7 Cultivation of Guava

Guava – Psidium guajava
Family- Myrtaceae
Origin & Distribution
 Native to tropical regions of North & South America

 Cultivated extent of guava is 1,287 ha in Sri Lanka.
Botany
 It is a shallow rooted, small tree or a shrub

 Reaches to 30 feet (9 m) height.
 Greenish brown bark, peeling off in thin flakes.
 Have large, opposite, oblong leaves, finely pubescent, 5-15 cm long & 3-7
cm wide.
 Flowers are axillary, 2.5 -3cm in diameter with either solitary or flowers in
groups of 2-3, stamens are numerous, inserted in rows in the disc, Small,
white flowers, filaments are white, anthers pale yellow,
 Fruit is spherical or pear shaped, 2-4 inches in diameter.
 Fruit is a berry; thick pericarp & fleshy seed cavity. Fruits are soft when
ripened; interior of fruit is white, pink or red.
Guava is pear shaped tropical fruits

with pinkish flesh & yellow skin.
Economical importance
 As a fresh fruit.
 Industrial products -Fruit juices, jam, cordials, jelly.
 Desert in fruit salad.
 Rich in dietary fiber, Vit. A & C, minerals- calcium, phosphorus &
potassium.
Recommended varieties
 Bangkok Giant- White guava cultivar, native to tropical Asia, a large fruit.
 Horana red- oval shaped, red flesh, weight of a fruit- 200g, yield 45
kg/tree/year.
 Horana white- more sweeter, round shape, white flesh, weight per fruit is
230 g, yield 50 kg/tree/year.
 Pubudu- Sweet, white flesh, weight of a fruit is 800g, yield 50 kg/tree/year.
 Kanthi- Round shape with white flesh, weight per fruit is 350 g, yield 45 kg/
tree/ year, a dwarf variety.
Climate
 Annual rain fall 1000-4000mm.

 The rains during the harvesting period, deteriorate the quality of the fruit.
 Temperature 23- 280 C. Can tolerate temperature upto 450 C.
 Elevation- 1500- 2000m (suitable for all 3 zones).
 Tolerance to drought condition.
Soil
 Sandy to clay loam.

 Wide range of soil PH 4.5- 9.0.
 Slight tolerance to salinity &water logging.
 Seed propagation
 Propagation through seeds should not be encouraged because
seedlings have long juvenile phase & give low yield & bear low
quality fruits.
 Vegetative Propagation
 Patch budding (commonly used).
 Modified forkette budding.
 Modified patch budding method practiced for guava.
 A patch size approximately 1cm x 1.5 cm seems to take better than
when a small patch or bud is used.
 Buds on brown stems with leaf scars hard and grown over are better to
use than younger buds with leaf scars still distinct & soft.
 Shield budding
 Air layering
 After the bending the plant, it’s branches are covered with soil
leaving the terminal portion is opened.
 In a few months, the rooting of branches take place which are the
separate from the mother plant & plant in a nursery bed.
 Limited number of plants can be multiplied from a other plant.
Planting
 Size of planting holes- 60 cm x 60 cmx60cm.

 Spacing- 4.5- 5.0 m x 4.5- 5.0m.
 The holes should be filled with farm yard manure& soil.

Mulching
 During dry spells, improve the fruit size.
Training & Pruning
 Traditionally no pruning is done.

 But no pruning results are formation of narrow canopy, limb breakages due
to heavy fruit load & overcrowding.
 3-4 well spaced branches, arising at 60 cm above the ground level are
maintained.
 The trees should be maintained at a 3m height to facilitate harvesting &
build a strong framework.
Weeding
 Tall weeds can be removes by hand.

 Legumes crops can be intercropped during first 3 years of planting to obtain
high yield.
 Surface mulching.
 Mowing- This method is a very expensive because the weeds at the base of
the trees will consume large portion of applied fertilizer. Therefore applied
amount of fertilizer may be increased.
 Chemical wed control.
Irrigation
 This crop is mostly grown under rain fed condition & rarely practiced under
irrigated condition.
 Irrigation help to increase the crop vigor & fruit set.
 Irrigation is especially desirable after planting for survival of plants and
thereafter for 2-3 years to obtain early good growth.
 The fruit quality of guava adversely affected by high soil moisture content
during harvesting.
Harvesting
 Fruiting starts 2- 2.5 years old (budded plants).

 120 -150 days take to fruit maturity.
 The trees beginning bearing 3-4 years but they attain full bearing capacity at
the age of 8-10 years.
 Guava develops best flavor & aroma only when they ripen on trees.
 For local market fully yellow but firm fruits are harvested.
 Half yellow fruits are harvested to transport distant markets.
 Fruits are harvested selectively by hand along with stalk & leaves (stimulate
the growth of flush with flowers).
Yield
 Bangkok - 22 t/ha/yr.
 Pubudu- 20t/ha/yr.
 Horana white- 20 t/ha/yr.
 Horana red- 17.9 t/ha/yr.
 Kanthi- 20 t/ha/yr.
Post – harvest techniques
 Fruits are packed in baskets made from locally available plant materials.
 For distant market, wooden or fiber boxes along with good cushion materials
– paddy straw, dry grass, guava leaves or rough papers are used.
 Guava is a delicate fruit, requiring careful handling during harvesting &
transporting.
 Since fruits are sold at cheaper prices & are available in the long period of
the year, they are not kept in the storage.
 However shelf life period of guava can be extended up to 20 days by
keeping them at low temperature of 50 C & 80-85 RH.
 It can be stored in the room temperature (18-230 C) at about 10 days in
ventilated poly bags.

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Guava – Psidium guajava

Origin & Distribution

 Native to tropical regions of North & South America

 It is a shallow rooted, small tree or a shrub

Guava is pear shaped tropical fruits

 Annual rain fall 1000-4000mm.

 Sandy to clay loam.

 Size of planting holes- 60 cm x 60 cmx60cm.

 During dry spells, improve the fruit size.

Training & Pruning

 Traditionally no pruning is done.

 Tall weeds can be removes by hand.

 Fruiting starts 2- 2.5 years old (budded plants).

Post – harvest techniques

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