GUAVA
Psidium guajava L., family MyrtaceaeThe guava is grown commercially in India, Brazil, British Guiana, and to a limited extent in Florida, where 2,000 to 3,000 acres are cultivated and many more thousands of acres are wild. The fruit is rich in vitamin C (two to three times the amount in fresh orange juice) and also rich in vitamins A and B with some vitamin G (Webber 1942). The fruit is consumed fresh or used in the making of jams, jellies, paste or hardened jam, and juice. The greatest commercial use is for jelly (Purseglove 1968*).
Plant:
The guava is a shallow-rooted, many branched shrub or small tree 10 to 30 feet in height. The fruit is pale green to bright yellow (fig. 115), 11/2 to 41/2 inches long, with numerous seeds embedded in the pulp (fig. 116). It is well-known in most subtropical areas of the world (Campbell 1963). The fruit, 3.7 to 8.8 oz each, may have white, pink, to dark flesh, with 8.8 to 12.5 percent soluble solids and only 0.7 to 7.5 percent of the weight in seeds (Nakasone et al. 1967).
The plants are usually spaced about 20 feet apart (100 per acre). Purseglove (1968*) stated that in India a seedling tree 8 to 10 years old will yield 400 to 500 fruit, weighing 140 to 180 pounds, in a year. Grafted or layered trees of the same age yield 1,000 to 2,000 fruits weighing 400 to 700 pounds. Its culture has been described by Ruehle (1948, 1959).
[gfx] FIGURE 115. - Guava branch, with leaves and fruit.
FIGURE 116. - variations in size and shape of guava fruit.
Inflorescence:
The white flowers, about an inch in diameter, are borne singly or in two- to three-flowered cymes. The stamens are numerous. The ovary has four to five locules with a greenish-yellow style. The capitate stigma extends above the anthers, so that self-pollination without the aid of an outside agency is unlikely (Purseglove 1968*). Hamilton and Seagrave- Smith (1954) stated that the flowers are bisexual or perfect and produce an abundance of pollen.
Pollination Requirements:
Hirano and Nakasone (1969) reported that partial self- incompatibility was found in all of the species of Psidium studied. Malo and Campbell (1968) and Hamilton and Seagrave-Smith (1954) found that self-pollination is possible but that cross-pollination by insects resulted in higher yields.
Pollinators:
Bees and other insects visit the flowers. Soubihe and Gurgel (1962) considered the honey bee to be the main pollinating agent responsible for the 25.7 to 41.3 percent crossing observed between plants. They noted, however, that this degree of crossing varied from plant to plant.
Pollination Recommendations and Practices:
There are no recommendations on the use of pollinating insects on guava although the meager information available indicates that they are necessary or at least highly beneficial for maximum production.
LITERATURE CITED:
CAMPBELL, C. W.
1963. PROMISING NEW GUAVA VARIETIES. Fla. State Hort. Soc. Proc. 76: 363-365. HAMILTON R. A., and SEAGRAVE- SMITH, H. 1954. GROWING GUAVA FOR PROCESSING. Hawaii Agr. Ext. Serv. Bul. 63, 19 pp. HIRANO, R. T., and NAKASONE, H. Y. 1969. POLLEN GERMINATION AND COMPATIBILITY STUDIES IN SOME PSIDIUM SPECIES. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. Proc. 94: 287-289. MALO, S. E., and CAMPBELL, C. W. 1968. THE GUAVA. Fla. Agr. Ext. Sen. Fruit Crops Fact Sheet 4, 2 pp. NAKASONE, H. Y., HAMILTON, R. A., and ITO, P. 1967. EVALUATION OF INTRODUCED CULTIVARS OF GUAVA. Hawaii Farm Sci. 16 (2): 4 - 6. RUEHLE, G. D. 1948. THE COMMON GUAVAÑA NEGLECTED FRUIT WITH A PROMISING FUTURE. Econ. Bot. 2: 306 - 325. ______ 1959. GROWING GUAVAS IN FBORIDA. Fla. Agr. Ext. Serv. Bul. 17O, 32 pp. SOUBIHE, J., and GURGEI,, J. J. A. 1962. [THE EXTENT OF NATURAL CROSS-POLLINATION IN GUAVA (PSIDIUM GUAJAVA L.] Bragantia 21: 15 - 20. [In Spanish, English summary. ] WEBBER H. J. 1912. EXTENDING GUAVA PRODUCTION TO CABIFORNIA. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. Proc. 41: 228-233.
