Loquat sowing areas
Loquat flourishes within well-drained irrigated areas of Northern parts of Pakistan where enough chilling is the part of winter time; therefore its farming keeps growing within these particular parts which often matches the necessity of the fruit. But cold below –3ºC kills its flowers in winter season, however the plant is cold hardy around –10ºC, so this fruit is fit in the climatic belt of Pakistan having the temperature among 38 to 25ºC in the summer with humidity not more than 75% and in winter between 20 to 3ºC. The soil of these places tend to be sand loam as well as clay though pH varies among 5. 0 to 8. 5. Loquat can be afflicted with many diseases like Helminthosporium sp., Alternaria sp., Biospora sp., Diplodia sp., Colletotrichum sp., Currulara sp., Phytophthora sp., Cytospora chrysosperma, Cytospora eriobotsyae as well as Spilocea eriobotryae. It is also thought as host tree for fruit fly insect. But it is not badly attacked by this fly itself. It seriously damages the peach orchards in the adjoining areas. The Northern areas of Pakistan’s irrigated area produce commercially fit fruit but the Southern part of Pakistan having very high temperature in summer and un availability of sufficient cold in the winter, the plant grows well but it cannot produce commercially viable fruit.
Loquat is most suitable for wet areas like Hazara, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Mardan divisions in Pakistan. Its fruit develops during winter and ripens at early spring. It gives good returns to the growers, as there is no other fresh fruit available in the market during March/April to compete with it. A research showed that yield per plant was highest in Takht Bhai TB7 (89.85 kg), whereas lowest in TB15 (25.85 kg).
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Sir your information helping the farmers you are requested may publish all the information regarding new technology and time of sowing of all the crops and vegitables growing in pakistan.