IMPROVED METHOD OF 

 PROPAGATING THE LITCHI 



Bkverly T. Galloway 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



NEARLY every country has its 

 premier fruit. In Java it is the 

 mangosteen, sometimes called the 

 "queen of fruits"; in India it is the 

 mango; while in south China the litchi 

 holds first place. Groff, in his recent 

 book^ on the litchi and longan, says: 



"Travelers in China from the earliest 

 times have reported the merits of the 

 litchi and have encouraged its intro- 

 duction into Europe and the United 

 States. But like many things of Chinese 

 origin, this important fruit is prac- 

 tically unknown in the Western Hemis- 

 phere." 



There are many varieties of litchis, 

 and doubtless numerous strains and 

 types with shades of differences too 

 slight to warrant varietal distinction. 

 Fresh fruits of the litchi are rarely, if 

 ever, seen in this country unless on the 

 Pacific coast, and since the rigid en- 

 forcement of the plant-quarantine law 

 they are practically excluded. Dried 

 "litchi nuts," as they are sometimes 

 called, are found in the Chinese stores 

 and restaurants, and the canned or 

 preserved fruit is not uncommon in 

 our markets. Wilson Popenoe- says: 



"The fruits, which are produced in 

 loose clusters of two or three to twenty 

 or more, have been likened to straw- 

 berries in appearance. . . . The flavor 

 is subacid, suggestive of the Bigarreau 

 cherry or, according to some, the Mus- 

 cat grape." 



The widespread use of the litchi in 

 the warmer parts of the Orient, its 

 delicious, sprightly subacid taste, and 

 other desirable characters have led to 

 many efforts to introduce it into the 

 warmer parts of America. The seeds 

 quickly perish, and this no doubt has 

 served as a check on the introduction 

 and spread of the crop throughout the 

 world. The Chinese methods of prop- 

 agation by inarching and layering 

 are slow, the resulting plants, at least 

 those which come to us, often being 

 rough, misshapen, and very reluctant 

 to develop new wood. 



INARCHED AND ROOTED LITCHI 

 PLANTS 



Figure 1. The large plant at the left is 6 

 or 8 years old and is from China. The inarch- 

 ing is shown where the plant bends. The plant 

 on the right was rooted from a cutting and is 

 1 year old. The Chinese method of propaga- 

 tion produces misshapen, unhealthy plants 

 that develop very slowly. It is therefore of 

 great importance that a method has been 

 developed whereby healthy, rapid-growing 

 Litchi plants can be propagated from cuttings. 

 Photograph by E. L. Crandall. (See text, 

 p. 206.) 



^ The Lychee and Longan. G. Weidman Groff, Canton Christian College, 192 L 

 2 Manual of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits, 1920. 



20I 



