Guava
Guava (Psidium guajava) is a very popular fruit. It is available throughout the year except during the summer season. Being very hardy, it gives an assured crop even with very little care. Its cost of production is also low because its requirements for fertilizer, irrigation and plant protection are not much. Further its nutritive value is very high. Therefore it is an ideal fruit for the nutritional security. Guava is also grown as a backyard fruit to a great extent. Best quality guavas are produced in Uttar Pradesh, particularly in Allahabad region.
Climate and soil
Owing to its hardy nature, guava is grown successfully in tropical and subtropical regions up to 1,500m above mean sea-level. Best quality guavas are obtained where low night temperatures (10°c) prevail during winter season. It tolerates high temperatures and drought conditions in north India in summers but it is succeptible to severe frost as it can kill the young plants. An annual rainfall of about 100cm is sufficient during the rainy season (July–September). The rains during harvesting period, however, deteriorate the quality of fruits.
Guava is cultivated on varied types of soils—heavy clay to very light sandy soils. Nevertheless, very good quality guavas are produced in river-basins. It tolerates a soil pH of 4.5–8.2. Maximum concentration of its feeding roots is available up to 25cm soil depth. Thus the top soil should be quite rich to provide enough nutrients for accelerating new growth which bears fruits.
Varieties
The varietal characteristics in guava are not as distinct as found in majority of other fruits. Its propagation through seeds reduces the distinctive characteristics of a variety in commercial cultivation. Important guava varieties are:
Lucknow 49
Also known as Sardar, its fruits are large, roundish-ovate in shape, skin primrose-yellow and pulp white, very sweet and tasty. The TSS and vitamin C contents are high. The plants are vigorous.
Allahabad Safeda
The most famous variety of Allahabad, it has acquired large variations due to seed propagation. The fruits are large in size, round in shape, skin smooth and yellowish-white. The flesh is white, firm, soft having pleasant flavour, high TSS and vitamin C content. The seeds are numerous, bold and hard. The trees are tall with profuse branching and broad crown. It can withstand drought conditions.
Chittidar
This variety is very popular in western Uttar Pradesh. The fruits are characterized by numerous red dots on the skin, high sweetness, and small and soft seeds. It is otherwise similar to Allahabad Safeda fruits in size, shape and pulp. It has higher TSS content than Allahabad Safeda and Lucknow 49 but lower vitamin C content. The tree characters resemble to those of Allahabad Safeda.
Harijha
Harijha is more popular in Bihar because of profuse bearing. The trees are of medium vigour due to sparse branching. The fruit is round in shape, medium large in size and greenish-yellow in colour. Flavour is sweet with good keeping quality.
Hafshi
It is a red-fleshed guava having good taste. It is mainly grown in Bihar. Fruit is of moderately big-size, spherical in shape with thin skin. Trees are of medium vigour but productive.
Apple Colour
Its fruits are medium-sized and pink-coloured. They are sweet in taste with good keeping quality. They require temperature for the development of good pink colour. The trees are of medium vigour but their leaves are greener than others. However, it is a moderate-yielder.
Seedless
All the seedless varieties—Saharanpur Seedless, Nagpur Seedless and others—are the same. Two types of fruits, completely seedless and partly seeded, are borne on a plant of seedless variety. The completely seedless fruits develop on the shoots rising from the stem and these are bigger in size and irregular in shape. The partly seeded fruits are born on normal shoots at the periphery and are small in size and round in shape. Seedless variety is unfit for commercial cultivation because it gives very low yield. The plants are very vigorous.
Arka Mridula
This is a seedling selection of variety Allahabad Safeda. Its medium-sized fruits are of excellent quality with high TSS. The white pulp has only few soft seeds. The plants are of medium vigour but high-yielding.
Allahabad Surkha
Allahabad Surkha is an outstanding variety of large, uniform pink fruits with deep pink flesh. The plants produce up to 120kg fruits in its sixth year of fruiting. The fruit is sweet, strongly flavoured with few seeds and is slightly depressed at both ends. The plants are vigorous, dome-shaped and compact.
Guava (Psidium guajava) is a very popular fruit. It is available throughout the year except during the summer season. Being very hardy, it gives an assured crop even with very little care. Its cost of production is also low because its requirements for fertilizer, irrigation and plant protection are not much. Further its nutritive value is very high. Therefore it is an ideal fruit for the nutritional security. Guava is also grown as a backyard fruit to a great extent. Best quality guavas are produced in Uttar Pradesh, particularly in Allahabad region.
Climate and soil
Owing to its hardy nature, guava is grown successfully in tropical and subtropical regions up to 1,500m above mean sea-level. Best quality guavas are obtained where low night temperatures (10°c) prevail during winter season. It tolerates high temperatures and drought conditions in north India in summers but it is succeptible to severe frost as it can kill the young plants. An annual rainfall of about 100cm is sufficient during the rainy season (July–September). The rains during harvesting period, however, deteriorate the quality of fruits.
Guava is cultivated on varied types of soils—heavy clay to very light sandy soils. Nevertheless, very good quality guavas are produced in river-basins. It tolerates a soil pH of 4.5–8.2. Maximum concentration of its feeding roots is available up to 25cm soil depth. Thus the top soil should be quite rich to provide enough nutrients for accelerating new growth which bears fruits.
Varieties
The varietal characteristics in guava are not as distinct as found in majority of other fruits. Its propagation through seeds reduces the distinctive characteristics of a variety in commercial cultivation. Important guava varieties are:
Lucknow 49
Also known as Sardar, its fruits are large, roundish-ovate in shape, skin primrose-yellow and pulp white, very sweet and tasty. The TSS and vitamin C contents are high. The plants are vigorous.
Allahabad Safeda
The most famous variety of Allahabad, it has acquired large variations due to seed propagation. The fruits are large in size, round in shape, skin smooth and yellowish-white. The flesh is white, firm, soft having pleasant flavour, high TSS and vitamin C content. The seeds are numerous, bold and hard. The trees are tall with profuse branching and broad crown. It can withstand drought conditions.
Chittidar
This variety is very popular in western Uttar Pradesh. The fruits are characterized by numerous red dots on the skin, high sweetness, and small and soft seeds. It is otherwise similar to Allahabad Safeda fruits in size, shape and pulp. It has higher TSS content than Allahabad Safeda and Lucknow 49 but lower vitamin C content. The tree characters resemble to those of Allahabad Safeda.
Harijha
Harijha is more popular in Bihar because of profuse bearing. The trees are of medium vigour due to sparse branching. The fruit is round in shape, medium large in size and greenish-yellow in colour. Flavour is sweet with good keeping quality.
Hafshi
It is a red-fleshed guava having good taste. It is mainly grown in Bihar. Fruit is of moderately big-size, spherical in shape with thin skin. Trees are of medium vigour but productive.
Apple Colour
Its fruits are medium-sized and pink-coloured. They are sweet in taste with good keeping quality. They require temperature for the development of good pink colour. The trees are of medium vigour but their leaves are greener than others. However, it is a moderate-yielder.
Seedless
All the seedless varieties—Saharanpur Seedless, Nagpur Seedless and others—are the same. Two types of fruits, completely seedless and partly seeded, are borne on a plant of seedless variety. The completely seedless fruits develop on the shoots rising from the stem and these are bigger in size and irregular in shape. The partly seeded fruits are born on normal shoots at the periphery and are small in size and round in shape. Seedless variety is unfit for commercial cultivation because it gives very low yield. The plants are very vigorous.
Arka Mridula
This is a seedling selection of variety Allahabad Safeda. Its medium-sized fruits are of excellent quality with high TSS. The white pulp has only few soft seeds. The plants are of medium vigour but high-yielding.
Allahabad Surkha
Allahabad Surkha is an outstanding variety of large, uniform pink fruits with deep pink flesh. The plants produce up to 120kg fruits in its sixth year of fruiting. The fruit is sweet, strongly flavoured with few seeds and is slightly depressed at both ends. The plants are vigorous, dome-shaped and compact.
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