Pre-Harvest Nutrient Applications: a Key to Superior Litchi (Cv. 'Bombai') Quality and Shelf Life

Litchi Chinensisis a perishable tropical fruit of high nutritional and economic value. However, post-harvest quality and shelf life are still significant issues. Pre-harvest intervention development to enhance fruit quality and shelf life is critical to guarantee market stability and reduce losses. The current study investigates the impact of pre-harvest foliar nutrient application on the yield, quality, and shelf life of Litchi chinensis cv. 'Bombai' in Bangladesh, 2020-2021. The experiment used Randomized Block Design (RBD) under the following treatments: T1 = urea (1%), T2 = calcium chloride (1%), T3 = borax (1%), T4 = urea 1% + calcium chloride 1%, T5 = urea 1% + borax 1%, T6 = urea 1% + calcium chloride 1% + borax 1% and T7 = Control (water). The results demonstrated that foliar treatment of the nutrients significantly increased the physical and biochemical values of the litchi fruits. T6 treatment resulted in the highest fruit weight (20.30g), fruit volume (20 mL), and pulp percentage (17.14%), and the lowest stone percentage (11.09%). It also showed the highest Total Soluble Solids (TSS) content (19.62 degrees Brix), TSS: acidity (24.57), ascorbic acid content (45.19 mg/100 g pulp), and lowest acidity (0.80%). In terms of storage properties, applying T6 treatment initiated a small amount of physiological weight reduction of 6.11%, 8.41%, and 10.65% for 2 days, 4 days, and 6 days, respectively. The findings suggest that the combined application of urea, calcium chloride, and borax can effectively enhance litchi fruit yield, quality, and shelf life.