Fruit of loquat (
Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) becomes available during the months of March/April in Pakistan. There is no identified cultivar of loquat available on a large scale and the majority of the orchards are seed propagated and not uniform. Recently, research work has been initiated for identification, collection and multiplication of loquat genotypes. Cultural practices adopted in most of our loquat orchards are primitive and with few exceptions are not up to world standards. Production and quality of loquat fruit can be increased by the identification and further multiplication of high quality genotypes, by adopting recommended cultural practices such as pruning, thinning, irrigation and plant protection, and postharvest efforts to increase shelf life.