Plant guava and reap the fruits of more profitable harvests

There are number of vendors in Uganda making money from selling guava, known by its scientific name Psudium guajava yet few people are engaged in growing the plant.

Psudium guajava is an evergreen shrub belonging to the Mytaceae family and it is treasured for its luscious fruit.

Many fruit vendors on the streets of Kampala and roadside vendors on highways are making lots of money for marketing guava fruit, which calls for more farmers engaged in growing and supplying it.

Currently, only a number of people in Uganda grow guava in their backyards for home consumption but experts are calling upon fruit farmers to grow it on large scale to meet the growing demand.

Background

Guavas are tropical shrubs grown for their smooth, sweet nutty aromatic fruits believed to have originated from the tropical Americas.

Guavas can also be processed to give other products such as juice and jelly.

Its leaves are oval, smooth on the upper surface and hairy on the lower surface.

It produces solidary flowers and a berry fruit which is oval shaped, green and yellow in colour depending on the variety.

Agronomy

According a publication by experts at Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) the plant can be grown using vegetative seedlings.

Varieties

Some common varieties which farmers can adopt include apple guava which are basically known as common guava.

This type of guava produces large fruits which are firm and light green to yellow when they ripen.

Others are strawberry guavas which produces smaller fruits which are dark red when ripe and pineapple guava which is common to rather cold environments in the tropics.

Soil requirements

Guavas thrive best in well drained fertile soils, with a desirable amount of organic manure.

Land preparation

Clear the land and plough the soil very well. Apply farmyard manure during land dressing. It could be animal dung such as; cow dung, goat dung, pig dung and sheep dung or composite manure also known as green manure.

Dig holes of one metre dip, mix manure with top soil and fill the pit.

Guava trees are hardy in nature and can be grown in a clay soil, sandy soil and deep loamy soil.

For optimum yield avoid water logged farmland to guard against root rot. A well-drained loamy soil rich in organic manure with a pH of 5.0-7.0 is a better option.

How to propagate

Guavas can be propagated by seed but these should not come from the parent plant. Vegetative propagation using grafting, air layering, budding is most preferred as it produces quite vigorous seedlings.

Dig a pit of 75cm by 75cm by 75cm before the rainy season. Spacing in guava farming depends on the cultivar, for commercial guava farming let the spacing be 5m x 5m or 6m x 6m.

Experts say one hectare land is capable of accommodating 275 plants. In this case a farmer is expected to use a spacing of 3m by 3m. If they are  thinking of high density guava farming, a hectare will accommodate 550 seedlings and a yield of more than 150kg for each plant. Fruit yield of about 120kg of fruits per unit can be expected from 6m x6m spacing.

Pruning

Pruning is necessary to provide stronger framework for the tree which helps in the yield potential.

It is important for farmers to remove dead and diseased branches and since the flowering are borne on current seasons, it is important to carry out annual pruning and remove the tip of growing branches to encourage new shoots for further fruiting.

Weeding

Weeding can be done three times a year in the early growing stage, but after some years it can go down to two times. As we know weed is not good for any crop so also it is not good for guava.

Weed can reduce the quality and quantity of the fruits. It will slow down growth and production. Always weed on time or use herbicide to kill grasses and other weeds. But care must be taken in order not to destroy the plant.

Irrigation

Irrigation is very important in guava farming when there is drought or shortage of water. During the rainy season, irrigation may not be necessary.

In that case watering should be done frequently during growing and production stages. Irrigate the farm immediately after transplanting the seedlings for quick establishment.

Drip irrigation is the most acceptable method because it will help in the production of quality and large yield of guava fruits. Watering should be done moderately ito prevent water stagnation.

Common pests

There are a number of pests common in guava farms and include fruit fly which lays eggs on the surface of fruits at colour break stage.

On hatching the maggot enters into the fruit and feeds on the soft pulp. When fruits are cut open the white maggots are seen in the flesh. The infested fruits rot and fall off. Pupation takes place in the soil. Others include bark eating caterpillar and guava shoot borer.

Management

Sanitation of orchard is important to reduce fruit infection by collecting and dumping infected plants in deep pits and getting rid of the fallen infested fruits. It is important to spray the plants with recommended pesticides before maturity and after maturity

Diseases

Guava wilt

Wilt in guava is caused by a fungus called Fusarium solani or Cephalosporium sp. or Rhizoctonia sp.

The symptoms appear on the infected trees many months after their roots have been attacked by the fungi. Sparse foliage, yellowing of leaves and tree wilting are the symptoms. Before wilting, trees may flower profusely and bear fruits which remain small. In the roots the cambium between the bark and wood show dis-colouration. Replanted trees in the same pits bear fruit for a few years and are again attacked by the fungi. Refilling of the gaps should be done after treating the soil with fungicides.

Fruit rot

This is caused by fungi Gloeosporium psidii and Phytophthora parasitica. Fully mature fruits are more prone to fungal attack.

The centre of a lesion has pink sticky spore-mass characteristics of the anthracnose disease.

Fruits rot completely within three days. The fungi also attack the twigs and branches of the tree during the rainy season, resulting in the die-back of shoot from the distal end.

This can be controlled by not allowing rain or irrigation water to stand in the tree basin around the trunk.

Prune the infected parts of shoots/branches, spray the plants and remove off rotten leaves in the ground.

Harvesting

Hybrid guava variety fruits mature faster than the traditional guava plant. Grafted, budded and layered guava plants produce fruits after two years.

Pluck fruits when matured manually or by the use of a hand cutter. Maturity time depends on the variety. Guava fruit will change colour from green to yellow when mature.

In some varieties the colour will only change from deep green to light green. Do not allow it to over ripe on the tree because it will not last long after harvest neither can it be preserved.

Marketing

Farmers can sell their guava to market traders and fruit vendors, fruit juice companies who are looking for guava in a large quantity.

You can add value to your guava business by processing the fruit to other products.