Author Topic: How to induce flowering instead of vegetative growth on Lychee?  (Read 2561 times)

Samu

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How to induce flowering instead of vegetative growth on Lychee?
« on: January 02, 2019, 02:36:39 PM »
My Mauritius Lychee tree has been in the ground since 2015, and has grown to about 9 ft tall and as wide. Last year, 2018, it grew mostly vegetatively, which is ok.

This current season 2019 season, I think the tree is large enough now to start bearing some fruits. Looking at the currently early tips growth, looks like mostly (if not all of them) are leaves instead of flowers (unless I am seeing them wrong).



I am wondering if there is a way to induce the tree to produce flowers instead of new leaves? Or, am I too early to expect seeing flower panicles?

Sam

gnappi

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Re: How to induce flowering instead of vegetative growth on Lychee?
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2019, 04:56:53 PM »
Pfffttt...

My Mauritius is in ground since 2011 and my sweetheart since 2010 and no fruit from either. If they weren't handsome trees, I'd chop them today, but as it is, this winter / spring is their last chance.


Regards,

   Gary

Samu

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Re: How to induce flowering instead of vegetative growth on Lychee?
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2019, 12:03:33 PM »
Read Oscar's comments on concurrently similar thread, so I'll go ahead and prune the
flushes, while it's still Winter time...
Sam

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Re: How to induce flowering instead of vegetative growth on Lychee?
« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2019, 04:59:01 AM »
Article about new flush pruning on lyches showed that 70 percent versus 23 percent on non pruned branches flowered:
file:///C:/Users/FRUITL~1/AppData/Local/Temp/4DecemberPruningofVeg-Nagao17-22.pdf

Sorry bad link, go to this page and click the pdf file linK:
https://hilo.hawaii.edu/panr/writing.php?id=254
« Last Edit: January 04, 2019, 06:02:39 PM by fruitlovers »
Oscar

Frog Valley Farm

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Re: How to induce flowering instead of vegetative growth on Lychee?
« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2019, 07:52:56 AM »
In November 2015 I planted 30, 3gal. Brewster and 30, 3 gal Mauritius trees. A little more than half have survived.  They are all between 3-10 ft mostly about 4ft and bushy. I have never watered them not even when first planted. About every 3-6 mos. I spread about 10lbs of a variety of organic inputs, Biochar, fresh chipped branches and leaves from a variety of trees including legumes, a farm made quality Biodynamic compost,  logs from hurricanes, raw horse manure, dried home harvested wood chips. I also spray em1, indigenous microorganism tea and all of the biodynamic sprays, sometimes on a weekly schedule for several mos.. The orchard floor is unmowed perennial grasses, flowering plants, legumes and weeds.  Ironically, in July 2018 I had some flowering. About half are pushing flowers now, including the trees that flowered in July. The largest tree is not flowering. I believe this is due to it being planted too closely to a small productive sweet pink tamarind and next to a pond.  The mychorrizal fungi in the this largeer lychee trees rhyzosphere is trading with the the tamarind tree for growth promoting nitrogen. Add easy access to water and this tree gets no stress time.  The plants that are not flowering are in areas that could barely grow grass more than 5” due to compaction from constant mechanized mowing and the leaching of SOM from heavy rains.  These areas have shown to have poor cation exchange capacity, which is a major driver in a soils natural ability to cycle nutrients.  I’ve been working on these areas by adding extra organic matter and intercropping but it’s slow process in compacted sand which already has a low cation exchange capacity.

This is in Fl east coast zone 10a.

« Last Edit: January 07, 2019, 04:31:07 AM by Frog Valley Farm »

Samu

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Re: How to induce flowering instead of vegetative growth on Lychee?
« Reply #5 on: January 07, 2019, 01:38:09 AM »
Article about new flush pruning on lyches showed that 70 percent versus 23 percent on non pruned branches flowered:
file:///C:/Users/FRUITL~1/AppData/Local/Temp/4DecemberPruningofVeg-Nagao17-22.pdf

Sorry bad link, go to this page and click the pdf file linK:
https://hilo.hawaii.edu/panr/writing.php?id=254

Thanks for the corrected link Oscar; I left off 5 flushes unpruned and tagged, just for my own curiosity...
Sam

Guanabanus

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Re: How to induce flowering instead of vegetative growth on Lychee?
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2019, 09:08:31 AM »
I had never tried pruning this time of year.  Sounds hopeful!
Har

pineislander

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Re: How to induce flowering instead of vegetative growth on Lychee?
« Reply #7 on: January 12, 2019, 10:11:17 PM »
My Brewster Lychee 2 years in the ground from a 7 gal layer has flower buds. Never pruned and average to good fertility. The tree has a case of Lychee mite and I was near to pruning it heavily. We are pretty warm here on Pine Island and neighboring trees which bore heavily last year are barren so far.

Frog Valley Farm

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Re: How to induce flowering instead of vegetative growth on Lychee?
« Reply #8 on: January 13, 2019, 07:59:13 AM »
I’m just doing a walkthrough and it appears over 90 percent of our 3 yo trees are flowering now.

Frog Valley Farm

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Re: How to induce flowering instead of vegetative growth on Lychee?
« Reply #9 on: January 13, 2019, 08:55:36 AM »
My Brewster Lychee 2 years in the ground from a 7 gal layer has flower buds. Never pruned and average to good fertility. The tree has a case of Lychee mite and I was near to pruning it heavily. We are pretty warm here on Pine Island and neighboring trees which bore heavily last year are barren so far.

What are you doing about the Lychee mite?

pineislander

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Re: How to induce flowering instead of vegetative growth on Lychee?
« Reply #10 on: January 13, 2019, 09:33:49 PM »
My next door neighbor has hundreds of infected Lychee, some within 100 feet. They are being pruned back to bare trunks and we will begin to spray in unison. I didn't see any use pruning my two trees till that time lest they be reinfected.

Frog Valley Farm

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Re: How to induce flowering instead of vegetative growth on Lychee?
« Reply #11 on: January 14, 2019, 04:22:13 AM »
What do they suggest spraying?