Effect of pollination methods on fruit set and physical characteristics of litchi fruits

An experiment was conducted in tarai region of Uttarakhand, to study the effect of different parent combinations in four commercial litchi cultivars (‘Rose Scented’, ‘Calcuttia’, ‘Early Seedless’ and ‘Late Seedless’) as a result of self, cross and open-pollination methods during two successive years (2013 & 2014). The two-year pooled data indicated the initial fruit set (%) was significantly lower in all cross pollination methods, i.e., 38.55% (Early Seedless × Calcuttia) compared to self-pollination method, i.e., 72.78% in Rose Scented × Rose Scented. However, final fruit retention was significantly higher in all cross-pollinated flowers, i.e., 24.68% (Rose Scented × Early Seedless) compared to self-pollinated flowers, i.e., 8.65% (Early Seedless × Early Seedless). Fruit weight (24.33 g) in Late Seedless × Early Seedless, Fruit length (3.66 cm) in Late Seedless × Early Seedless, peel weight (5.19 g) in Early Seedless × Late Seedless, aril weight (18.66 g) in Late Seedless × Early Seedless and seed weight (3.81 g) in Calcuttia × Rose Scented were significantly increased in cross-pollination methods. However, the maximum fruit width (3.00 cm) was recorded in open-pollinated Late Seedless. Overall, increased fruit retention and fruit physical characteristics under the cross pollination suggests that the inclusion of crosspollinators in litchi orchards may have beneficial effects on production.