Pg. 31-34 Evaluation of the Postharvest Characteristics of Litchi Fruit from the Cultivar Development Program: 2000

The postharvest evaluation of new cultivars and selections is crucial to ensure that only exportable cultivars with an adequate shelf life are recommended. This work is a continuation of a program started during the previous season and this year included ‘Fay Zee Siu’, ‘Kwai May Pink’, ‘Haak Yip’ and ‘Kaimana’, which were compared with the widely grown cultivars ‘HLH Mauritius’ and ‘McLean’s Red’. External colour retention was found to be acceptable in all the new cultivars. Internally, all the cultivars were acceptable except for ‘Kwai May Pink’ which showed aril discoloration which effectively disqualifies this cultivar. ‘Haak Yip’ and ‘HLH Mauritius’ produced the best results in terms of firmness and percentage mass loss; ‘McLean’s Red’ achieved the worst results, while ‘Fay Zee Siu’ and ‘Kaimana’ were intermediate. ‘Fay Zee Siu’ developed less fungal infection than the other cultivars, but the incidence of infection was not as low as during the previous season. With regard to sulphur fumigation, ‘McLean’s Red’ exhibited unacceptably high residues in the aril after 25 days of cold storage. HLH Mauritius and Kwai May Pink obtained values lower than the set limit of 1 O ppm, while Fay Zee Sui and Kaimana obtained slightly higher values of 14 and 13 ppm respectively.

Summary:

• The study evaluated new litchi cultivars Fay Zee Siu, Kwai May Pink, Haak Yip, and Kaimana against widely grown HLH Mauritius and McLeans Red for postharvest quality and shelf life.
• External color retention was acceptable in all cultivars, but Kwai May Pink showed internal aril discoloration, disqualifying it for export.
• Haak Yip and HLH Mauritius had the best firmness and lowest percentage of mass loss post-storage; McLeans Red had the worst performance; Fay Zee Siu and Kaimana were intermediate.
• Fay Zee Siu demonstrated the least fungal infection among cultivars but infection incidence was higher than in previous seasons.
• Sulfur dioxide (SO₂) fumigation residue levels were unacceptable in McLeans Red (35 ppm) after 25 days cold storage; HLH Mauritius and Kwai May Pink were below the 10 ppm limit; Fay Zee Siu and Kaimana showed slightly higher residues (13-14 ppm).
• Mass loss after 25 days cold storage grouped cultivars into two: HLH Mauritius, Kaimana, Haak Yip (~8% loss) and Fay Zee Siu, Kwai May Pink, McLeans Red (10-11% loss).
• Firmness declined moderately in HLH Mauritius, Fay Zee Siu, Kaimana, and Haak Yip during shelf life; McLeans Red and Kwai May Pink lost firmness rapidly.
• Total soluble solids (TSS) and titratable acids (TA) varied, with Kwai May Pink showing the lowest TA, indicating faster quality deterioration.
• Postharvest qualities and SO₂ sensitivity vary among cultivars and climatic conditions, suggesting multi-site evaluation is necessary before final recommendations.
• Fay Zee Siu shows promise as an early season cultivar with acceptable storage and postharvest quality for export.
• No cultivar surpassed HLH Mauritius in all criteria, but all performed better than McLeans Red.