Biotechnological Interventions in Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) for the Improvement of Fruit Quality and Postharvest Storage

Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) is an evergreen subtropical fruit, which is well acclaimed for its delicious, juicy aril and refreshing taste. Litchi fruit cultivation became an integral part of many Southeast Asian country’s economy and has a tremendous demand in domestic and export market. Insufficient genetic data about the native cultivar, poor knowledge and availability of the superior cultivars, lack of pest management control, and technological deficiency for the production and postharvest storage are the major constraints in litchi production and development all over the world. Biotechnological interventions have been successfully introduced in the field of litchi production for the massive micro-propagation, in vitro generation, and improvement of the quality of the available cultivars to produce superior cultivars with high yield. Widening of the genetic base of native cultivars using different molecular markers, introduction of genetic engineering to produce promising hybrids with large fruit, resistance to pericarp browning, and long life-span are highly recommended in this field with the help of biotechnological tools. In the present review, we have attempted to overview the combining research and development for the improvement of fruit quality and postharvest storage using various conventional as well as biotechnological tools.