The subtropical fruit litchi does best in humid subtropical climates. It may grow up to an elevation of 800 m (m.s.l.) but often favours low elevation. The optimal soil for the crop is deep, loamy, well-drained, rich in organic matter, and having a pH between 5.0 - 7.0.

National Significance

Fruit and stone borer

Litchi mite

Leaf folder

Mealy bug

Regional Significance

Bark eating caterpillar

Leaf miner

Whitefly

Shoot borer

Management:

PEST  MONITORING

Survey: The goal of a survey is to track the early stages of the spread of disease and pests in endemic regions. 

1. Field Scouting: To assess the increasing/declining trend in the incidence of pests/diseases and the availability of biocontrol potential, extension agencies and farmers should conduct field scouting for pests/diseases and biocontrol fauna/flora once every two weeks.
2. Monitoring of pests using traps:
3. Using yellow sticky traps: Set up yellow sticky traps to monitor sucking in one trap for every five trees. Vaseline or castor oil that is easily accessible locally can also be applied to the outside.
4. Using pheromone traps: For efficient monitoring, sticky pheromone traps may also be employed, with 5-7 traps per hectare.

Cultural practices

1. To avoid climbing mealy bug, repeatedly plough around the tree and wrap alkathene bands around the trunk in November and December. After you've ploughed, apply 4 kg of Neem Seed Cake per tree.
2. Regularly weeding and hoeing the area surrounding the tree basin. 

Mechanical control

1. To suppress mealy bugs, a 400 gauge alkathone (Polythene) sheet should be connected to the tree trunk after 25 cm of mud plastering.
2. Cut and burn the twigs and leaves that have been infected by mites.
3. Cutting and burning branches that are 10 cm below the dry area and applying copper oxychloride paste to treat powdery mildew and dieback disease.

Biological control practices

Numerous powerful  predators, and parasites actively combat Litchi pests. It is possible to conserve spiders, Sumnius renardi, coccinellids, and Chrysoperla lacciperda utilising a variety of conservation techniques.

Botanical pesticides

NSKE at 5% aids in lowering the number of pests.

Chemical control practices

To protect against fruit and stone borer, spray Endosulphan 35% EC @ 2.0 ml/lit of water right before flowering.

To combat the Litchi mite, two applications of Dimethoate 30%EC or dicofol 10.5% (3 ml per litre of water) should be made at 10-day intervals.

Eliminate all debris and plug the holes with a cotton swab dipped in gasoline, chloroform, or Dichlorvos (0.1%) to ward off caterpillars that devour bark.

Use aerosol sprays to kill fruit borer and leaf miner with quinalphos (0.05%) or Carbaryl (2g/lit, of water).

To combat powdery mildew, alternate the foliar spray every 15 days with wettable Sulphur (0.2%), Triadomorph (0.1%), or Dinocap (0.1%).

National Significance

Fruit rot

Powdery mildew

Regional Significance

Dieback

In addition to a portion of the branch and a few leaves, the fruits are collected in bunches.

When picking the bunches, care is required to pick just those that have reached the ideal maturity as indicated by pulp colour development and flavour. In order to extend the fruit's shelf life, the fruits are collected early in the morning when the temperature and humidity are favourable. Fruits are gathered at harvest time in a way that prevents them from falling to the ground. Harvesting is done with the use of machinery.