Fruit Quality of Six Lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) Cultivars Cultivated under Greenhouse Condition in Temperate Mainland Japan

Abstract

Six lychee cultivars (‘Bengal’, ‘Chakrapat’, ‘Kwai May Pink’, ‘Pot Po Heung’, ‘Souey Tung’, and ‘Tai So’) were cultivated under greenhouse condition in Kyoto, Japan. Hand-pollination was conducted, and the harvested fruit quality and productivity were determined in 2014 and 2015. Seed morphology was tested and the fruits were divided into three groups accordingly: normal, chicken-tongue, and rudimentary-seed fruits. The highest incidence of chicken-tongue seed fruits was found in ‘Pot Po Heung’ (≈50%), and lowest (10–20%) was in ‘Kwai May Pink’. A rudimentary seed was found only in ‘Chakrapat’ fruit, and the incidence was 35–50%. Peel color red was best in ‘Bengal’. Cultivar of the largest fruit was ‘Chakrapat’ (34–36g) when the seed was normal, followed by ‘Bengal’ (31–33g). The smallest fruit (≈20g) was ‘Pot Po Heung’. Fruit weight of chicken-tongue seed was largest (≈25g) in ‘Bengal’, and smallest (≈15g) in ‘Souey Tung’. Rudimentary-seed fruit of ‘Chakrapat’ was the smallest (13–15g) of all the categories above. Edible portion was largest in ‘Kwai May Pink’ (74–82%), and smallest in ‘Bengal’ (65–76%) which contained largest seed. Total soluble solid content were lower in ‘Chakrapat’ and ‘Tai So’. Titratable acidity was lower in ‘Kwai May Pink’ and ‘Pot Po Heung’. Eating quality was highest in ‘Kwai May Pink’, followed by ‘Bengal’. Eating quality of ‘Chakrapat’ and ‘Tai So’ varied largely at low level. Difference in seed type did not affect eating quality. Productivity was highest in ‘Chakrapat’ and ‘Kwai May Pink’. ‘Kwai May Pink’ produced well with high quality on both years.