Surendra L. Shrestha, Mira Dhakal, Iswori P. Gautam, Sujata Poudel, Suprabha Pandey

Horticulture Research Division, Khumaltar, Lalitpur

Corresponding author’s e-mail: shsurendra@hotmail.com

Abstract

Nepal Agriculture Research Council has made an effort to streamline six thematic areas of fruit research such as varietal improvement, production technologies, plant protection, postharvest management, germplasm collection and its evaluation and propagation methods. In recent years, some promising technologies have been developed in some fruit crops; mango, citrus, papaya, banana, pomegranate, apple, walnut, kiwi fruit, litchi, pineapple, and mecademia nut are given here. Different pre and post-harvest management technologies are developed in mandarine, sweet orange, acid lime, papaya, kiwi, banana and pineapple and fruit fly management in citrus, borer management in litchi fruit and delay ripening technique in banana fruit and early ripening in pineapple fruit. Application of cytokinin and micronutrient decreased the fruit drop in macadamia nut. Pre harvest treatment with Borax on lime improved freshness and postharvest longevity of lime and appropriate packaging, coating material and storage technique for acid lime. Among varietal development research, G9, Willium hybrid and Malbhog varieties of banana have been registered. Washington navel proposed for varietal release due to its fruit quality, yield, off-season production. Bedana pomegranate has been found as the promising variety for the mild hill (Pakhribas area) of eastern Nepal. One of the best suitable Pomegranate genotype ewill be proposed for variety registration. HRS-02 guava had shown maximum TSS and total sugar content. Some Canadian and French apple cultivars are showing good performance. Beside this, research on new emerging fruit crops like dragon fruit, avocado, berries being studied and will get some output within few years.

Keywords: Cultivars, fruit crops, NARC, Post-harvest management, Registration, Recent technology