- J. Kift, M.G. Penter, and N.J.R. Roets
- Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Crops, Private Bag X11208, Nelspruit 1200 South Africa
- 2002
The occurrence of a significant and heavy fruitlet drop is typical of the litchi and is one of the main reasons for poor productivity. Synthetic auxins have been used for more than 50 years to reduce fruitlet drop in many fruit crops, including citrus, apple, pear and peach. The concentration and time of application of these synthetic auxins are
extremely important. In addition to reducing fruitlet drop synthetic auxins have also been used to increase citrus fruit size without reducing the fruit number. During the past five years Israeli researchers have had great success with reducing litchi fruit drop and increasing fruit size through the proper application of the auxins Tipimon ® and
Maxim®. In addition to these products good results have also been obtained with a third product, Bonus®. Bonus® increased litchi fruit size, yield and fruit colour. This article is a summary of available literature and also covers the
initial layout for trials under South African conditions.