Loquat Cultivation is also known as Lukat or Lugath farming in India. The Loquat is a sub-tropical and evergreen tree that attains 5 to 6 m in height and spreads in nature. Taiwan, Korea, China and Japan are the prime producers of this fruit, and central-eastern China is the native place of this fruit. Delhi, Punjab, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and Uttar Pradesh are the prime producers of Loquat in India. This fruit can improve skin health and eye vision and also helps in weight loss, increase blood, and maintain blood pressure. In addition, it is also helpful in strengthening teeth and bones. In Punjab, Roop Nagar, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur and Patiala are the prime producers of this fruit. This fruit ripes in end-march to April.
How to Do Loquat Cultivation
The sandy loam soil with wealthy organic matter and a sound drainage system is ideal for Loquat Cultivation. And you should prepare the land with advanced tractor models like Swaraj 963 and others. So, prepare the ground for better germination.
Popular Varieties
There are several varieties available for cultivation. Let’s know about them.
- California Advance – Released in 1970, fruits are medium-sized, the flesh is cream clour, 2-3 large seeds, sour in taste, ripes in the fourth week of April.
- Golden Yellow – Released in 1967, fruits are medium-sized, the flesh is yellow, 4-5 medium-sized seeds, ripes in the third week of March.
- Pale Yellow – Released in 1967, large-sized fruits, sour in taste, white flesh, 3-4 large seeds, ripes in the second week of April.
- Pale Yellow – Early variety
- Golden Yellow – Early variety
- Improved Golden Yellow – Early variety
- Thames Pride – Early variety
- Large Round – Early variety
- Mammoth – Mid-season variety
- Improved Pale Yellow – Mid-season variety
- Safeda – Mid-season variety
- Fire Ball – Mid-season variety
- Matchless – Mid-season variety
- Large Agra – Mid-season variety
- California Advance – Late-season variety
- Tanaka – Late-season variety
Land Preparation
You have to well prepare land for Loquat cultivation. You have to use good quality tractors like Eicher 548 and others to bring the soil to a fine tilth. So, it needs 2 or 3 ploughings, and after each ploughing, you should apply levelling.
Sowing
You can sow it in June-September with a plant-to-plant spacing of 6 – 7 m. Then, plant them in 1m deep planting. The propagation method is best for the plantation. Moreover, you should plant around 95 plants per acre.
Propagation
The air-layering method is the best for propagation. You should plant the Budded or grafted plants to obtain a good yield.
Fertiliser
Nutrient Requirement (gm/acre)
| Age | FYM | UREA | SSP | MOP |
| 1-2 years | 10-20 kg/tree | 150 – 500 | 200 – 500 | 150 – 400 |
| 3-6 years | 25-40 kg/tree | 600 – 750 | 600 – 1200 | 600 – 1000 |
| 7-10 years | 40-50 kg/tree | 800 – 1000 | 1500 – 2000 | 1100 – 1500 |
| 10 and above years | 50 kg/tree | 1000 | 2000 | 1500 |
Apply farmyard manure, potassium and phosphorus in September month. You should apply the first part of urea in October and the rest in January-February after the fruit set.
Weed Control
You can control the weeds by hand-hoeing or chemical treatment. For example, you can use glyphosate @ 1.6litre per 150 litres of water.
Irrigation
Irrigation varies on the climate and soil conditions—around 3 to 4 irrigation is required at harvesting.
Plant Protection
You have to protect plants from diseases and pests. So, you have to give some treatments to protect them.
Pest and their control:
- Leaf roller caterpillar – Spray of quinalphos @ 400ml in 150 ltr water per acre
- Aphids – Spray of Dimethoate @ 300ml in 150 ltr water per acre
Disease and their control:
- Black spot – Spray of Carbendazim @ 4gm/Ltr or Mancozeb @ 3gm/Ltr or Copper Oxychloride @ 3gm/Ltr of water
Harvesting
You can get fruits in the third year of plantation. And it shows maximum yield in the 15th year. Moreover, you can harvest the field with the help of sharp objects when fruits get matured. After harvesting, you should do a grading operation. The average yield of this fruit is 6-8qtl/acre.
Post Harvesting
You should harvest the fruits and pack them in wooden boxes. If you are harvesting for export purposes, harvest them before fully ripening. And for local market harvest them at fully ripening stage.
So, if you need to grow more fruits, stay with us. We will come up with our next blog. We have given around all the farming information to the farmers so that they can grow more in minimum expenses. Farmers are making money with our blog. So, you can also make a huge profit with our blogs.
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