Unlocking lychee research -the Australian experience

Abstract

Unlocking lychee research is an initiative of the Australian lychee industry, the Department of Primary Industries Queensland and Horticulture Australia Ltd. to improve the lychee production and supply systems. The five year project addresses concerns about the adoption and use of new technologies in an industry that is regionally diverse and reliant on a range of cultivars and production systems. The project uses grower-based expert panels in nine growing regions from Mossman, Queensland (16°S) to northern New South Wales (28°S), to test and adapt technologies to improve production and supply chains. Canopy management and flower induction, nutrition and irrigation management, pest and disease and post-harvest management are the foci of the project over a five-year period. This paper reviews recent research in Australia and compares this with research conducted in other lychee producing countries and investigates the practical application of this research in the variable growing conditions in Australia and highlights areas in which growers and research experience are at variance.