Tropical and subtropical fruits (2+1)

Species and cultivars

There are more than 150 species available in guava and some of the important species are

• Psidium. guajava- It is the commercially cultivated species, rest of them do produce fruits but small size, inferior quality and with high acid content.
• P. guineense – Guinea guava – has small fruit with poor quality.
• P. guajava var. aromaticum- small scented fruits.
• P. pomiferum – Fruits are round.
• P. pyriferum- Fruits are pear shaped.
• P. cattleianum- The strawberry guava with round red fruits.
• P. friedrichsthalianum- Chinese guava with small and globose fruits having high acid content and resistant to wilt.
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 are 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 grown 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.
 

Chittidar: The Chittidar is similar to the Safeda except that, it has many pinkish red dots of the pinhead size on the surface of fru

Red Fleshed

• Tree attains 3-5m height.
• The branches are spreading with roundish oval fruit, which has yellowish skin with pink colour flesh.

Hybrids
Arka Mridula

• This hybrid was obtained by crossing of Seedless x 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 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%).

Other hybrids released from Fruit research station, Sangareddy, Andhra Pradesh are

• Safed jam- Allahabad safeda X Kohir
• Kohir safeda- Kohir X Allahabad safeda