Crop Production

Guava (Psidium guajava): Guava grows on small trees with spreading branches, may grow to a height and spread of 6-9 m.  The guava plants are trained to a single stem.  Pruning to young plants is necessary to have uniform and well balanced growth and shape. Judicious pruning is also recommended prior to flowering of selected bahar. Pruning increase the productivity and makes the various operations like spraying, harvesting easy. The guava bears fruit all year round.

Training and Pruning

  • Training and Pruning:  Training guava trees to provide strong framework and scaffold of branches suitable for bearing heavy crop is found to improve yield and fruit quality. Open centre system of training is found good wherein plants are headed back at 1 m height from where four primary shoots are retained for initial framework. These shoots are allowed to grow for 3-4 months and are subsequently pruned by cutting 1/3rd to ½ of their length for inducing multiple shoots from the buds below the cut ends. After making the initial framework, two side shoots can be permitted to grow and subsequent doubling of selected branches is continued. As flowers are borne on current season’s shoots, a light annual pruning of tip 10-12 cm of past season’s growth is helpful to encourage new shoots after harvest. Suckers coming from the basal portion of the trunk and sides of the framework should be pruned back annually.  All dead, diseased, crowded and dried shoots should also be removed


Guava general information.

Guava (Psidium guajava L) of the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), is the fifth most widely grown fruit crop in India after banana, mango, citrus and papaya. The fruit has gained considerable prominence in India due to its high nutritive value, moderate prices, pleasant aroma and good flavour. Guava is a rich source of vitamin C and pectin and moderate source of B vitamins, calcium, iron and phosphorus. It is one of the commonest fresh fruits liked by the rich and the poor alike and is popularly known as the ‘apple of tropics’ or `poor man’s apple’. Only a small quantity of the production is utilized for processing in the form of jelly, canned cups, juice and nectar, cheese, toffee bar, powder, flakes and strained baby foods have also been prepared besides commercial pectin.

Contact us.

  • ICAR - IIHR.
  • Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessaraghatta Lake post, Bengaluru - 560 089.
  •   Phone +91-80 23686100. website : www.iihr.res.in