Guava (Psidium guajava)
- Botanical Name: Psidium guajava
- Family: Myrtaceae
- Origin: Peru (Tropical America)
- Common Name: Apple of the Tropics
- India’s Top Producing Region: Allahabad region of Uttar Pradesh – best fruit quality
- Guava improvement started: 1907 at Pune
Planting & Cultivation
- Planting Method: Square system
- Pit Size: 1 × 1 × 1 m
- Planting Season: June–December
- Spacing: 6 × 6 m
Propagation:
-
- Commercial: Air layering
- Cheapest: Stooling
- Intercropping: Legumes and vegetables (first 3 years)
- Soil Suitability: Susceptible to alkalinity and acidity
Pruning:
-
- Done after harvesting or in spring
- Avoid summer pruning to prevent sunburn
- Trained as low-headed trees for easy hand picking
- Meadow Orcharding: Technique for horizontal space utilization
Flowering & Fruiting Seasons (Bahar Treatment)
|
Bahar |
Flowering |
Harvesting |
Fruit Quality |
|
Ambe Bahar |
Feb–March |
July–Sept |
Poor, watery |
|
Mrig Bahar |
June–July |
Nov–Jan |
Excellent |
|
Hasth Bahar |
Oct |
Feb–April |
Good, low yield |
- South India: 3 crops/year possible
- Best Quality: Winter crop (avoids fruit fly attack)
Crop Regulation
- Practice of taking winter crop instead of rainy crop
- Rainy crop removal:
- Urea spray @ 10% – Allahabad Safeda
- Urea spray @ 20% – Lucknow-49
Important Varieties
🔸 A. Seedling & Commercial Varieties
|
Variety |
Characteristics |
|
Allahabad Safeda |
Famous white-fleshed variety |
|
Lucknow-49 (Sardar) |
Selection from Allahabad Safeda |
|
Chittidar |
Red dots on skin |
|
Lalit |
Pink flesh, dual-purpose (24% higher yield than AS) |
|
Arka Mridula |
Soft-seeded, dwarf |
|
Harijha |
Popular in Bihar |
|
Hafsi |
Red-fleshed |
|
Behat Coconut |
Seedless variety |
|
Apple Colour |
Pink fruit color |
|
Saharanpur Seedless |
Seedless |
|
Allahabad Round |
Parthenocarpic |
|
Allahabad Surkha |
Uniform deep pink flesh |
|
Shweta |
High TSS (14° Brix) |
|
Hissar Surekha |
Local cultivar |
🔸 B. Hybrid Varieties
|
Hybrid |
Parentage |
|
Kohir Safed |
Kohir × Allahabad Safeda |
|
Safed Jam |
Allahabad Safeda × Kohir |
|
Arka Amulya |
Arka Safeda × Seedless |
|
Hybrid-45 |
Allahabad Safeda × Sardar (L-49) |
|
CO-3, CO-4 |
Regional hybrids |
Pests & Disorders
- Guava Wilt: Common in alkali soils. Chinese guava (P. fridrichsthalianum) used as rootstock for resistance to wilt & nematodes
- Fruit Drop: Major disorder: 45–65% fruit loss. Spraying GA₃ (Gibberellic acid) reduces fruit drop
- Bronzing: L-49 more susceptible than Allahabad Safeda
- Seedless Types: Bear both seedless and partly seeded fruits
Nutritional & Biochemical Importance
- Vitamin C: Highest in fruit peel at maturity
- Pectin: Rich source – used in jelly & jam
- Best Use: Preventing scurvy due to high Vit-C
Rootstocks
|
Rootstock |
Trait |
|
Chinese Guava |
Dwarfing, wilt & nematode resistant |
|
Aneuploid-82 |
Dwarfing rootstock |
Quick Revision Points
- Propagation: Air layering (commercial), Stooling (cheapest)
- Pruning: Done post-harvest or spring; avoid summer
- Best Crop: Mrig Bahar (Nov–Jan) – excellent quality
- Urea Spray: 10% (AS), 20% (L-49) for rainy crop suppression
- Seedless: Behat Coconut, Saharanpur Seedless
- Parthenocarpic Variety: Allahabad Round
- Hybrids: Kohir Safed, Safed Jam, Hybrid-45
- Nutritional: Vit-C highest in peel, rich in pectin
