Evaluation of guava varieties for growth, yield and quality attributes in Malwa Plateau conditions of Madhya Pradesh

The performance of different varieties/germplasm of guava was assessed under Malwa Plateau conditions of Madhya Pradesh, viz., Dharidar, Chittidar, Apple colour, Rewa-72, Lucknow-49, Allahabad Safeda, Gwalior 27, Surkhi, Anakapalli, Godhliwala, Chaitpur, Nasik, Dharwar, Lal Guda, Smooth Green, Chitabuwala, Abuwala, Supreme Side Malta, China Red and China White. Observations with respect to growth parameters were taken during the month of June-July where as fruit characters were recorded at the time of harvesting in December-January. The plant height was maximum in Dharidar (2.99 m) and minimum in China White (1.43 m). Canopy spread of the tree in North-South and East-West directions varied from 0.93–1.30 m and 0.81–1.20 m, respectively. The range of leaf size in terms of length and width was from 5.13–15.34 cm and 1.65–6.74 cm, respectively in different varieties. Maximum fruit size was observed in Allahabad Safeda (8.79 cm × 8.44 cm) and minimum in China Red (3.57 cm × 3.56 cm). However, fruit weight varied from 31.0 to 235.0 g depending on cultivar and it was maximum in Allahabad Safeda (235.0 g) and minimum in China Red (31.0 g). Total pulp content was maximum in Allahabad Safeda (97.74%) and minimum in China Red (85.91%). The seed content was maximum in China red (14.09%). Besides, there were significant variation with regards to yield, vitamin-C, TSS and acidity in different cultivars. However, overall performance of the different cultivars that Allahabad Safeda, Lucknow-49, Rewa-72, Dharidar, Apple Colour and Gwalior-27 are promising for cultivation in Malwa Plateau conditions of Madhya Pradesh.