Program and Abstracts, 3rd International Symposium on Longan, Lychee and Other Fruit Trees in Sapindaceae Family, August 25-29, 2008, Fuzhou, China. 132 pages.
2008
บทคัดย่อ
Longan production in Thailand
Longan is one of the most important subtropical fruit of Thailand, which is currently the biggest longan producer in the world. In 2007, the total area of bearing trees was 150,200 ha with the total production of 495,497 MT or average of 3.29 MT/ha. The main plantation is in the northern region (90.7% of total area) and the major cultivar is ‘Daw’ which is the most consistent bearer. Annually, 70% of longan production was exported to Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and the USA while 30% were consumed domestically. In 2006, Thailand exported 490,200 MT as fresh, dried, canned and frozen worth US$ 134.8 million. Flowering usually commences in late December to February and harvesting period is from late June to late August. At present, soil drenching of potassium chlorate is commonly used to produce off-season production. The recommended rate of application as soil drench was 8-10 g.m-2 or 40-60 g.m-1 canopy diameter. A serious disease in longan is the rosette shoot or witches’ broom. Numerous pests are found on longan; however the important pest is the longan stink bug. Sulphur dioxide treatment has been used to enhance shelf life fresh fruits. Research on post-harvest technology, processing and pest control need to be carried on.