Even although India may be the world’s second largest producer of
litchi and growers have much experience with the crop, yields are low. Poor
productivity is a direct result of issues associated with land tenure and the selection of
inappropriate planting material. Farmers are unwilling to sacrifice production in the
short term in order to replace or to rework trees with superior planting material.
Furthermore, the necessary post-harvest infrastructure and transportation are not
available to move the fruit from the main producing area to the international airport.