FLORIDA

LYCHEE

GROWERS

ASSOCIATION

1958 Year Book
and
Proceedings

SIXTH ANNUAL MEETING

held at

Winter Haven, Florida

November zo, 1958

FLORIDA

LYCHEE GROWERS

ASSOCIATION

1958 Year Book
and
Proceedings

SIXTH ANNUAL MEETING

held at

Winter Haven, Florida

November Io, 1958

PROCEEDINGS
of the
FLORIDA LYCHEE GROWERS ASSOCIATION
1958

VOLUME V PRINTED 1959

CONTENTS

Officers of 1957-1958 .........- --- 4
Officers of 1958-1959 ....---- ------ 4
List of Members .--- ----------- 5, 6
History of Association ------ ------....-------- -- 7
Treasurer's Report ...-.-------------------------- 8
Amendment to Bv-Laws 9--- --------------------- 9
In Memorial ... ----------- ---------- ---- -- ------ 9
Papers presented at 1958 Annual Meeting
The Host Status of Lvchee with Reference to the Burrowing Nema-
tode- Harrv W. Ford, Florida Citrus Experiment Station, Lake
Alfred ....- .------- -- 10
Lvehee Growth Response to Various Levels of Nitrogen, Potassium
and Magnesium Jasper N. Joiner, Universitv of Florida, Gainesville 13
Progress Report on Erinose Mite Eradication G. W. Dekle, State
Plant Board .----- -------- 14
Use of Chemical Treatments for the Preservation of Lvchees R. A.
Dennison and C. B. Hall. Agricultural Experiment Station, Dept.
of Food Tech. & Nutrition, Gainesville ----- 16
Marketing of Lychees 1958 Wm. R. Grove, Jr., Laurel. 18
If You Believe-You Will Receive Davenport Scott, Minute Maid
Corp., Plymouth, Fla. ... -... 20
New York L chee Marketing Report for 1958 Peter Lee, New
York City ---------- -- 21
Reprints and Notes of Interest
The Lvchee Story 1957-58 Jchn K. Rice, Clermont 23
Freeze Damage to Lvchees T. W. Young and J. C. Noonan. Sub-
Tropical Exp. Sta., Homestead 26

The Effect of Cold on Lvchees on the Calcareous Soils of Southern
Florida 1957-58 S. John Lynch, Univcrsity of Miami, Coral Gables 31
3

FLORIDA LYCHEE GROWERS ASSOCIATION

OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES

November 1957 to November 1958

OFFICERS

President
1st Vice President
Secretary-Treasurer .
2nd Vice Presidents

District Number One
District Number Two
District Number Three
AT L

John K. Rice
. ... .. ...... . Charles E. W are
S- -... ......-... .......... W illiam R. G rove, Jr.
Arthur M. Hill, Jr., Harold G. Johnstone, James B. Pinkerton, Donald R. VanSickler

LARGE

Erie L. Wirt, Jr.
Harold Johnstone

Gordon Palmer
William R. Grove, Jr.

S. John Lynch

Charles E. Ware
Henry A. Simpson

DIRECTORS
S. John Lynch District Number Four ............... Erie Wirt, Jr.
William C. Arther District Number Five .... Gordon Palmer
John K. Rice District Number Six -- -. Curry O. Dodson
Henry A. Simpson, Ray A. Trevelyan

COMMITTEES

Research

Marketing

Publications

Resolutions

Arthur M. Hill, Jr.
Henry A. Simpson

Donald R. VanSickler

William R. Grove, Jr.

S. John Lynch

FLORIDA LYCHEE GROWERS ASSOCIATION

OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES

November 1958 to November 1959

OFFICERS

President ....
1st Vice President
Secretary-Treasurer
2nd Vice Presidents

District Number One
District Number Two
District Number Three
AT LARGE

...John K. Rice
Charles E. Ware
William R. Grove, Jr.
Arthur M. Hill, Jr., Julian Johnson, Jr., Harold G. Johnstone, Erie Wirt, Jr.

DIRECTORS

S. John Lynch
William C. Arther

District Number Four
District Number Five

John K. Rice District Number Six
Gordon Palmer, Henry A. Simpson and

Ray A. Trevelyan
D. R. VanSickier
C. C. Mitchell
T. W. Young

Erie Wirt, Jr.
Arthur M. Hill, Jr.
Harold Johnstone

Gordon Palmer
William R. Grove, Jr.

William R. Grove, Jr.

Charles E. Ware
S. John Lynch

COMMITTEES

Research

Marketing

Publications

Resolutions

S. John Lynch
Henry A. Simpson
T. W. Young

Henry A. Simpson
D. R. VanSickler

S. John Lynch

Henry A. Simpson

FLORIDA LYCHEE GROWERS ASSOCIATION

LIST OF REGULAR MEMBERS

*Charter Members
Arther, Col. William C., 2476 Fairway Dr.,
Vero Beach
*Asper, Pervis I., Rt. 3, Box 444, Lakeland
*Barnes, Mrs. O. T., Box 223, Osprey
Bateman, W. E., Rt. 1, Box 405 (Davie),
Ft. Lauderdale
bishop, R. G., Rt. 2, Clermont
Bodden, Wm. J., 3304 Highland Ave., Tampa
*Brockway, E. K., Lake Louis Groves, P. O. Box
695, Clermont
Brown, Miss Jessie M., 3400 Riverview Blvd.,
Bradenton
*Burhans, C. L., 3601 E. Perch Dr., Ocala
Burke, E., Box 515, Clermont *
Carbone, Sebastian, 2163 7th St., Sarasota
Caribbean Gardens, Attention J. Kuperberg, Naples
Cassel, E. G., Rt. 3, Box 255-B, Sarasota
Coconut Grove Palmetun, Attention Ray Vernon,
Manager, P. O. Box 136, Coconut Grove
Constantine Farms, Inc., T. J. Constantine, P. O.
Box 1400, Clearwater
Couch, Adam, Rt. 1, Box 198C, Odessa
Couch, Mrs. Margaret, Box 123, Bartow
Crews, C. E., Box 174, Avon Park
Crum, Roy M., Rt. 1, Box 651, Ft. Lauderdale
Curtis, Charles F., Rt. 1, Box 59, Clearwater
*Curtis, Raymond M., 3575 Stewart Ave., Coconut
Grove
Davison, Mrs. Allen S., 3400 Riverview Blvd.,
Bradenton
*Dixon, Col. V. B., Box 591, Venice
*Dodd, Chas. K., 1731 Bay St., Sarasota
Dodson, C. 0., 15806 E. st St., Redington Beach,
St. Petersburg
Douglas, W. W., Box 113, Parrish
*Dyer, John W., 4000 8th St., South, St. Petersburg
Eagleton, Clyde, Jr., Rt. 5, Box 2380, Sarasota
*Estes, Robert J., Box 893, Lake Wales
Freke-Hayes, J. J., Seminole Rd., Babson Park
Goessling, Leo J., Box 307, Stuart
*Gose, A. E., 1748 N. Lakeview Dr., Sebring
*Groff, Mrs. G. W., Rt. 2, Box 1024, Nokomis
*Grove, Col. W. R., P. O. Box 7, Laurel
*Hamilton, M. Kenneth & Sophie, Key Ave., Eustis
*Henry, Mrs. J. M., Box 110, Nokomis
*Hill, Arthur M., Jr., Box 306, Vero Beach
Home, Fred R., 102 E. Buffalo Ave., Tampa
*Horton, H. N., Rt. 1, Box 365, Land O'Lakes
Jesse, Edwin G., P. 0. Box 764, Ft. Pierce
Jimenez, Gus R., Box 5112, Tampa
Johnson, Einar C., 560 S. Saratoga, St. Paul 16,
Minn.
Johnson, Capt. Victor, Rt. 1, Box 406, Homestead
*Johnston, Julian A., Box 811, Winter Haven
*Johnstone, H. G., Laurel
Kiefer, Mrs. E. L., 4525 Hyacinth Way, South, St.
Petersburg
Kirk, Mrs. Dorothy, 300 37th St., South, St.
Petersburg 11

Kluberg, W. N., Box 635, Avon Park
Lee, Carrol R., Box 252-K, Rt. 3, Sarasota
Lindsey, Raymond G., 1507 Edgevale Road, Fort
Pierce
Loftis, Warren T., Rt. 2, Box 73, Lutz
Lowe, E. M., Box 450, Rt. 1, Largo
*Lynch, Prof. S. John, Univ. of Miami, P. O. Box
1015, South Miami 43
Mahcny, John, 5200 S. W. 60th Place, Miami 43
*Marigo, James, Rt. 1, Box 413, Ft. Lauderdale
Mayers, H. Blyth, 1411 N. Ft. Harrison, Clearwater
*McMullen, Dr. Fred B., Jackson Bldg., Clearwater
*Miami, University of, Attention S. John Lynch,
Box 1015, South Miami 43
Miller, John B., Box 1152, Ft. Lauderdale
*Mitchell, C. C., Drier Ave., Box 188, R.F.D. No. 1,
Largo
*Moore, Mrs. Dorothy, 480 Island Circle, Sarasota
*Morrissey, Edw. J., Rt. 1, Box 442, Homestead
Nelson, Mrs. Wickliffe, "Casa Rosa," 802 Georgia
Ave., Winter Park
Orman, Fred, P.O. Box 334, Stuart
*Palmer Nurseries, Osprey
*Parsons, Adm. E. C., Box 81, Osprey
Petersen, William 0., 2251 Bay St., Sarasota
Phleger, Lee, 12601 S. W. 77th Ave., Miami 43
*Pinkerton, J. B., R.F.D. No. 3, Merritt Island
Pitts, Glenn G., 6212 Foster Ave., Tampa
*Popham, J. H., Jr., The Oaks, Osprey
*Porter, Mrs. Bella T., Rt. 1, Box 38, Clermont
Rao, Dr. John O., Osceola Hospital, Kissimmee
*Reaves, Dr. Hugh G., 1444 Harbor Dr., Sarasota
*Rice, Maj. Gen. John K., R.F.D. No. 1, Clermont
*Roberts, Pasco, Box 728, St. Petersburg
Royall, Lemual J., Jr., 173 Fern Way, Miami
Springs
*Ruffing, John, Rt. 2, Box 66, Dade City
Sevia, Mrs. G. A., Sr., 1780 N. Fort Harrison,
Clearwater
*Simpson, Henry A., Geneva
Sterling, Frank & Son, Rt. 1 (Davie), Ft. Lauder-
dale
Stewart, Clyde M., 433 61st St., North, St.
Petersburg
Sub-Tropical Experiment Station, Rt. 2, Box 508,
Homestead
*Summers, W. J., Laurel
Thompson, Dr. T. S., Venice
*Tingley, C. L. S., Jr., Rt. 2, Box 518, Largo
*Trevelyan, Col. Ray A., Rt. 1, Sebring
*Turner, Donald L., 1271 4th Street, Sarasota
*VanSickler, Col. D. R., Laurel
*Ware, Judge C. E., Rt. I, Box 858, Largo
Wells, J. Frank, 336 Bridgers, Auburndale
Williams, Foy R., Rt. 1, Box 552, Sebring
*Wirt, Erie L., Jr., Babson Park
Wittmer, J. C., 1817 16th St., North, St. Peters-
burg
*Wyles, W. Eugene, 198 No. 40th St., West,
Bradenton

FLORIDA LYCHEE GROWERS ASSOCIATION

LIST OF PROFESSIONAL MEMBERS

Beckenbach, J. R., Director Agr. Exp. Stas., Univ.
of Florida, Gainesville

Boss, Dr. Manley L., Dept. of Botany, University of
Miami, Coral Gables

Burcher, Dr. F. Gray, Univ. of Miami, P. O. Box
1015, South Miami 43

Cowperthwaite, Dr. William G., Plant Commissioner,
State Plant Board, Gainesville

Dekle, George W., State Plant Board, Gainesville

Dennison, Dr. R. A., Agr. Exp. Stas., University of
Florida, Gainesville

DuCharme, Dr. E. P., Fla. Citrus Exp. Sta., Lake
Alfred

Fifield, Willard M., Provost of Agric., Univ. of
Florida, Gainesville

Gardner, Dr. Frank E., Sub-Trop. Fruit Investiga-
tions, U. S. Hort. Sta., 2120 Camden Road,
Orlando

Goldweber, Seymour, Univ. of Miami, P. O. Box
1015, South Miami 43

Howlett, Dr. Freeman, Chairman Dept. of Hort.,
Ohio State Univ., Columbus, Ohio

Joiner, Dr. Jasper, Fla. Agr. Ext. Service, Univ. of
Florida, Gainesville

Kelsheimer, Dr. E. G., Gulf Coast Exp. Sta.,
Bradenton

Lawrence, Fred P., Fla. Agr. Ext. Service, Univ. of
Florida, Gainesville

Ledin, Dr. R. Bruce, Sub-Trop. Exp. Sta., Univ. of
Florida, Homestead

Loomis, Harold F., U. S. Plant Introduction Garden,
Coconut Grove

Macdonnell, John Henry, Flamingo Ave., Bay
Island, Sarasota

Macfie, George B., Jr, Univ. of Miami, P. O. Box
1015, South Miami 43

Marloth, Dr. Raimund H., The Citrus & Sub-Trop.
Hort. Res. Sta., Nelspruit, Eastern Transvaal,
Union of South Africa.

Mounts, M. U., Fla. Agr. Ext. Service, Rt. 5, Box
36-B, West Palm Beach

Mustard, Dr. Margaret J., Univ. of Miami, P. O.
Box 1015, South Miami 43

Nelson, Roy O., Univ. of Miami, P. O. Box 1015,
South Miami 43

Popenoe, Dr. Wilson, Director Escuela Agricola
Panamericana, Apartado 93, Tegucigalpa, Hon-
duras, C. A.

Reitz, Dr. H. J., Citrus Exp. Sta., Lake Alfred

Reuther, Dr. Walter, Citrus Exp. Sta., Univ. of
California, Riverside, Calif.

Ruehle, Dr. George D., Vice Director in Charg-
Sub-Trop. Exp. Sta., Univ. of Florida, Home-
stead

Shrum, Jeffrey E., Jr., Research Agron, U. S. Plant
Intro. Sta., P. O. Box 226, Coconut Grove

Sites, Dr. John W., Agr. Exp. Stas., Univ. of Flor-
ida, Gainesville

Spencer, Dr. Herbert, Sub-Trop. Fruit Investigations,
U. S. Hort. Sta., 2120 Camden Road, Orlando

Stahl, Dr. A. L., Univ. of Miami, P. O. Box 1015,
South Miami 43

Storey, Dr. W. B., Citrus Exp. Sta., Univ. of Cali-
fornia, Riverside, Calif.

Suit, Dr. Ross F., Fla. Citrus Exp. Sta., Lake Alfred

Thompson, Dr. D. B., Fla. Agr. Exp. Stas., Univ. of
Florida, Gainesville

Van Der Meulen, Dr. A., The Citrus & Sub-Trop.
Hort. Res. Sta., Nelspruit, Eastern Transvaal,
Union of South Africa

Veldhuis, Dr. M. K., U. S. Citrus Products Station,
Winter Haven

Whitehouse, Dr. W. E., Sr., New Crops Research
Branch, Crops Research Division, Plant Industry
Station, Beltsville, Maryland

Winters, Harold F., New Crops Research Branch,
Crops Research Division, Plant Industry Station,
Beltsville, Maryland

Young, Dr. T. W., Sub-Trop. Exp. Sta., Univ. of
Florida, Homestead

History of the Florida Lychee Growers Association

A group of people interested in the growing of lvchees in Florida, number-
ing 58 men and women, met on October 11, 1951 at Winter Haven, Florida, to
discuss the formation of a lychee growers organization. The late beloved Colonel
William R. Grove was chosen chairman of the group and of a seven man
executive committee including Messrs. Dean V. Porter, S. John Lynch, C. E.
Ware, E. L. Wirt, Jr., Arthur M. Hill and Henry A. Simpson, charged with the
details of formally organizing a Lvchee Growers Association.
The charter meeting of the Florida Lychee Growers Association was held
November 5, 1952, at the Soreno Hotel, St. Petersburg. Judge C. E. Ware as
chairman of the Constitution and Bv-Laws Committee, read to the members
the Articles of Incorporation (Charter) and By-Laws, as suggested bv the Execu-
tive Committee. They were accepted and approved unanimously. The Executive
Committee was re-elected with the change of R. A. Trevelvan for D. V. Porter,
who withdrew due to ill health, and William R. Grove, Jr., replacing his recently
deceased father. The Charter was signed by nine members and the Act of
Incorporation submitted to the State Department. The Board of Directors met
following the organizational meeting of the Florida Lvchee Growers Association
and elected as the first officers: President, William R. Grove, Laurel: Vice-
President, C. E. Ware, Clearwater; Sec.-Treas., Gordon Palmer, Osprey.
The Board of Directors, elected from each of six districts in the state, meet
bimonthly to conduct the regular business of the Association. The entire
Association meets each November at Winter Haven, at which time the year's
business is reviewed and a forum of papers is given of interest to growers and
shippers of lychees.

FLORIDA LYCHEE GROWERS ASSOCIATION

TREASURER'S REPORT-DECEMBER 31, 1958

INCOME:

Annual Dues 1959 .... ......... ..........-- -- $ 12.00
Bank Loan .... ..------- ... ...... ...... 2,000.00
Fresh Fruit Sales 1957 crop ............... .. .... .............. 45.00
Fresh Fruit Sales 1958 crop .... ........ 16,648.75
Frozen Fruit Sales -1956 crop .......... 22.50
Frozen Fruit Sales 1958 crop ....... .............. - 87.50
Income Taxes Withheld ...... ..... 61.60
Membership Fees ...... ........... .. 30.00
Packaging Materials .... .......... 6-- 1.17
S.S. Taxes Withheld ...... 26.44
Telephone .. .....---- 3.30
Yearbook Sales ..... 34.00

TOTAL INCOME ...... $19,032.26

DISBURSEMENTS:

Advertising .... ....... .. ..... 1,060.88
Annual Meeting ....--.. 18.60
Bank Charges .... .............. 24.49
Bank Loan Payment..... 2,000.00
Deep Freeze Expenses .....1,260.24
Florida Agricultural Council .. .50.00
Fresh Fruit Payments .......9,888.89
Insurance ... ... 61.60
Office Supplies ...... ...... .. 256.80
Packaging Materials ......... .. 2,074.24
Postage .. ........ .. -...192.29
Preparation Tax Return .... .. .... 25.00
Research .... .... ......------ 86.30
Salary ..... ..... ... ...... 1,175.00
Taxes (Income & S.S.) ........ 115.62
Telephone & Telegraph .... 256.35
Travel ... .. --- -...... ......... ... 278.80
U. S. Department of Agriculture ....... .25.00
Yearbook ..... ...------- .. 431.36

TOTAL DISBURSEMENTS .... $19,281.46
Bank Balance, December 31, 1957 271.78
Plus Income ...... ....... 19,032.26
$19,304.04
Less Disbursements ... 19,281.46

Bank Balance, December 31, 1958 ... 22.58

INVENTORIES
Dec. 31, 1957 Dec. 31, 1958
Packaging Materials ..... $580.96 $ 732.49
Yearbooks .. 850.00 1,295.00
Frozen Lychees .. 6,965.75

Amendment to By-Laws of the Florida Lychee Growers
Association

ADOPTED BY RESOLUTION NOVEMBER 10, 1958
Article VII, Section One (1), last sentence amended to read as follows:
"Membership dues shall be Ten ($10.00) Dollars during the first
year of Organization and Twenty-Five ($25.00) Dollars thereafter
and the annual dues shall be Three ($3.00) Dollars per year which
shall be due and payable January 1st of each year and if not paid
shall be delinquent after April 1st of each year."
Article VII, Section Six (6), add thereto Sub Section (e), as follows:
"(e) Upon affirmative action bv the Board of Directors terminating
membership for failure to pay annual dues within the time pre-
scribed by these Bv-Laws."

In Memoriam
JAMES McCLURE HENRY
Dr. James McClure Henry, one of our charter members, died suddenly
on December 18, 1958 at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Ward J. McFarland,
in New London, Connecticut.
A prominent educator and Presbyterian minister, Dr. Henry was born on
December 2, 1880 in Canton, China where his missionary parents were serving.
He was educated at the University of Wooster in Ohio where he received his
Bachelor of Arts degree in 1901. A Bachelor of Divinity degree was earned
at Union Theological Seminary in 1907. In 1924 he was further honored with
a Doctor of Divinity degree from the University of Wooster.
He began his career as an American Pre:;bvterian missionary in Canton,
China (1909-19) and was with Lingnan University in Canton after 1919. He
became its president in 1924, served as provost from 1927 to 1948, and Amer-
ican director from 1949 to 1951. Since 1951 he had been a member of the
University's board of trustees. His long residence in Canton, the center of
China's lvchee plantings, enabled him to become an expert on the lychee.
During the Japanese occupation of Canton he was active in refugee relief
until he was interned in 1941. Repatriated on the second Gripsholm in 1943,
he returned to China in 1944, where lie performed highly important tasks for
our nation.
In 1948 Dr. Henry was made an honorary citizen of Canton. In 1949 he
received the Order of the Brilliant Star from the Chinese Government. He was
a member of Phi Gamma Delta, Delta Sigma Rhe and Phi Beta Kappa. From
1938 to 1941 he was governor of Rotarv's 96th District in the Far East and was
a member of the Venice-Nokomis Rotary club at the time of his death. He was
also a Mason.
Dr. and Mrs. Henry moved to Nokomis, Florida from Scarsdale, New York
in 1951. With their son, Arthur, also a charter member of our association, they
pursued their love for the Ivchee at their home, Nam Yuen (Southern Gardens),
where thev planted a beautiful lvchee grove. Arthur met an untimely, tragic
death in 1955, as reported in our 1955 Yearbook. Dr. Henry continued with his
unbounded enthusiasm for the Ivhee, despite severe tree losses during the dis-
astrous freezes in the winter of 1957-58.
The inspiration and intense loyalty of this pioneer has made a lasting impress
upon the Ivchee industry.

Amendment to By-Laws of the Florida Lychee Growers
Association

ADOPTED BY RESOLUTION NOVEMBER 10, 1958
Article VII, Section One (1), last sentence amended to read as follows:
"Membership dues shall be Ten ($10.00) Dollars during the first
year of Organization and Twenty-Five ($25.00) Dollars thereafter
and the annual dues shall be Three ($3.00) Dollars per year which
shall be due and payable January 1st of each year and if not paid
shall be delinquent after April 1st of each year."
Article VII, Section Six (6), add thereto Sub Section (e), as follows:
"(e) Upon affirmative action bv the Board of Directors terminating
membership for failure to pay annual dues within the time pre-
scribed by these Bv-Laws."

In Memoriam
JAMES McCLURE HENRY
Dr. James McClure Henry, one of our charter members, died suddenly
on December 18, 1958 at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Ward J. McFarland,
in New London, Connecticut.
A prominent educator and Presbyterian minister, Dr. Henry was born on
December 2, 1880 in Canton, China where his missionary parents were serving.
He was educated at the University of Wooster in Ohio where he received his
Bachelor of Arts degree in 1901. A Bachelor of Divinity degree was earned
at Union Theological Seminary in 1907. In 1924 he was further honored with
a Doctor of Divinity degree from the University of Wooster.
He began his career as an American Pre:;bvterian missionary in Canton,
China (1909-19) and was with Lingnan University in Canton after 1919. He
became its president in 1924, served as provost from 1927 to 1948, and Amer-
ican director from 1949 to 1951. Since 1951 he had been a member of the
University's board of trustees. His long residence in Canton, the center of
China's lvchee plantings, enabled him to become an expert on the lychee.
During the Japanese occupation of Canton he was active in refugee relief
until he was interned in 1941. Repatriated on the second Gripsholm in 1943,
he returned to China in 1944, where lie performed highly important tasks for
our nation.
In 1948 Dr. Henry was made an honorary citizen of Canton. In 1949 he
received the Order of the Brilliant Star from the Chinese Government. He was
a member of Phi Gamma Delta, Delta Sigma Rhe and Phi Beta Kappa. From
1938 to 1941 he was governor of Rotarv's 96th District in the Far East and was
a member of the Venice-Nokomis Rotary club at the time of his death. He was
also a Mason.
Dr. and Mrs. Henry moved to Nokomis, Florida from Scarsdale, New York
in 1951. With their son, Arthur, also a charter member of our association, they
pursued their love for the Ivchee at their home, Nam Yuen (Southern Gardens),
where thev planted a beautiful lvchee grove. Arthur met an untimely, tragic
death in 1955, as reported in our 1955 Yearbook. Dr. Henry continued with his
unbounded enthusiasm for the Ivhee, despite severe tree losses during the dis-
astrous freezes in the winter of 1957-58.
The inspiration and intense loyalty of this pioneer has made a lasting impress
upon the Ivchee industry.

The Host Status of Lychee with Reference to the

Burrowing Nematode

HARRY W. FORD
Florida Citrus Experiment Station
Lake Alfred

The burrowing nematode, Radopholus similis (Cobb) Thorne, an endopara-
site, is the primary cause of a serious citrus disease known as spreading decline
(7). At the present time, the roots of more than 400 citrus varieties, species, and
relatives have been found to be susceptible to attack and damage from this
destructive pest (3). Also, more than 150 kinds of ornamentals and other
plants (6) are hosts of the burrowing nematode. Undoubtedly, more hosts
will be found as additional plants are studied. It is now apparent that the
kinds of plants that cannot be invaded by this nematode will be a small fraction
of the flora of Florida.

Most ornamental and other non-citrus plants have been studied by exam-
ining roots obtained from known burrowing nematode-infested sites in citrus
plantings and greenhouses. The roots were incubated by the Young procedure
(9) and also dissected under the microscope to determine if the nematodes
were surviving on the host. Burrowing nematodes were not recovered from
certain of these plants such as lychee (1), crotalaria (8), and others (6). An
additional test was also made on these plants from which no burrowing nema-
todes were recovered. The plants were grown in containers at a temperature
satisfactory for nematode development. After several months, up to a year,
the roots were examined for burrowing nematodes. If no nematodes were found,
the plant was considered a nonhost or at least resistant to the burrowing nema-
tode. This method by which a plant was judged a nonhost of the burrowing
nematode did not give specific information about the penetration of the nema-
tode into roots, or its subsequent ability to lay eggs.
Crotalaria spectabilis was recommended as a non-host cover crop (8) after
no burrowing nematodes were found on roots of Crotalaria that had been grown
in infested field soil in a temperature tank. Subsequent studies (4) using a
Petri dish technique involving two-dav-old seedlings in the laboratory showed
that the burrowing nematode could penetrate the roots of Crotalaria and damage
the invaded roots. A few nematodes lived for at least 30 days and were able to
reach maturity. The appearance and activity of Radopholus similis in the roots
of this plant suggested that it was actually an unsuitable host rather than a
nonhost of the burrowing nematode. Following these results, studies using
similar techniques were started with lychee, Litchi chinensis Sonn.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Experiment I. Four air-layered Bengal lvchee plants were secured from
the U. S. Plant Introduction Station, Coconut Grove, Florida, and planted in a
greenhouse bench filled with soil containing a heavy population of burrowing
nematodes. After 15 and 30 days, root samples were taken for study by digging
with a hand trowel and sifting the roots free of soil. Most of the roots obtained
by this method were one millimeter or larger in diameter. Some of the roots

were dissected under the microscope, others were examined using the Young
procedure, and a few were stained with osmic acid in an effort to see nematodes
inside the roots.

No burrowing nematodes were found by any of the procedures that were
employed. It was discovered that many fine rootlets had broken away from the
collected roots at the time the samples were taken from the infested beds. The
points where the fine rootlets had been attached could be clearly seen in the
stained root samples. Attempts were made, without success, to recover the
fine rootlets and root hairs from plants in the greenhouse beds by using extreme
care in sifting. By using a three-power lens, the tiny structures could be seen
breaking from the larger rootlets as the soil was disturbed.

Finally an entire plant was removed to a screened box without materially
disturbing the root-soil environment. The roots were separated from the soil
with a fine water spray. In this manner a few of the small rootlets were obtained
for study. These roots were about 0.1 millimeter in diameter which is similar
in size to a human hair. Six live female burrowing nematodes were obtained from
roots incubated over a period of 12 days using the Young procedure. A sample
of roots was stained with osmic acid but many of the fine rootlets broke in
the process so that the sample was too small to determine if the nematodes had
actually been inside the roots.

Experiment II. A procedure was developed in the laboratory to reduce
the breakage of fine rootlets. A germinated Brewster lychee seed was placed on
a thin layer of soil above plastic screen wire which was lying on an aluminum
square. The aluminum square containing the lychee plant was placed on one-
fourth inch of sand in a six-inch diameter plastic culture dish. The area around
the new root was marked on the plastic screen with a wax pencil. Fifty burrowing
nematodes were placed on each marked root section and the dish filled with soil.
After four to eight weeks the aluminum squares were lifted from the culture
dish and the undisturbed roots carefully washed with a fine water spray. The
extremely fine rootlets and root hairs were preserved by this technique. The
rootlets were taken from the original area of inoculation and dissected under a
stereomicroscope. The remainder of the roots were incubated by the Young
procedure.
Ten Ivchee seedlings were inoculated and held for four, six, and eight
weeks. Two plants were examined after four weeks. On one plant, 14 individual
burrowing nematode lesions were found in the fine rootlets, 0.1 to 0.2 mm. in
diameter, near the original area of inoculation. Extensive damage to the root
cortex in each lesion could be seen. Six live females were found inside the roots
together with numerous eggs. No larvae were found. No lesions or nematodes
were found in roots larger than 0.2 mm. in diameter.

The root system of two plants was removed from the plastic dishes after
six weeks. A lesser number of rootlets was found in the region of inoculation.
It is not known whether this was the result of nematode damage. One dead
female and one dead larva was found in one lesion.

After two months the roots of the remaining six plants were removed from
the dishes and the roots dissected. There were considerably fewer rootlets in
the inoculated area than were present on roots infested for only one month.
None of the roots from the original inoculated area that were dissected contained

burrowing nematodes. The roots outside the inoculated area were incubated
by the Young procedure for seven days prior to dissecting and no burrowing
nematodes were found.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The presence of extremely small rootlets on lychee has not been reported
in Florida. Lui (5) stated that lychee roots are finely branched with abundant
root hairs. There was no reference to size. These fine rootlets cannot be ade-
quately sampled in the field by digging with a shovel or auger. A small sample
of fine rootlets was obtained by pressing a screened structure under the root
system, cutting around the structure, and washing gently with water. The
roots were studied in the laboratory and it was evident that most of the fine
rootlets had broken and were lost even by this procedure.

The terminology used to define the relationship of the host plant to the
nematode has been used with different connotations by various workers. Any
condition of nonsusceptibility could be called resistance. Since this covers a
rather wide range, varying degrees of resistance are frequently reported de-
pending upon the interpretation of the individual. In this paper the writer
prefers to reserve the term immunity for the highest form of resistance where
the nematode does not feed upon and does not penetrate the root tissues of the
plant. A plant is called resistant to the nematode, even though invaded by the
nematode, if plant growth is not retarded and the nematode population gradu-
ally diminishes to a low level or completely disappears. This is the interpreta-
tion used in the citrus rootstock screening program (2).

The data presented in this paper are in agreement with DuCharme and
Suit (1) who reported that populations of burrowing nematodes can not be
maintained on the Brewster lychee. However, nematodes did penetrate the root
system. The fact that one larva was found indicates that at least one viable egg
was produced and hatched. The presence of lesions on the fine rootlets show
that these structures can be damaged by the activity of the burrowing nematode.
Apparently this damage is superficial to the root system of the Ivchee since there
are many feeder roots larger than those that can be invaded. Therefore, it is
suggested that the host status of lychee should be considered as one of high
resistance rather than immunity.

LITERATURE CITED
1. DuCharme, E. P. and R. F. Suit. 1955. Immunity of the lychee from the burrowing nematode.
Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 68: 270-272
2. Feder, W. A. and H. W. Ford. 1957. Susceptibility of certain citrus varieties, species, and
relatives to the burrowing nematode. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 70: 60-63.
3. Feder, W. A., H. W. Ford, J. Feldmesser, F. E. Gardner, R. F. Suit, A. Pieringer, and P. C.
Hutchins.. 1958. Citrus varieties, species, and relatives susceptible to attack and damage by the burrowing
nematode, Radopholus similis. Plant Dis. Reptr. 42: 934-937.
4. Ford, H. W. and C. I. Hannon. 1958. The burrowing nematode, Radopholus similis, in roots
of Crotalaria spectabilis. Plant Dis. Reptr. 42: 461-463.
5. Lui, Su-Ying. 1954. Studies of Litchi chinensis, Sonn. Unpublished Thesis, University of Michigan.
6. State Plant Board of Florida. 1958. (Unpublished). Hosts and suspected host plants of the
burrowing nematode Radopholus similis (Cobb) Thorne.
7. Suit, R. F. and E. P. DuCharme. 1953. The burrowing nematode and other parasitic nematodes
in relation to spreading decline of citrus. Plant Dis. Reptr. 37: 379-383.
8. Suit, R. F., and E. P. DuCharme, and T. L. Brooks. 1955. Effectiveness of the pull-and-treat
method for controlling the burrowing nematode on citrus. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 68: 36-38.
9. Young, T. W. 1954. An incubation method for collecting migratory endoparasitic nematodes.
Plant Dis. Reptr. 38: 794-795.

Lychee Growth Response to Various Levels of Nitrogen,

Potassium and Magnesium

JASPER N. JOINER
University of Florida

Gainesville

No critical research in the field of lychee nutrition has been reported in the
literature. Only a few references to lychee fertilization practices appear and
none of these result from research findings. Under Florida conditions the lychee
is an erratic bearer which is a major deterrent to the growth of the industry and
is believed to be, at least partially, the result of nutritional deficiencies within
the trees. This research was initiated to determine the effect of varying levels
of nitrogen, potassium and magnesium on the growth and chemical composition
of the Ivehee and to establish the bases for further nutritional research from
which might come commercial fertilizer recommendations. A few preliminary
results are given herewith.

METHOD
One hundred and eight air-layered lychee trees were brought from Palmer's
Nursery in Osprey, Florida, on April 13, 1957, and planted in polyethylene
containers filled with pure quartz sand. Treatments consisted of three levels
each of nitrogen (30, 80 and 210 parts per million), potassium (8, 32 and 180
ppm), and magnesium (12, 24 and 54 ppm), in a 3x3x3 factorial experiment,
confounded in blocks of nine treatments and replicated four times. All other
elements were provided in ample quantities.
Growth indices included caliper measurements taken four inches above
the soil line and recorded in millimeters and, to indicate extent of canopy
growth, canopy diameter at the widest point and canopy height were measured,
added together and averaged.
Chemical analyses of tissue were also made to determine the interaction
effect of the various variables on the composition of the lychee. The effects of
such analyses will be reported later.

RESULTS
The effects of the different levels of nitrogen and potassium on caliper and
canopy growth are given in Tables 1 and 2.
TABLE 1. Interaction of N and K on increase in caliper growth
in mm of lychee trees grown in sand culture.
N Levels PPM K Level
K levels 30 80 210 Means
8 ppm 78.6 39.0 3.7 42.12
32 ppm 83.6 32.1 14.5 43.39
180 ppm 21.5 12.9 2.9 12.45
N Means 61.2 28.0 8.7
LSD 0.05 0.01
Between N & K level means 12.17 16.1
Between means within table 20.9 27.8

TABLE 2. Effect of N and K on canopy growth in mm of lychee
trees grown in sand culture.
N Levels PPM K Level
K Levels 30 80 210 Means
8 ppm 38.5 31.5 17.9 29.3
32 ppm 34.0 29.6 23.6 28.9
180 ppm 18.9 16.7 13.2 16.0
N Means 30.2 25.9 18.2
LSD 0.05 0.01
Between N & K means 5.6 7.4

The fact that increases in nitrogen supplied drastically reduced growth rate
was unexpected and surprising in view of considerable research accomplished
on other crops. It is necessary to have the results of the tissue analyses to explain
this phenomena. Magnesium content of the fine roots was exceedingly low at
all levels of nitrogen, magnesium and potassium supplied. As nitrogen in the
substrate increased, root magnesium was significantly depressed to the point that
at high nitrogen levels magnesium in the fibrous roots was almost negligible.
It was also true that as potassium in the supply increased, the magnesium
content of the fibrous roots was significantly depressed. The combined increase
in the deficiency of potassium and magnesium as nitrogen in the supply increased
and the depressive effect of potassium on the magnesium content of the root
system probably reduced the absorptive activity of the roots to the point that
serious water stress resulted in the trees and growth rate was sharply curtailed
at high nitrogen and potassium levels.

It should be pointed out that in similar nutritional experiments by Smith
and Reuther (1) on citrus the same levels of nitrogen, potassium and magnesium
were supplied. Their results showed that the same increases in nitrogen as
provided in this experiment increased the canopy and caliper growth of citrus
trees. It would seem, therefore, that lychee trees might be less efficient in their
ability to absorb both potassium and magnesium than is citrus and some other tree
fruits. Although many lychee growers follow the fertilizer recommendations
made for citrus production, this experiment indicates that this may not be a
wise procedure. It appears that at the levels of nitrogen provided the Ivchee
tree probably requires larger applications of potassium and magnesium than is
necessary in the case of citrus.
Field experiments currently in progress indicate that similar trends exist
under these conditions as appear in the greenhouse experiment.
LITERATURE CITED
1. Smith, Paul F., Walter Reuther, and G. Kenneth Scudder, Jr. 1953. Effect of differential
supplies of nitrogen, potassium and magnesium on growth and fruiting of young valencia orange trees
in sand culture. Proc. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 61:38-48.

Progress Report on Erinose Mite Eradication

G. W. DEKLE
State Plant Board

The survey in the Nokomis area for erinose mite, Aceria litchii (K.), an
introduced pest of lychee, was interrupted by the freeze on December 12-13,

1957; however, all regional Plant Board inspectors had an opportunity to
familiarize themselves with the damage caused by this mite prior to the freeze.
The brown felt-like growth of tiny hairs produced on the underside of
leaves and also the thickened deformed leaves are characteristic symptoms
exhibited by infested foliage. Both conditions were found at Dr. J. M. Henry's
grove on December 9-10, 1957. The inspection of Dr. Henry's grove was com-
pleted on December 10, and 15 trees were found infested with erinose mites;
other trees in the grove may have been infested without exhibiting symptoms,
especially those trees not in a new flush of growth. In Hawaii the erinose mite
is a problem associated with new growth; the mite has been found only on trees
with new growth. The survey of other lychee groves in the area was terminated
on the afternoon of December 11 due to weather conditions being unfavorable
for the foliage inspection.
Plans for completing the survey of other groves in the Nokomis area for
erinose mite were scheduled for the second week in January 1958. This inspection
was postponed due to the severe damage to lychee trees in the area by the
freezing weather in December 1957. The freeze made it impossible to make an
adequate inspection of the foliage for erinose mite symptoms, since most of
the foliage was brown, the same color as the erineum produced by the mite.
Dr. Henry's grove was visited in January and again in February 1958.
Many trees had been killed by the freeze. Trees not killed required hat-racking
of all branches 3 inches in diameter and smaller.
Mr. P. E. Frierson, Chief Plant Inspector, suggested that the original plan
for an intensive survey of all lychee plantings in the state be curtailed and the
Plant Board launch the eradication efforts against the erinose mite in Dr. Henry's
grove after the trees were hat-racked by the grower. Eradication plans were
approved by Dr. W. G. Cowperthwaite, Plant Commissioner, since this mite had
not been reported from other localities in Florida or elsewhere in the United
States. Arrangements were made with the owner for the State Plant Board to
spray the remaining stumps after hat-racking and to burn the branches removed
from the trees.

Almost 300 trees were hat-racked from 2 inches to 3 feet above ground
level. The stumps and ground around each tree were sprayed with Kelthane at
the rate of 2 pounds 18'/2% wettable powder to 100 gallons of water on the
recommendation of Dr. E. G. Kelsheimer, Entomologist, Gulf Coast Experiment
Station, Bradenton. All cuts were made with a chain saw and painted with
pruning paint. The stumps were whitewashed to prevent sunburning. The
leaves were raked out from around each stump to the original drip-line of the
tree and the ground sprayed again. The leaves and branches removed were burned
in the grove.

Two days were required to complete the work. Mr. Lester B. Hill, Regional
Plant Inspector, supervised the crew hat-racking the trees and Mr. Charles J.
Bickner, District Plant Inspector, supervised the spraying operation. A total
of 750 gallons of spray, 1 gallon of pruning paint, 30 pounds of whitewash,
3 gallons of gas and 1 quart of oil were used. The labor bill for the two crews,
which amounted to $123.75, was paid by Dr. J. M. Henry, grove owner.
Subsequent inspections of the Henry Grove for erinose mite were made by
Mr. Hill on April 2, May 2, and July 3, 1958, and no symptoms were observed
on the new foliage of the remaining trees. Two additional Kelthane sprays

were applied to the new foliage, the first on April 30 and the second on May 30,
1958. No spray damage resulted to the tender foliage.
The last inspection for erinose mite in the Nokomis area was made during
October 13-17, 1958. Ten State Plant Board men inspected 4,390 lychee trees
within a radius of 7 miles of the Henry Grove. Grove trees totaled 2,740 and
1,650 were nursery trees. No erinose mite symptoms were observed in the area.
Over 100 specimens of insects were collected by the survey personnel during the
inspection. The expense of the survey was $427.18 and did not include the
inspectors' salaries.
The remaining lychee trees in Dr. Henry's grove will be inspected 4 times a
year for the next 3 years by the State Plant Board. If no erinose mite symptoms
are found during the period, the State Plant Board will consider the pest to be
eradicated.

Use of Chemical Treatments for the Preservation
of Lychees
R. A. DENNISON and C. B. HALL
Agricultural Experiment Station
Department of Food Technology & Nutrition
Gainesville
Lychee fruits are very perishable because they are so susceptible to fungus
diseases. The short storage life of the fruits has made the handling practices
and marketing more difficult. In previous studies (1) there were indications
that the storage period of dried lychees could be extended by treatments with
dehydroacetic acid. It seemed advisable to investigate further the use of this
chemical and others for extending the storage period of both fresh and dried
lychees.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Fruits obtained July 7, 1958, from the grove of General John K. Rice
were used for studies of the influence of chemical treatments on the preservation
of both fresh fruits and dehydrated fruits.
In one study fresh fruits were dipped one minute in water and three con-
centrations- 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 percent solutions- of the sodium salt of dehydro-
acetic acid. There was also a control which received no treatment. Each sample
contained 20 fruits and there were four replications of each treatment. The fruits
were air dried after dipping and then packaged in sealed polyethylene bags.
After 4, 6 and 8 days the fruits were removed from the packages and examined
for mold. Any fruits with evidence of mold were discarded and the remaining
fruits were repackaged.
In another study the fresh fruits were dipped in solutions of sorbic acid
(0.1 and 0.2 percent), sodium propionate (0.12 and 0.24 percent), and chlorte-
tracycline (100 and 200 ppm). There were two replications of each treatment,
otherwise the procedure was the same as given above.
In the dehydration study each sample, containing 20 fruits, was placed in
wire baskets and dried at 1550F in a 443-A Stewart Warner Dehydrator. One-half
of the samples was dried 8 hours and one-half dried for a period of 16 hours.
After the fruits were removed from the dehydrator, one-half of the samples
received no further treatment and one-half were dipped for one minute in a
one percent solution of the sodium salt of dehydroacetic acid. The samples were
16

divided and one group placed in kraft bags and the other packaged and sealed
in polyethylene bags. There were four replications of each treatment. After 7,
9, 13, 20 and 31 days, fruits were checked for mold. If the fruits had any mold
they were discarded and the remaining fruits \were repackaged.
RESULTS
Mold developed rapidly on the fresh fruits. There was some retardation of
mold growth on the fruits which were dipped in the dehvdroacetic acid solution
(Table 1). After eight days there were only 10 percent of the untreated fruits
that were still good, but 43 percent of the fruits dipped in a 1.5 percent solution of
dehvdroacetic acid were good. Unventilated polyethylene bags were a poor
choice for packaging the fruits and other containers probably would have given
different results.
Mold developed on fruits dipped in solutions of sorbic acid and sodium
propionate as rapidly as on the fruits receiving no treatment. The chlortetracy-
cline solutions had some effect on retardation of mold growth; after eight days
35 percent of these fruits were still good.
Fruits dried for 8 and 16 hours lost 41 and 60 percent respectively of the
original weight of the samples. The fruits which were dried for a period of 16
hours and dipped in dehydroacetic acid all remained good throughout the storage
period (Table 2). Fruits dried for the same period but not treated with dehydro-
TABLE 1. The percent of mold-free fruit 4, 6 and 8 days after
treatment with dehydroacetic acid
Days Following Dehydroacetic Acid Solutions
Treatment Control 0% 0.5% 1.0% 1.5%
4 80 90 96 81 99
6 45 50 61 51 76
8 10 10 30 31 43

TABLE 2. The influence of period of drying, dehydroacetic acid,
and packaging material on the percent of mold-free fruits at vari-
ous times following treatment.
Days Following 1% Dehydroacetic Acid Untreated
Treatment Polyethylene Kraft Polyethylene Kraft
Dried 8 hrs. at 1550F.
7 98 98 0 0
9 86 95 0 0
13 24 78 0 0
20 0 46 0 0
31 0 29 0 0
Dried 16 hrs. at 1550F.
7 100 100 95 100
9 100 100 83 99
13 100 100 34 78
20 100 100 2 31
31 100 100 0 16

acetic acid showed considerable spoilage after two weeks. This spoilage was
worse when the fruits were packaged in polyethylene bags.
Fruits dried for 8 hours and not treated with dehvdroacetic acid all spoiled
in less than 7 davs. When the fruits were treated with dehydroacetic acid and
packaged in kraft bags, 29 percent were still good after 31 days storage, but
fruits packaged in polyethylene bags were all spoiled before 20 days of storage.
Drying for 8 hours at 155F. did not sufficiently dry the fruit for safe
storage even when treated with dehydroacetic acid. Packaging the fruits in kraft
bags was much superior to using polyethylene bags.
LITERATURE CITED
1. Dennison, R. A., and C. B. Hall. 1957. Notes on drying of lychees. Proc. Fla. Lychee Growers
Assoc. 4: 25-27.

Marketing of Lychees 1958

WM. R. GROVE, JR.
Laurel

1958 was the top vear for fruit yield. The crop handled was in the amount
of 39,535 pounds. In addition several thousand pounds never left the growers
due to unusually rapid maturing.
This bumper harvest was achieved in spite of the disastrous cold winter
of 1957-58 which killed many lychee trees. Young plantings were particularly
hurt, whereas mature trees, in most cases, weathered the storm. The fruit
ripened at least two weeks later than normal and did not have the holding
qualities of previous crops.

The 1958 fruit was furnished by 22 growers,
as follows:

County
Brevard
Broward
Dade
Highlands
Lake
Manatee
Pinellas
Polk
Sarasota
TOTALS

Pounds
11,809
170
1,494
5,310
817
5,976
950
8,985
4,024
39,535

with the production by county

Per Cent
30
1
4
13
2
15
2
23
10
100

Distribution of the fruit was as follows:

Arkansas
California
D.C.
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Louisiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
New York City
New York (other)
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania

Pounds
220
3,160
445
1,372
51
680
140
50
100
1,040
120
10
50
20
16,717
70
355
20
200
440

Rhode Island
South Sarolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Alberta
British Columbia
Ontario
Quebec
Deep-freeze
Research
Univ. of Florida
Univ. of Miami
Palmetto Canning
Others
Advertising
Samples with orders

TOTAL

Pounds
50
3
220
540
350
100
60
75
400
530
20
11,166

70
84
100
54
57
396

39,535

Lychees were marketed as shown on Figure (72% of the crop moved in a
10 day period, June 20 to July 9 inclusive). A long July 4 week end proved
to be a deterrent to an even flew. On July 2, 7,702 pounds were shipped, and
on July 8, 7,950 pounds were deep-frozen.

8000 POUNDS

7
1958 CROP
SDAY BY DAY

72

4

3

2

19 JUNE 30 4 10 JULY 20 28

A salaried member of FLGA again served as marketing agent with Mr.
Peter Lee, New York City, as agent for the New York Metropolitan area. Policies
were established by the FLGA Marketing Committee.

Fresh Ivchees were shipped to markets by air-freight. The lychees were
transported in bulk in ten pound lugs with shredded parchment for cushioning.
The plastic bags containing one-half pound of lychees used during the 1956 and
1957 seasons were replaced this year by plastic pint baskets shipped in a nest
in the ten pound lug containing the fresh lychees. The retailer would fill the
pint baskets at the point of sale.
Initial orders of twenty pounds or more were furnished with sample lychees
and attractive wicker display baskets as follows:

Order Poundage
20
50
100

Pounds Sample Fruit
3
4
5

New postcards, descriptive folders and point-of-purchase display cards
were furnished.

A sizeable portion of the crop was deep-frozen. Fortunately the deep-
frozen lychee is on a par with the fresh fruit and assures a year-round supply.
Experience is being gained in the packaging and marketing techniques for the
deep-frozen field.

The 1958 Ivchee season, being the largest to date, provided many lessons
that will be very profitable as crops continue to increase in volume. The prin-
cipal conclusion is that a proper correlation must be achieved between the fresh
and deep-frozen Ivchees.

"If You Believe, You Will Receive"

Observations on the Marketing of Frozen Florida Lychees
DAVENPORT SCOTT
Minute Maid Corporation
Plymouth

"Lord helps those who pray
And on Judgment Day
If you believe, you will receive amen."

Many of you will remember this verse from Vincent Youmans' musical
comedy of the thirties, Great Day. Frankly, marketing of new frozen items
since the beginning has rested at one time or another almost entirely on the
dedicated belief and tireless enthusiasm of a group of pioneers like yourselves
and we at Minute Maid.
There are many parallels between the early selling days of Minute Maid
Orange Juice and the present desire of your association to gain a continuing
place in frozen food sales. In our first year, 1946, we produced 90,000 gallons
of Orange Juice only under the Minute Maid and Snow Crop labels, of which
95% was in institutional size cans. In 1958 we produced considerably in excess
of 10,000,000 gallons, still only under the two premium labels, Minute Maid
and Snow Crop, divided perhaps 80-20 in favor of retail packs.
This does not indicate any trend in frozen foods towards retail sales. I
merely bring it up to show that Minute Maid's first pack was very similar our
first year, to yours of frozen Lychees.
Our experience does show that the American consumers can be profitably
persuaded to be traded up to want and continue to buy a higher priced item
which meets her needs and desires. To do this year after year requires energetic
belief in your product and purpose, while exercising energy and ingenuity in
carrying it out.
You might say that there can be no comparison between Minute Maid
Frozen Orange Juice and Lychees.
Our friendly enemies, the Californians, had spent many millions of dollars
in the twenties and thirties to establish Orange Juice as a necessary morning
ritual.
Vitamin C was a natural ally because it has to be taken daily and cannot
be stored in the body. Orange Juice was already accepted medically as the
best food source of vitamin C. Frozen Lychees, you are thinking, hold no two
trump cards such as these. But wait!
In 1946, Minute Maid had just changed its product form from orange
powder to frozen concentrate. To do this we entered a field which had fallen
into very bad repute with the consumer because of inferior post war get-rich-
quick products.
Because Orange Juice was already potentially everybody's drink, we had to
advertise in our first test market for all retailers to the tune of $150,000 for the
first three months.
To cap all this, the average independent store had no space to keep a fast
turnover item. Most relied on an 8-10 cubic foot, two hole, "chic sale" home-
freezer-type frozen food cabinet which, like as not, belonged to some ice cream
20

company who did not share our enthusiasm for "borrowing" some display space,
such as it was in those days.
By contrast, Florida Lychees enter a frozen food market in 1958 which
already enjoys consumer acceptance to the tune of $3 billion dollars in annual
sales. In Orlando, Tuthill's Market, your first successful retailer of Frozen
Lvchees, has 36 feet of modern middle aisle open display case.
The larger chains in the past few years have traded on the popularity of
Frozen Orange Juice, Peas and Strawberries to use them as loss leaders to
attract store traffic.
This has inclined the 2900 frozen food specialty grocers, such as Tuthill's;
who attract customers with quality and serving tips as opposed to price; to
look for higher profit prestige items to attract their customers; who don't
resemble, but might be called, "The Modern Carriage Trade."
These stores, because of their telephone ordering service and personal
contact with each customer, are often able to give you considerable assistance
in telling consumers how to use a product.
Mr. Tuthill and Tom Stanton and their colleagues, are past masters at
persuading a customer that Frozen Lychees are just the thing to add the final
touch to that important dinner she's planning.
If you were able to distribute your present stock of Frozen Lychees to
each one of the 2900 stores equipped with frozen food cases you would have
to split each case you have now 6 ways, giving each store only 2 cans this
year to sell out your pack!
I have enjoyed discussing with your Marketing Committee various specific
approaches to initial marketing. Your marketing plans thus far have impressed
our people that they indicate a quality approach in keeping with the prestige
and profit image you desire for an ever increasing crop of Florida Frozen
Lvchees.
The other ingredient which has brought Minute Maid to a profitable $100
million dollar year this year is the belief which sparks the pioneer. For "If you
believe," you will receive.
Thank you and good luck.

New York Lychee Marketing Report for 1958
PETER LEE
New York City

For the 1958 season the fresh Ivchees received from the association were
packed in bulk, utilizing the same ten pound lugs as in prior years, and elim-
inating the half pound pliofilm bags. As replacement for these bags brightly
colored, perforated, plastic boxes were packed in the lugs with the lychees. The
first chore of the retailer was to pack the fruit in the plastic boxes, but during
this operation the customers were in the habit of sampling the merchandise.
Therefore, a second operation was required entailing a cover of cellophane
secured to the box. From a storage point of view the lychee in bulk did not
21

stand up under refrigeration. In those cases, where the retailer had packaged
the fruit with his own cellophane bags and refrigerated same, the lychee
retained color and maintained usual shelf life.
It is suggested, purely for consideration, that further thought be given to
packaging in cellophane bags but using the wide mouthed one pound bags.
It is just as easy to sell one pound packages as the half pound but with double
the volume. From an economical viewpoint the ten pound cardboard lug,
which has a tendency to sag due to condensation from cold storage, could be
replaced by the original half bushel basket. These may be suitably imprinted
with the FLGA trademark for identity with superior product and also for
attractiveness. The FLGA Lychee has achieved recognition as the superior fruit.
Concerning sales volume in New York this year close to 17,000 pounds
were handled as compared to 7,000 pounds last year. The sales period coming
in July as compared to June last year presented some difficulties. Firstly, June
is a natural month for Chinese to purchase lychees, as traditionally lychees are
taken home during this harvest month. Secondly, July presented many problems.
Just as most of the nation leaves for summer vacation during July, the
Chinese also vacated Chinatown in body for vacations. Collectionwise, most
of the owners of outlets had left leaving bills to be paid the following month.
During the week end of July Fourth, Chinatown followed the mass exodus of
New Yorkers to summer resorts for relief from the heat. This was also the
period 2,000 pounds were contracted, and because the major crop was maturing,
an additional one thousand pounds were taken. Imagine the flood of fruit when
four thousand pounds arrived practically knee deep in lychees! The major
problem of this shipment arose from the fruit itself. Because of the quantity
which arrived, we were hard put to find enough refrigerated space to store
the merchandise. After storing for the night we were chagrined to discover
that the bulk fruit turned color by the following morning. The color of the
shells were dark brown, similar to that of a dried lychee. It was, therefore,
essential that each box be inspected and each fruit selected one by one. From
our observation those fruit already delivered to the outlets were in good con-
dition, mainly, because the outlet had packaged it in cellophane bags. These
bags were instrumental in protecting the fruit.

As far as publicity went, Miss Alice Hughes, through the good offices of
the Simpsons, wrote a long article on Ivchees, and this article was disseminated
throughout the country by means of one hundred newspapers. Miss Hughes also
arranged a radio interview for the writer on the Ed & Pegeen Fitzgerald show,
emanating from the Astor Hotel in the heart of the Times Square area. Also,
we were indebted to Meyer Berger of the New York Times for a very fine
article about the writer, as a purveyor of lychees in the New York area. This
article evoked many inquiries from all over the country. Its publicity value
stemmed from the interest shown by stores from many states, and all these
inquiries were requested to direct themselves to the Association.

The only item on the agenda left for discussion is the frozen fruit. To
date the shipment to New York has just newly arrived, and comment is with-
held pending inspection of the shipment. It is the intention of the writer to
divert the sales market from the usual channels. Since most of the Chinatown
outlets are not equipped for frozen foods, it will be necessary to concentrate
on the better groceries, viz., Gristedes, Charles; also hotel chains and steamship
lines. Subsequent to the initial marketing venture in this new channel, a more
detailed report will be in order.

The Lychee Story 1957-1958*
JOHN K. RICE
Clermont

The extreme severity of the Florida winter of 1957-58 provided opportunity
for factual consideration of several statements that had been made previously
with regard to the hardiness and durability of Lychee trees; the effect of
unusually low temperatures upon the trees and their ability to "come-back".
During this winter there were four periods of well-below freezing temperatures,
extending south throughout the state to include the Miami-Homestead area.
The first of these occurred on 13 December and the last about 20 February.
Although the first was probably the most severe, the latter is generally credited
with causing the greater tree-damage, due to the lateness of the freeze. It has
been said that "Lvchees will grow on any land that is suitable for citrus. Their
cold tolerance at maturity is thought to be about that of citrus,-" (1), and
also, "Orlando marks about the northern limit of its (the Brewster Lychee's)
cold tolerance and from there south to Homestead, Lychee groves are spotted
here and there across the state the greatest concentration of plantings being
in Sarasota County." (2), Hence, these freezes encompassed all of the Lychee-
growing area of Florida and the major portion of that devoted to citrus plantings.
As early as 17 January, the Board of Directors of the Florida Lychee Growers
Association met to:
a. Assess freeze damage.
b. Determine the attitude of growers with heavy losses, toward rejuvena-
tion or replanting of damaged or lost trees.
c. Make very rough estimate of the Lychee crop-potential in the summer
of 1958 and make necessary revision of marketing plans.
Geographically, it was observed that severe freeze-damage to Lychees had
occurred in all growing areas, somewhat similar in degree to that experienced
in citrus losses and with the same spot-location characteristics. Across Central
Florida, on an east-west line through Orlando, all degrees of damage were
noted. Namely, in the vicinity of Clermont (25 miles west of Orlando in the
Lakes-and-Hills with elevations of 100 to 150 feet):-
A grove of 150-trees, 7- years old, beside a very small lake; all trees frozen,
had to be cut back to within a few feet above the ground. All have re-sprouted
vigorously during the following summer. The owner of this grove attributes
much of the freeze-damage, however, to having fertilized in the fall with a high
percentage of potash, with the hope of bringing-in an early 1958 crop. The
trees were not dormant and fruit-spikes had appeared.
A grove of 200-trees, 4 years old, on sloping ground above a small lake;-
50% branch killing and trees have recuperated beautifully during the summer.
A grove of 100-trees, 5 years old, plus 100-trees, 3I years old and younger,
on a hillside above a large lake;-those of 5 years suffered only new-growth-tip
burn and some bark-cracking. These trees bore a 1400-pound crop this summer.
Among the younger trees there was a 60% total loss.
At Geneva (south of Sanford), a large grove, 12-14 years old;-entirely
frozen and cut-back to a few feet above the ground. Has resprouted vigorously.

*Paper presented before the Florida State Horticultural Society, Oct. 30, 1958 at Clearwater, Florida.

At Cocoa (Merritt Island), a grove of about 325-trees, 12-14 years
old;-practically undamaged. This grove produced some 18,000-pounds of fruit
this summer. (Mangos alongside were lost).
At Winter Haven and Auburndale, two large bearing-groves suffered practi-
cally no damage and bore heavily this summer.
The Clearwater-Largo area suffered the heaviest damage in the state, with
some total grove losses, while the Bradenton area came through with compara-
tively little damage and contributed strongly to this summer's crop.
South of Sarasota to Venice, damage was again very spotty, with all degrees
of severity, extending from practically-unharmed groves located nearby. The
same results were experienced in the Lake Wales-Sebring area and on the East
Coast in the vicinity of Vero Beach. Branch-killing occurred in the southern-
most growing areas of South Miami and Homestead.
In summary, it appears that Lychee cold tolerance does lie somewhere
close to that of citrus, probably somewhat less, but certainly more resistant to
cold than mangos and avocados, I believe this to be quite well verified in the
following remarks pertaining to the Lychee crop volume of June-July 1958.
On 17 January, after detailed consideration of freeze-damage to 31-plantings
that had contributed to the crops of 1956 and 1957 and six additional plantings
that had prospect of coming into bearing in 1958, the Board of the Lychee
Growers Association decided, much to their amazement, that the 1958 Lychee
crop-potential could not be figured at less than 45,000 pounds. (The largest
amount marketed by the Association in any previous year (1956) was approxi-
mately 27,000 pounds and the 1957 crop had dropped to some 14,500 pounds,
with most of the new growth going to foliage in that year.) Similar considera-
tions at subsequent meetings, produced the following estimates of crop-potential:-
As of: 24 March 37,160 pounds
12 May 58,860 pounds
These early estimates proved invaluable for planning purposes, in that the actual
total crop turned out to be approximately 45,000 pounds, of which 39,535
pounds were marketed through the Association. This amount was furnished by
22 growers.
Characteristically, the brief ripening season created marketing difficulties.
75% of the crop was moved within the ten-day period, 30 June 9 July, despite
the long holiday week end of 4 July. Roughly, 16,700 pounds were sold in New
York Metropolitan area, sales of 11,000 pounds were distributed through 24 states
and 5 Canadian provinces, 11,000 pounds were deep-frozen for subsequent sale,
and some 675 pounds were used for research and advertising purposes. An
F.O.B. price (based upon delivery of fruit to initial transportation shipping
point) of 75 cents per pound on fruit sold for re-sale purposes, was maintained.
Most distant shipments were made by air-freight.
Deep-freezing of Lvchees was undertaken deliberately this year, for two
principal purposes:-first to attempt to eliminate the peak characteristics of
fresh Lychee marketing and, second, to broaden prospective customer acquaint-
ance with Lychees, by providing an enticing product that can be obtained
throughout the year. Lychees may be marketed as fresh fruit, in dried form,
deep-frozen fresh fruit, vacuum canned at normal temperatures, or as a flavor
ingredient for jelly, etc. In the fresh or deep-frozen forms, they experience no
marketing competition within the United States; in the dried form they must
compete with large quantities of foreign import; vacuum packing requires more
labor expense and, as presently done in Hong Kong, does not produce as ac-
24

ceptable a product; other fields for marketing need more experimental research
than has so far been applied and are more suited to larger total crop than
is being produced at present.
During 1957, a co-operative research in deep-freezing was conducted for
the Florida Lvchee Growers Association, bv the Research Division, Minute Maid
Corporation (Food Technology Section) (3). Upon examination of the frozen
fruit, in various forms (whole unpeeled, peeled, peeled and pitted, peeled and
pitted and mixed with flavoring syrups), after ten months of storage, a committee
of all concerned were unanimous in their decision the whole, unpeeled, fresh-
frozen Lychee is delicious and constitutes the best form for marketing purposes.
The reasons for this are as follows:
a. Full retention of natural juices and flavor. No distinct variation in
taste, from that of the fresh fruit, is discernible. Fruit structure im-
mediately after thawing, is good and very comparable to that of the
fresh fruit.
b. Reddish characteristics of the outer skin of the fresh fruit are well re-
tained, although darker. Frosted deep red appearance provides refresh-
ing attractiveness upon opening the can.
c. Hard frozen structure of the whole fruit, packed dry in cans, provides
for minimum possibility of damage in shipping and is a product with a
minimum of extraneous weight.
d. A minimum of labor and materials expense is involved. Lychees are
delivered, in bulk, from the grove to the packinghouse, are given a fine
water spray rinse, run onto a belt for final culling and placement in
cans, cans are capped and labeled and placed in cartons and, finally, the
cartons are run into the deep-freeze and storage.
e. Shelf life is practically unlimited, as long as the fruit remains frozen
in the can. At home (restaurant or institution), a can may be opened,
a portion of the fruit removed for servings and the remainder replaced
in the deep-freeze, in the open container. If this be done without
thawing of the fruit, the same quality of fruit will be maintained for
several months.
Based upon all of these considerations, arrangements were made with the
Production Division, Minute Maid Corporation, to place in cans and freeze for
the Lvchee Growers Association, a quantity of Lychees (some 10,000 pounds)
estimated to be sufficient to provide bases from which to determine costs of
processing, transportation and storage costs; develop appropriate brokerage
and marketing arrangements in a few key marketing areas; create and test
certain consumer demand characteristics and otherwise test the marketability
of this entirely new product, through a period of one year.
The deep-frozen field has been the principal focus of our experimentation
this year and our Lychee Association Board feels that, as it is followed through,
it will open up an extensive, rapidly growing, year-round market which, together
with marketing of fresh Lychees in season, should more than absorb any norm-
ally increasing Lvchee crop of the future. There is much to be done but the
potentiality of the objectives is very large and appears to be reasonably attainable
within a period of a few years.
LITERATURE CITED
1. Palmer, Gordon. Some Aspects of the Lychee as a Commercial Crop. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc.
69: 309-312. 1956.
2. Palmer, Gordon New Developments in Lychee Marketing. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 70:
314-317. 1957.
3. DuBois, C. W. Lychee Freezing Experiments. Proc. Fla. Lychee Growers Ass'n. 5: 17-19. 1957.
25

Freeze Damage to Lychees*
T. W. YOUNG and J. C. NOONAN
Sub-Tropical Experiment Station
Homestead

Cold damage to lychees in Florida was more extensive this past winter
than at any time since the fruit has been planted on a commercial scale in
the state. Some damage occurred in all areas where the fruit is grown, and in
a few places damage was severe enough to raise a question as to the suitability
of the area for lychee culture, at least, without provisions for heating .
A fair picture of temperatures and resulting cold damage in lychee groves
in the state as a whole, during the 1957-58 season, is obtained by examining
records of these conditions for several representative groves distributed through-
out the lvchee growing areas. Freezing weather was experienced at least
several times at each location. Only temperatures during the freeze obviously
causing by far the major damage in each grove are given here in detail. How-
ever, in some of these groves additional damage may have resulted from some
of the less severe freezes, but damage occurring during each freeze could not be
accurately or readily allocated, and results of cold reported here are cumulative.
In a 10 to 11-year-old Brewster grove on sandy soil at Geneva tempera-
tures of 32 degrees F. or lower were recorded 17 times, for a total of 134 hours.
Minima in the 20's occurred 11 times. Severe damage occurred between Dec-
ember 12 and 14 when temperatures dropped to 32 degrees or lower for a total
of 31.8 hours, with a minimum of 24 degrees for a total of 4.2 hours on the
12th and 13th. By the time growth started in the spring all tops had died back
to trunks and several trees were completely dead. No bloom was produced by
shoots which grew from surviving trunks.
Near Clearwater a 5-year-old Peerless grove on sandy soil experienced
temperatures of 32 degrees F. or lower 14 times, for a total of 93 hours. Minima
in the 20's occurred 7 times. Severe damage resulted between December 12
and 14 from temperatures at or below :32 degrees for a total of 27.2 hours.
with a minimum of 24 degrees for 1.2 hours on the 13th. By spring all the trees
were killed back to stumps or ground and eventually over half of them died com-
pletely. Shoot growth from the stumps produced no bloom.
Temperatures recorded in a 7-year-old Peerless grove on sandy soil near
Largo were at 32 degrees F. or lower 10 times, for a total of 60 hours. Minima
in the 20's occurred 8 times. On December 12 and 13 temperatures were at or
below 32 degrees for a total of 20.7 hours, with a minimum of 24 degrees for :3
hours on the 13th. By spring about 90 percent of the foliage and shoots were
dead, and most of the tops had died back to large limbs, trunks or ground. A
few undamaged branches bloomed some, but set practically no fruit. A number
of stumps produced sprouts, but without bloom. By late summer about half of
the trees here were completely dead.
In a 6-year-old Brewster grove on sandy soil at De Soto City temperatures
of 32 degrees F. or lower were recorded 9 times, for a total of 63 hours. Minima
in the 20's occurred 6 times. On December 12 and 13 temperatures were at or
below 32 degrees for a total of 19 hours, with a minimum of 24 degrees for
0.1 hour on the 13th. About 60 percent of the foliage, shoot growth and limbs
*Paper presented before the Florida State Horticultural Society, Oct. 31, 1958 at Clearwater, Florida.

up to X inch in diameter, and some limbs up to 1 inch in diameter, were dead
by spring. A few trees were killed completely. Less than half the trees produced
bloom, which averaged light, and these set light crops or none. In a cold
pocket adjacent to this block, damage was much more severe to trees of the
same age as those just mentioned, about half of them being killed completely.
In another adjacent block of older trees, on a warmer location nearer a lake,
there was relatively little observable damage.
At Vero Beach 10-year-old Brewster trees on sandy loam soil experienced
temperatures of 32 degrees F. or lower 11 times, for a total of 77 hours. Minima
in the 20's occurred 7 times. On December 12 and 13 temperatures were at
or below 32 degrees for a total of 20.2 hours, with a minimum of 25 degrees
for 2 hours on the 12th. About 30 percent of the foliage and shoot growth and
some limbs up to about 1 inch in diameter were dead by spring. Bloom was
light and a poor crop set.
In a 5-vear-old Brewster grove on sand soil at Osprey temperatures at 32 de-
grees F. or lower were recorded 8 times, for a total of 40 hours. Minima in the 20's
occurred 5 times. On December 11 and 12 temperatures were at 32 degrees
or lower for a total of 17.4 hours, with a minimum of 26 degrees for 0.2 hour
on the 12th. In blocks where trees were in good condition, damage to foliage and
shoots amounted to about 25 percent, with a few limbs being killed back to wood
% inch in diameter, by spring. Damage was substantially greater than this in
some adjacent blocks where trees were in rather poor condition. Trees in the
better blocks, where damage was relatively light, bloomed well and many
yielded fair or good crops.
Temperatures recorded in an 11-year-old Brewster grove on sandy soil on
Merritt Island were at 32 degrees F. or lower 9 times, for a total of 43 hours.
Minima in the 20's occurred 5 times. On December 12 and 13 temperatures
were at or below 32 degrees for a total of 11 hours, with a minimum of 25
degrees for 1 hour on the 12th. About 25 percent damage resulted to foliage
and shoots, with an occasional larger limb being killed. Later freezes did no
apparent harm. The trees bloomed heavily and produced the largest crop in
the history of the grove.
At Davie in an 8-year-old Brewster grove on sandy peatv muck temperatures
were recorded at 32 degrees F. or lower 3 times, for a total of 14 hours. There
was no perceptible damage from a light freeze on December 12, but on February
5 temperatures at 32 degrees or lower for 10 hours, with a minimum of 28
degrees for 4.5 hours, caused slight damage to foliage, shoots and bloom. Some
of the trees bloomed well, and several produced fair or good crops, but most of
them followed their past pattern of performance with light bloom and little or
no fruit.
In a block of 10 to 22-vear-old Brewsters on rock land at Homestead
temperatures dropped to 32 degrees F. or lower 3 times, for a total of 14 hours.
The only apparent cold damage occurred on February 5 when temperatures were
at 32 degrees or lower for 12 hours, with a mimnmum of 27 degrees for 4 hours.
Slight damage to foliage, shoots and bloom resulted, although there was some
protection by heating in an adjoining block during this cold. The trees bloomed
well and averaged a fair crop.
The freezing weather of December 11 through 14, which caused such
extensive damage in most of the groves considered here, was accompanied by
cold, drying winds of varying intensity from location to location. Some of the

damage during this freeze was probably caused bv wind, and some of the
seemingly inconsistent variation in damage among groves, experiencing fairly
comparable temperatures, can be explained perhaps by differences in wind
damage resulting from differences in wind intensity.
The influence of cold on yields in severely damaged groves was obvious,
but it was difficult to weigh accurately the net influence of cold on yields in
the groves where damage to shoot growth was around 30 percent or less. With
the exception of the grove at Vero Beach, however, it appeared that recurring
cold induced heavier bloom than probably would have been produced otherwise,
and thus at least compensated for damage to bearing wood. This seemed to apply
especially to the Merritt Island grove.

The above discussion has been concerned with trees 5 years of age and
older, which were mostly of bearing size, and under a fertilizer program con-
sidered by the grower to be suitable. Some interesting, and perhaps significant,
information on the influence of nitrogen source on cold tolerance of lychee was
obtained from a nitrogen source-fertilizer rate experiment established in Febru-
ary 1957 near Babson Park. A detailed report on this will be found elsewhere
(1), but a review of the work is pertinent here.

The Brewster trees in this study were planted on Lakeland fine sand and
for the first year were fertilized uniformly. With the initiation of the experiment,
at the beginning of the second year, they were fertilized with 5 mixtures in which
nitrogen was derived from nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia, ammonium
nitrate, sludge, or a combination of ammonium nitrate and sludge supplying
equal parts of nitrate, ammoniacal and organic nitrogen. Each mixture analyzed
4-7-5-3 (N-P,O.-K.O-MgO) and was applied at 1.75, 2.625, and 3.5 pounds
per tree at 6-week intervals from February 25 to November 11, 1957. The 15
treatments on 5-tree plots were replicated 5 times. Since the soil was relatively
uniform throughout the planting, but the topography was rolling, the plots were
arranged arbitrarily to provide approximately equal average elevation and slope
conditions among the treatments.

Growth data, at the end of the season, showed that there was no important
difference in growth response to the various treatments, nor was there an ob-
servable difference in average vegetative condition of trees under various treat-
ments. Many trees in all treatments continued to flush until December 12.

On December 12 and 13 temperatures in the area dropped to 32 degrees F.
or lower for a total of 19.2 hours, with a minimum of 25 degrees for 1.2 hours
on the 12th. Strong winds accompanied the cold and there was little difference
between high and low ground temperatures in the grove. Severe damage to trees
throughout the plots resulted. Less severe freezes occurred in January and
February, but it could not be determined whether they caused added damage
or not.

There was no consistent relationship between rate of fertilization and cold
damage, but there was definite correlation between nitrogen source and cold
damage. About 91 percent of the tops of trees receiving nitrate of soda were
killed, whereas this damage amounted to only 48 percent on trees receiving
sulphate of ammonia. Damage to tops of trees receiving ammonium nitrate,
sludge, or the two combined, ranged between 58 and 68 percent (see Fig. 1).
1. Young, T. W. and J. C. Noonan. Influence of nitrogen source on cold tolerance of lychees. Proc.
Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. Vol. 72, 1959. (in press)

By June, 64 percent of the trees fertilized with nitrate of soda had died com-
pletely, but only about 25 to 30 percent of those receiving nitrogen from other
sources died.

.4-yI 7 -
**-IA^ "|| ,^^.
-:%'-'

Fig. 1. C-ill (left) Tree typical for all treatments before freeze. Typical trees in various nitrogen
source treatments after freeze as follows: C-111 (right) NaNOj, D-223 (NH4) 2O5, C-314 NH4NO.I, D-422
sludge, E-525 NHINOi and sludge combined.
Degree of cold damage is commonly associated more or less directly with
degree of vegetative activity in plants, and vegetative activity with nitrogen
content. Without information to the contrary, it is assumed that lychees, as
most other plants, absorb nitrogen more readily from nitrates than from other
sources. Growing conditions were favorable for trees in this experiment in late

, g

fall of 1957. There was, however, no detectable difference in vegetative condi-
tion of trees under various treatments just prior to the freeze in December.
Furthermore, trees under the highest ammonium nitrate rate treatment received
the same amount of nitrate nitrogen as trees under the lowest nitrate of soda
rate, yet there was much less top damage and only about half as many trees
were killed in the former as in the latter. It seems probable that the rather
uniform average vegetative condition of trees under all these treatments just prior
to the December freeze resulted from ample nitrogen supplied through frequent
fertilization with amounts beyond tree requirements, as indicated by lack of
growth response to increasing rates of fertilization.
The great difference in cold damage among trees receiving nitrogen from
these several sources, as emphasized by this difference between trees under
nitrate of soda and sulphate of ammonia treatments, cannot be explained satis-
factorily by differences in vegetative condition of trees caused by differences
in nitrogen absorption. The results obtained here -.i', ,i that fertilizer con-
taining ammonium salts, or organic materials which break down to ammonia,
induce some degree of cold tolerance in lychees; the degree of tolerance in-
creasing somewhat in proportion to the ratio of NH,:NO,, available to the tree.
On the contrary, fertilizers in which nitrogen is derived entirely from nitrate
of soda seem to decrease cold tolerance of Ivchees, which suggests that either
nitrate nitrogen or sodium, or both, may be involved in the lack of cold tolerance.
The most plausible hypothesis, at present, for the difference in cold tolerance
observed in this experiment seems to lie in a probable difference in osmotic
concentration of cell sap. One of the physiological conditions in plants associated
with the property of cold tolerance is the accumulation of soluble carbohydrates
and mineral salts in the cells. This is accompanied by an increase in their osmotic
concentration, which results in increased cold tolerance. It is easily conceivable
that the concentration of solutes, especially soluble carbohydrates, was higher
in trees receiving ammonia, either directly or indirectly, than in those receiving
only nitrate nitrogen.
The information assembled here is not sufficient to permit a useful approxi-
mation of the minimum temperature at which cold damage to Ivchees would
start. Because of the manv variables involved, including physiological condi-
tion of trees, duration of temperatures below freezing, minimum temperature
and duration, and wind, the precise determination of the threshold temperature
for cold damage could probably be made only under controlled conditions.
Field data for a number of seasons would be necessary to allow more than
intelligent speculation on the critical temperature.
Prior to last winter the idea had become rather widespread that lychees
could be grown successfully in all except the coldest citrus areas of the state.
Citrus groves were located adjacent to or near all the lychee groves discussed
here. Without exception, damage to lychee was greater than to citrus of com-
parable size, and in the colder locations damage was markedly greater to lvchees.
Even limes, which are less cold tolerant than other commonly grown citrus
varieties, suffered somewhat less from cold than did lvchees nearby. The results
of the freezes this past winter indicate that lychees have been planted about as
far north in the state as their cold tolerance feasible permits, and that in the
colder locations provisions for heating will probably be essential to continuous
and successful Ivchee culture.

The Effect of Cold on Lychees on the Calcareous Soils of
Southern Florida 1957-58*

S. JOHN LYNCH
University of Miami
Coral Gables
The low temperatures during the winter of 1957-58 brought considerable
damage to lychees in Florida, but the injurious freezes were at separate times
during the winter, about 2 months apart. The most serious damage in the
extreme south portion of the state, principally to trees growing on the calcareous
soils of South Dade County, occurred on the night of February 4-5, 1958. The
freeze most damaging to the trees north of Miami in the central and south
central part of the state occurred earlier, during the second week in December,
principally the eleventh and twelfth of the month.
The general physiological condition of lychee trees in December throughout
the state was probably much the same. No active growth was taking place,
very little irrigation had yet been applied, and their ability to withstand low
temperatures was at its optimum. The low temperatures in Dade County in
December were in the heavy frost range but were not severe enough to cause
more than superficial damage where an odd branch had inadvertently put out
a flush of growth. When the low temperatures of 250 and 260 F. occurred
on the night of February 4-5th, with the thermometers in most areas of South
Dade County registering below 32 F. for 10 to 12 hours, the lychee trees
were generally swelling buds or showing panicles of bloom, all the way from
just breaking to full size, and also showing a general scattering of foliage growth.
This activity in the physiological processes of the trees was due to December
and January fertilizer applications, regular irrigation from mid December on,
and enough warm days to start the growth and flower bud activity. These
lvchee trees were thus in a very adverse condition to withstand low temperatures.
It is imperative in judging the cold resistance of lvchees during this past winter
to remember that the trees in South Dade County were not only damaged on a
different date than those further up the state, but also that the trees were in a
much different condition as to cold resistance.
The low temperature pattern was very erratic in Dade County. The
northern part of Miami, from about Flagler Street northward and in the areas
not too distant from the bay extending down into the Coconut Grove area, did
not have as severe cold damage as did South Dade County. Probably the coldest
portion of the county, judging by tree damage, lay in the area from South Miami
to Homestead and westward as far as trees were planted.
The ability attributed to the lvchee to withstand low temperatures, as previ-
ously observed and reported in Florida, India and China (1,2,3,4) covers a wide
range of low temperatures. Most observers were agreed that larger or older trees
could withstand temperatures from 21' F. to 270 F., whereas smaller or younger
trees were severely damaged or killed at temperatures of 28 to 320 F. Also, the
observers are in agreement that trees, especially larger ones, not in active
growth can withstand lower temperatures (210 F. to 24 F.) with but superficial
damage. When these same sized trees were in active growth or bursting buds,
the damage to them was very apparent at temperatures below 28 F. or lower
if freezing temperatures exist for more than a few hours.
*Paper presented before the Florida State Horticultural Society, Oct. 31, 1958 at Clearwater, Florida.
31

The reaction of Brewster lychee trees in Dade County to low temperatures
on the night of February 5, 1958, followed a pattern which fits into previous
observations in other countries as well as in Florida when their condition of
active growth was taken into consideration. At the University of Miami Experi-
mental Farm about 16 miles southwest of Miami, the following observations
were made:
1. In areas where grove heaters were employed and the 4 ft. height
temperature was kept at 270 to 280 F., severe leaf and total bloom damage
was experienced to a height of about 7 ft., with the tops of the trees suffering
spotty damage but generally continuing to bloom and ripening fruit in this
area. Some twigs were also lost but very little limb (3i in. in diameter or larger)
loss followed the frosts. Smaller trees in these areas were damaged progressively
more seriously as size diminished. Most trees 4 to 4)1 ft. in height were killed
to the ground. All the areas referred to at the Experimental Farm were under
sod culture.
2. In areas where the minimum temperature at 4 ft. height was 260 to
270 F. and no grove heaters were employed, a planting of 125 three year old,
vigorous trees ranging from 382 to 4,' ft. in height were all killed to the ground
but all except five resprouted vigorously from close to ground level. Ten year
old trees up to 12 to 13 ft. in height in this unheated area suffered considerable
leaf damage and a small amount of twig damage up to 8 or 9 ft. from the
ground, but the tops were only very slightly damaged and a near normal bloom
appeared and the fruit matured.
3. Lychee trees in the nursery, whether in gallon containers or 15 gallon
tubs, when kept under continuous overhead irrigation while the temperature
remained under 31 F. suffered no damage other than the loss of occasional
leaves, even though these trees were fairly well covered with ice by sunrise.
The temperature in this area, involving about 1200 Ivchee trees, could not have
been much lower than 310 to 32' F. The water as it left the well was judged
to have been about 650 F.

Elsewhere in Dade County where cold damage to lychee trees was observed,
the extent of the injury closely followed the above observations.

The recovery from freeze damage and the effect of freeze damage on
subsequent bloom appearance brought out some interesting observations. In the
block of 125 three year old trees, scattered trees showed partial or total leaf
dying within a matter of a few days. In test cuttings of the bark on many of
the trees not showing leaf dying, it was found that the cambium and adjacent
vascular tissues of the trunk had been severely damaged. After a few weeks, it
was apparent that all the trees had trunk cambium injured so seriously that
satisfactory recovery could not be expected. In March half the trees were cut
off just above the ground, and one month later the rest were cut off at the same
level, with a few trees allowed to hold 2 to 3 ft. of damaged, but not dead,
trunk wood. Sprouting from near the ground level (1" 13,") progressed at
the same rate for all trees and, except for the five referred to above, have
made beautiful resprouting growth, being now about 2 ft. high with 2 to 4
sprouts per tree allowed to grow. Where the injured limbs had not been
removed, sprouting developed normally from near the ground though the limb
died completely or made such weak sprout growth that it was later removed.
The roots on these vigorous young trees could have been injured only slightly
by the freeze.

A peculiarity as to the resprouting of young cold damaged lychee trees
was observed. Most airlayered trees, planted in the field for one to one and
one half years and with trunks near the crown roots of less than three-quarters
of an inch in diameter, when killed back to the ground by the cold, failed to
resprout. Seedling lychees (Bengal and Brewster seedlings) of the same planting
date and approximately the same trunk size as the airlayered trees resprouted
on over ninety percent of the plants. The adventitious buds producing the
sprouts apparently arose from the zone just at or above the area of the crown
roots.
All the lychee trees at the Experimental Farm received an application of
fertilizer in March and were irrigated. The older trees produced bloom on
undamaged wood and by April vegetative growth had filled in the open areas
of the tree due to leaf drop of most of the injured leaves. Injured leaves which
did not drop and the dead twigs were pruned off in September with no apparent
damage to the tree due to the delayed pruning. General recovery of other freeze
damaged lychee trees of 3 years or older in Dade County has been excellent.

Fig. 1. Normal bloom panicle on Brewster Lychee.

It has been observed that bloom panicles of the Brewster lychee are
normally produced from terminal or subterminal buds of the terminal flush of
growth which has matured in the previous summer or early fall. (Fig. 1) Flushes
of vegetative growth which mature in late fall or early winter have not been
observed to produce bloom, but instead to come out in vegetative growth when
growth is initiated by favorable conditions in the early spring.

Fig. 2. Subnormal bloom panicle on Brewster Lychee with subsidiary bloom from
small spur-not from axillary leaf bud.

Freeze damage removed a high proportion of the bloom-producing wood
from many of the bearing size Brewster Lychee trees at the Experimental Farm.
No bloom was found posterior to the terminal flush except on short flush-
growth of the same age as the external terminals (Fig. 2). On bloom-wood
where it appeared that the terminal bud had been somewhat retarded in develop-
ment (Probably due to cold) and either did not produce a bloom panicle or only
a small one, lateral buds as far back as eight leaf axils from the terminal bud
were observed to develop bloom panicles (Fig. 3). However, none of these
buds which produced bloom were posterior to the wood producing the terminal
flush.

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Fig. 3. Subnormal terminal bloom panicle on Brewster Lychee with subsequent bloom
in leaf axils but all on terminal growth.

The observations on the type of flush-growth which produces bloom-buds
offer some leads as to a propitious time of fertilizer and irrigation to force
growth, and strongly indicates that in Dade County this cultural practice should
not be initiated until at least December. Should the weather following be con-
ducive to plant growth activity, the response by the plant will not occur until
late December or January. By January the buds which have been differentiated
in the summer and early fall flushes will bring forth their share of bloom and
hopefully with no February 5ths set and mature fruit.

LITERATURE CITED
1. Cobin, Milton. The lychees in Florida. Fla. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bul. 471 (1-24). 1950.
2. Groff, G. W. The Lychee and Lungan. Orange Judd Co. New York. 1921.
3. Groff, G. W. Some ecological factors involved in successful lychee culture. Pro. Fla. State
Hort. Soc. 56: 134-135. 1943.
4. Traub, Hamilton P. and T. Ralph Robinson. Effect of recent freeze on lychee, jaboticaba and
Mimosa bracaatinga. Pro. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 53: 184-187. 1940.

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