Guava Area Under Cultivation In India, it is successfully grown in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Orissa and Tripura. Uttar Pradesh is considered as the most important guava producing state of India, and Allahabad- Varanasi region has the reputation of growing the best quality guava in the country as well as in the world.
Botanical Name : Psidium guajava Family : Myrtaceae Plant Discription : It is a hardy tree, tall ,more than 2.5 m in height and vigorous in growth. The leaves are light green in colour and finely pubescent.The tree is profusely branched bearing white fragnant flowers which bears roundish to ovate fruits .
Centre of Origin : Tropical America Pollination System : Self pollinated Chromosome No. : 2n=22,33 Nutritional Levels : Moisture (%)
Protein (%)
Fat (%)
Mineral matter (%)
Fibre (%)
Carbohydrate (%)
Calories (K Cal)
81.7
0.9
0.3
0.7
5.2
11.2
51
Phosphorus (mg/100g)
Potassium (mg/100g)
Calcium (mg/100g)
Magnesium (mg/100g)
Iron (mg/100g)
Sodium (mg/100g)
Copper (mg/100g)
28
91
10
24
0.27
5.5
0.14
Manganese (mg/100g)
Zinc (mg/100g)
Sulphur (mg/100g)
Chlorine (mg/100g)
Molybdium (mg/100g)
Cromium (mg/100g)
0.14
0.16
14
4
0
0.009
Carotene (mg/100g)
Thiamine (mg/100g)
Riboflavin (mg/100g)
Niacin (mg/100g)
Vitamin C (mg/100g)
Choline (mg/100g)
Folic acid-Free (mg/100g)
0
0.03
0.03
0.4
212
0
0
Minerals
Vitamins
Folic acid- Total (mg/100g) 0
Guava Diseases Wilt (Fusarium sp) : A serious disease, the guava wilt, is sometimes encountered, especialy in alkaline soils. The symptoms are browning and wilting of the leaves, discolouration of the stem and death of the branches along one side. Sometimes the infection girdles the entire stem and the whole plant may wilt. In severe cases the entire tree may die. Control : The infection can be minimized by soil drenching with Brasicol and spraying of Bavistin (0.1%) around the roots and leaves at an interval of 15 days.
Anthracnose (Gloesporium psidii, Glomerella psidii) : The affected plants showed signs of die back from the tip of the branch. Control : Spraying the trees with Copper Oxychloride, Cuprous Oxide or Difolatan controls the disease.
Cercospora Leaf Spot (Cercospora sawadae) : Water-soaked patches under the leaf are the characteristic symptoms of the disease. Control : Spraying copper oxychloride at 0.3 per cent can reduce the infection.
Scab (Pestalotia psidii) : The fungus mainly attacks the unripe fruits to produce dark scabby lesions, 2-4mm in diameter. The scab disfigures the fruits and their market value is considerably reduced. Control : Application of Zineb 20g or Chlorthalonil-20g/10 litres of water at the time of flowering and then subsequent sprays at 15 days interval helps to control the disease effectively.
Guava Harvesting Guava fruits ripen five months after flowering and they are harvested when the fruits turn greenish yellow. Ripening is associated with a change of skin colour from green to yellow. Guava trees with seed origin starts bearing when the trees are 4-5 years old, while vegetatively propagated guava starts bearing at the age of 2-3 years. Harvesting of guava needs extra care because the fruit has soft thin skin. It is normally harvested manually to avoid physical injuries.
Yield The average yield in India is about 9 tonnes/ha but it can be as high as 25-35 t/ha in gangetic plains. A 10-year-old plant yields about 1000 to 1500 fruits per year.
Guava Intercultural Operations Weed Control The orchard should be kept always free from weeds. During rainy season, weeding is done periodically. Light harrowing can check the weeds effectively. The weed growth around the seedlings should be kept down and used as a mulch.
Intercropping Vegetables and leguminous crops like peas, cowpea and gram can be successfully grown as intercrops
Bahar Treatment There are three distinct flowering seasons with corresponding harvesting periods-rainy, winter and spring. It is desirable to take only one crop in a year. In South India the rainy season crop is preferred even though it is of poor quality, since the price is high at this time. In North India, winter crop is of better quality and the fruits also escape the attack of white flies. In Western India, root pruning of guava to regulate the season of harvesting, as is done in the case of mandarins, is recommended in heavy soils only. In lighter soils, withholding of water serves the purpose. This practice is known as bahar treatment.
Month
Bahar Water stress
Flowering
Fruiting
Ambe bahar (February)
December-January
February-March
July-August
Hasta bahar(October)
August-September
October-November
March-April
Mrig bahar (June)
3rd week of April
June-July
NovemberDecember
Use of Growth Regulators Fruit-Set About 80-90 per cent flowers of guava set fruit initially of which 35 to 60 per cent reaches maturity. The formation of fruit-set is noticed after 10-12 days of flowering. Spraying of GA3 at 15 to 30 ppm increased the fruit-set.
Crop Regulation Different thinning chemicals, like NAA, NAD, 2,4-0, DNOC and urea are effective in deblossoming rainy-season flowers and fruitless and subsequent increase of winter crop. Spraying of NAA (50-100 mg/l) 2,4-0 (50-100 mg/l)\ ONOC (5-10 mg/l) or urea at 10 per cent during April was effective to thin the summer seasons flowers and increased yield in winter.
Training and Pruning Training is done primarily to give form to the tree. For development of a strong framework the first 60 to 90 cm from the base of the trunk should be cleaned followed by 4 to 5 scaffold branches at an interval of 20-25 cm. When the plants attained a height of about 1.5m to 1.8 m, it is headed back to make the center open. In some parts of India (Maharashtra and South Bengal), the branches are bent downward and tied to each other. Thus forcing the dormant buds to grow. This results in increased yields. The trees are rarely pruned in North India, but light annual pruning after harvesting to promote vegetative growth and flowering is desirable. All dead, diseased, crowded growth and suckers sprouting from the base and sides of the framework are pruned back annually. Pruned trees give larger fruits and early ripening
Guava Irrigation Amount and frequency of irrigation to begiven depends upon the type of soil, prevailing climatic conditions, especially rainfall and its distribution and age of the trees. No irrigation is required during the monsoon months unless there are long spells of drought. During the first year when the plants are very young with shallow root system, they should be watered even at 2-3 days interval in the dry season. Trees in the age group of 2-5 years should be irrigated at 4-5 days interval. The irrigation interval could be increased to 10-15 days for 5-8 years old plants during dry season. When trees are in full bearing stage, generally 2-3 irrigations are given after the fruit set which results in increased fruit-set and improvement in fruit size and fruit quality. It is advisable to irrigate the mango plants in basins around them to economizing water use.
Guava Manuring & Fertilization It is suggested that a bearing guava tree should be fertilized with 300-400 g N, 250 g to 350 g each of P205 and K2O along with 30-40 kg FYM each year. In case of young plants, the fertilizers may be applied in circular trench along the periphery of the root zone. In case of older plants the fertilizers may be broadcasted over a radius of 120cm from the base and forked in lightly without damaging the roots. The organic manure may be applied as mulch on the surface. Foliar spraying of potassium (as potassium sulphate 1.0 to 2.0%), calcium (as calcium nitrate, 1.0 to 2.0%) has been found effective in increasing yield and improving fruit quality. FYM (Kg)/plant
N (Gm)
P (Gm)
K (Gm)
1
5 to 8
100
50
50
2
10
200
100
100
3
15 to 25
300
150
150
4
25 to 30
400
200
200
5
40 to 50
500 to 650
250 to 325
250 to 375
Age of plants (Years)
For the first four years FYM is applied in the month of June. Inorganic fertilizers are given in three split doses distributed equally in the months of July, September and February. During the bahar treament i.e. when the irrigation is cut off, along with FYM half dose of nitrogen and full dose of phosphorus and potassium are to be given. The remaining half of the N is given 1to 1.5 months after bearing of the fruits.
Guava Pests Fruit Fly (Chaetodacus sp.) : The adult of fruit fly lays eggs on fruit during monsoon. Later the maggots enter the fruit and feed on the pulp causing dropping of fruits. Control : Harvesting fruits during the light green stage, raking soil under the tree, collection of the diseased fruits and bagging of fruit 3-4 weeks from fruit-set helps to minimise the pest attack. Spraying of insecticides like Malathion and Fenthion is also recommended.
Mealy Bug (Ferrisia varigata, Planococcos citri) : The tiny small bugs usually suck sap from twigs, leaves and flowers. Infested fruits will have uneven shapes, poor quality, and are susceptible to secondary infections by pathogens. Control : Soil application of Thimet and banding the tree trunk with polyethylene film will prevent the nymph to climb up from the soil. Spraying 400-ml neem oil with 50-ml liquid soap in 10 liters of water and repeating the spray after 10 days has been found effective.
Kajji Bug : Scab (Kajji) like symptoms are observed on fruits due to the infestation of the pest. Wart like formation develops on fruits due to secondary infection caused by decaying organisms. Control : Spray Carbaryl 50 WP 40g or Malathion 50 EC 20ml/10 liters in water, at early fruitset.
Guava Planting Spacing The land should be deeply ploughed, harrowed and leveled before planting. The trees are usually planted about 6x6m apart. In a square system of planting, guava is commonly planted at 5mx5m or 6mx6m spacing accommodating 278-400 plants per hectare.
Pit Digging Pits of 0.6 m3 are dug according to the layout plan. While digging the pits, the top half of the soil is separately heaped. The pits are exposed to for 2-3 weeks. The pits are filled with 1:1 mixture of topsoil and FYM or organic matter. In addition 1kg of Single Super Phosphate (SSP) may be added to it. The soil is allowed to settle by irrigation.
Method of Planting The grafts are planted by making a small hole in the centre of the pit sufficient to accommodate the soil ball. Care should be taken to keep the graft union well above the ground level. The soil around the plant is pressed gently. Planting should be immediately followed by irrigation. In case of high wind velocity the plants are tied to the stake.
Guava Post Harvest Technology Grading The fruits are mostly graded as per the size and colour. Fully ripened fruits, which are yellow in colour are immediately sent to the market.
Packaging For local markets the fruits are packed in bamboo baskets. As a padding material neem leaves or dried grass is used.
Storage Mature-green and partially-ripe guavas are stored at 8-10째C for 2-3 weeks while fully-ripe guavas are stored at 5-8째C for 1 week at 90-95% optimum relative humidity
Guava Propagation Seed Propagation Guava propagated from seeds germinates in about three weeks. Freshly extracted seeds of fully matured fruits should be used for this purpose. Seedlings can be raised in nursery or in polyethylene bags. Seed viability declines very quickly after extraction from fruits. Considering the hard coat of the seeds it is necessary to pour boiling water on the seeds and allowing it to soak in water for two weeks prior to sowing or treating them with strong sulphuric acid for five minutes facilitates their germination. However the raising of the guava plants form seed is not desirable, since the seedling trees differ greatly from their mother plants.
Vegetative Propagation Air-Layering Air-layering is the commercial method in practice for propagation of guava. The most ideal time for airlayering in guava is between April and June in the warm and humid climate, when the average temperature varies between 29.3 and 30.5째C and relative humidity between 69.0 and 80.0 per cent. A shoot from previous year's growth of 1cm in diameter is selected for air-layering. A ring of bark about 3cm long is removed. This area is covered with wet sphagnum moss and tied with polyethylene film. The rooting takes place in about 30-40 days. Veneer grafting, T-budding, Forkert budding are some of the other methods of propogating guava.
Guava Soil & Climate Soil The importance of guava is due to the fact that it is a hardy plant, which can be grown on wide varieties of soils including shallow, medium black and alkaline soil. However, it grows successfully on well-drained soils with atleast 0.5 to 1m in depth. The soils should not be very deep, marshy, low lying, having hard pan or water table in the root zones. The pH should be between 5.5 to 7.5.
Climate Guava is successfully grown under tropical and subtropical climate. The quality of the fruits is better in areas having distinct winters therefore guava grown near Allahabad is famous for the best quality fruits. Although guava tolerates drought, protective irrigation facilities are required. It grows best with an annual rainfall around 1000 mm restricted between June and September.
Guava Varieties L-49 (Lucknow-49) : It is prolific bearer, greenish yellow with milky white sweet pulp and rough surface. Shell is fairly thick, contains fairly soft few seeds in inner portion of pulp. Since the number of seeds is less, keeping quality is medium it is very popular in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. It is suitable for table purpose and yields about 25t/ha.
Allahabad Safeda : This is the most famous variety gown in Uttar Pradesh for table purpose. Tree is medium in height (5.8-6.5m) with vigorous branching and dense foliage. Fruits are medium in size (180g), round in shape with few seeds. Fruit is white fleshed with good keeping quality.
Banarasi : The variety attains a height of 4.0 to 5.5 m with a broad crown and fruits are round, light-yellow in colour. It is mainly cultivated for table purpose.
Chittidar : The Chittidar is similar to the Safeda except that it has many pinkish red dots of the size of a pinhead on the surface of the fruit.
Harijha : The variety attains a height of about 3.5 to 4.5 m and is sparsely branched. Fruits are round,greenishyellow in colour with a sweet taste.
Red Fleshed : Tree attains 3-5m height. The branches are spreading with roundish oval fruit, which has yellowish skin with pink colour flesh.
Arka Mridula : This varriety is a selection from open pollinated seedlings of Allahabad Safeda. Plants are semi-tall in nature and spreading. Fruits are round in shape and weigh about 180g. Skin is yellow in colour and O smooth. Flesh is white in colour. The TSS is around 12 Brix. Fruits are soft seeded and have a good keeping quality. It is good for processing due to high contents of pectin (1.041%).