Growing lychee in Lusaka has not been the easiest of tasks. The following is a list of challenges we faced and solutions that helped us get good quality fruits.
The young trees die before they start bearing fruits. The smaller plants have very high chances of drying in drought, cold winters, or fluctuating temperatures.
- Consider planting the young tree in a sheltered location away from direct sunlight and cold wind.
- Buy more mature plants that are well-established and hardened.
- Transplant the tree in the rainy season with sufficient humidity and rain.
- Treat the ground for termites before planting the trees, as termite attacks are more likely with lychee trees, even established trees.
The trees do not produce fruits. Lychee trees are very slow-growing trees. It takes several years to make fruits from grafted or air-layered lychee trees. A tree grown from seed may take over 8 years to bear fruits.
- Consider buying grafted or air-layered trees.
- Flowers may drop after frost exposure or lack of watering, resulting in a lack of fruits. In extreme cases, the leaves will also fall. Consider watering the trees more frequently during flowering season. If the tree is potted, ensure it is not pot-bound.
The fruits are rotten with maggots inside. Lychees are susceptible to fruit flies that lay eggs in the flowers of fruits like guavas, mangos and lychees.
- Have a fruit fly prevention program throughout the year. If you use a fruit fly pheromone lure, ensure the lure is active during flowering to fruit ripening. Spray against fruit flies if the traps actively catch many fruit flies in a day (the number depends on the type of traps and lure used).
Finally, pick a fruit to taste before harvesting all the fruits to ensure the fruits are ripe and sweet. The size of the fruit and seed depends on the lychee variety grown.
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