Umesh Kumar Acharya^*, Krishna Prasad Paudel and Sabitri Adhikari

¹ Horticulture Research Station, Dailekh, Karnali Province
² National Horticulture Research Center, Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Nepal Agricultural Research Council

^*Corresponding author: umeshach@gmail.com

First author’s full name: Umesh Kumar Acharya

Corresponding author’s full name: Umesh Kumar Acharya

ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9197-5010

Abstract

The migration of people from hills brought citrus fruit seeds and seedlings to flat plain (the Terai) some 50 years ago. Otherwise, citrus especially acid lime and mandarin, were supposed to be the fruit crops suitable to cultivate in the mid-hills. Ten years after the establishment of National Citrus Research Program in the year 1997 AD. Citrus researchers believed that acid lime could be commercially cultivated in Terai areas else it was cultivated at homestead level for selfconsumption both in the hills and the Terai areas. It took nearly 15 years to carry systematic research and release two commercial acid lime varieties (Sunkagati 1 and Sunkagati 2) for the Terai area. A number of researchers contributed from collection, field trials and even molecular study of this crop. Now a days, there is a rush for cultivation of acid lime even by wiping out paddy fields (inundated land in rainy season). When acid lime descended from hill to the Terai it showed a true form of off-season and year-round production capacity. Along with that trait it became susceptible to a number of biotic stresses namely; root rot, citrus canker and leaf minor. Recent import shows that NRs.72 Crores worth of acid lime was imported in the 2019. There is tremendous potentiality of commercially growing acid lime from hills to plain areas with the adoption of modern farming technologies which could be done by joint effort of all the stakeholders of fruit farming in Nepal.

Keywords: Acid lime, Off-season production, Year-round