Is this an Emperor lychee?

[happyhana]

Requesting help from those who know the Emperor lychee.

Tree is labeled Emperor but the sour red fruit and giant seed have me thinking it is an Emperor seedling at best. Maybe the fruit didn’t ripen properly? Is the low flesh to seed ratio normal? I actually like sour fruit but these are too much and have landed in the compost pile.

Any thoughts and help appreciated.

[shot]

That tree needed fruit thinning.So it won't come out good!

[Galatians522]

It certainly could be Emperor. I don't see anything that would jump out at me indicating that it is not.

[MarktLee]

They look right, is the tree slow growing?

[happyhana]

Thanks for the feedback, sounds like it is an Emperor but something went wrong with ripening.

My primary crop of interest is lychee and I’ve not heard or read about crop thinning. My understanding is the tree self regulates when the fruit are under pea sized. This particular tree only produced on a few branches this year, maybe 15% of total canopy. So it’s not like the tree was particularly stressed.

Is it slow growing? Lychees grow very fast here so this would be a relative measure, the answer is I don’t know. Been watching this tree for five years, it really took off when neighboring trees got a healthy pruning.

[Mike T]

Was it a seedling? I'm not sure what the original name of emperor is.

[shot]

They do not self regulate.Yes a branch can over load but it can also be that the fruit is not fully ripe your pics show unripe fruit is this the current condition?Not enough chilling leading to mixed signal at flowering = poor fruit

[Galatians522]

Was it a seedling? I'm not sure what the original name of emperor is.

Chakrapad or Chakapad

[happyhana]

Tree is about 20 years old and labeled Emperor. Origin is unknown whether clone or seed.

Most people I know grow Kaimana, with Groff a distant second. The culture and performance of Emperor in Hana is unknown to me. Cultivar may not be suited for this location.

Yes pics represent current state of tree. Mix of green, red sour and rotten fruit on same bunches. Tree has been shaded in the past and this is first real production since giving it more sunlight.

Not my tree, helping a friend. Moving forward if the tree does indeed look like Emperor then probably worth investment of amendments, fertilizer and pruning. Lots of fruiting trees here are volunteers or planted from seed. Bit of puzzle to figure what is worth keeping or replacing.

I thought inadequate chilling led to buds that develop leaves and flowers. So low fruit production not poor fruit quality?

[Galatians522]

Emperor has a tendency to split. I think that is what causes the rotten fruits you are seeing. If you want less acid, let them get purplish red before picking. If I remember correctly, Chakrapad (Emperor) is not grown much in Australia because it is suposedly too sour. Here in Florida, they are not sour. Since it was bred in Thalinad, I assume that it has to do with the amount of heat we get durring ripening. Maybe you are more like Australia in Hawaii? Also, after looking more closely at the pictures, I have a few thoughts. It appears that the stem in the fruit comes straight down in your picture. In Emperor the stem typically attaches to the top of the fruit at an angle. Also, Emperor has a reddish flush when putting out new leaves. If your flush is bronze, it is not Emperor.

[shot]

"I thought inadequate chilling led to buds that develop leaves and flowers. So low fruit production not poor fruit quality?"

Also leads to off season fruit and poor quality.

30 years of growing lychee

[happyhana]

Emperor has a tendency to split. I think that is what causes the rotten fruits you are seeing. If you want less acid, let them get purplish red before picking. If I remember correctly, Chakrapad (Emperor) is not grown much in Australia because it is suposedly too sour. Here in Florida, they are not sour. Since it was bred in Thalinad, I assume that it has to do with the amount of heat we get durring ripening. Maybe you are more like Australia in Hawaii? Also, after looking more closely at the pictures, I have a few thoughts. It appears that the stem in the fruit comes straight down in your picture. In Emperor the stem typically attaches to the top of the fruit at an angle. Also, Emperor has a reddish flush when putting out new leaves. If your flush is bronze, it is not Emperor.

This is very insightful and helpful. Stem comes straight down and no, we don’t get the heat of Florida or Thailand. Highs at this location have been topping at about 80 and this summer has been cooler than normal. I will have to check for flush color.

Interesting characteristic, red flush, as I understand Emperor was developed in Thailand from Hainan King lychee. My Erdon Lee seedlings are related and also flush red, quite beautiful!

[happyhana]

"I thought inadequate chilling led to buds that develop leaves and flowers. So low fruit production not poor fruit quality?"

Also leads to off season fruit and poor quality.

30 years of growing lychee

Appreciate your experience and insight. Time will tell if this tree is a keeper; need to amend, fertilize and thin future crops.

[Galatians522]

Here is a picture showing the stem angle I was talking about. These fruits are actually an Emperor seedling that retained the stem characteristic, but you get the idea.