Objective The study was carried out to clarify some misunderstandings about"Yatoulv"Guiwei litchi, and evaluate whether its quality is superior to the normal Guiwei litchi.

Method During 2019-2020, the phenomenon of "Yatoulv"in Guiwei litchi was investigated in the main production area in southern China. The contents of 12 macro-, secondary and micro-elements in the peel of the"Yatoulv"and normal Guiwei were detected, and the fruit quality indicators including sugar and acid components as well as free amino acids in two kinds of litchi pulp were compared.

Result "Yatoulv"phenomenon was found not only in several litchi varieties including Huaizhi, Jingganghongnuo, Lingfengnuo and Nuomici and so on, but also on the leaves of Guiwei litchi. Although there were significant differences in the contents of some peel mineral nutrients between"Yatoulv"Guiwei and the normal one, which was not the driving force for the"Yatoulv"phenomenon. The total soluble sugars were 176.2 ± 12.5 and 172.9 ± 13.0 g/kg for"Yatoulv"and the normal fruit pulp, respectively, and the total acids were 8 539.5 ± 1 130.9 and 7 303.5 ± 1 030.0 mg/kg for them, with the total sugar/total acid of 20.9± 3.0 and 24.0 ± 3.2, respectively. Moreover, no significant differences were observed for the contents of 3 sugar components, 9 organic acid components, total sugar and total acid, and total sugar/total acid between the both fruits. Thirty kinds of free amino acids were detected in both"Yatoulv"and the normal Guiwei fruits. The contents of various free amino acids, essential amino acid, umami-, sweet- and bitter-taste amino acids were nearly the same in the both fruit pulp, indicating no differences in their quality.

Conclusion The phenomenon of"Yatoulv"is neither an unique characteristic of Guiwei litchi, nor a physiological disorder caused by fruit nutrition, which confirms the opinion that pepper spot is an infectious disease associated with fungus. And the fruit quality of"Yatoulv"Guiwei does not surpass that of the normal Guiwei.