Impact of weather on phenology of guava in Uttar Pradesh: A cursory analysis

A study was conducted to analyze the reasons for failure of guava crop during rainy season of 2010 through roving survey of principal guava growing belt around Lucknow and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. The study indicated that in order to mitigate the adverse impacts of dry weather, irrigation of guava orchards at 7–10 days intervals during March – April to keep the temperatures around (38.1ºC) and ensure relative humidity of 85% appears to be a practical approach for ensuring a reasonable rainy season crop as against total failure. Intercropping of shallow rooted short duration vegetables in guava orchards, besides providing additional income and employment opportunities, helps in modifying microclimate in guava orchards insulating from total crop failure and improving sustainable livelihood options.