NAA or 0.2 percent borax during the developing stage of the fruits has been found to be highly effective in checking the cracking.