Bearing positions and methods of harvesting affects the quality of guava fruits cv. Pant Prabhat

A study was made on the effect of the position of the guava fruits on the tree, to assess its chemical quality and mineral quality at the post harvest ripe stage. Fully matured healthy fruits of guava cv. ‘Pant Prabhat’ with uniform size were harvested with and without peduncle and with one leaf pair by secateur to assess the post harvest behaviour of fruit after 3 and 7 days of storage. Position of bearing was influenced the rate of maturation. Fruits at lower canopy of the tree matured earlier than those at the middle and top. There was also a variation in chemical as well mineral quality between interior and exterior fruits, and fruits on the different canopy positions on tree. Mineral contents were higher in lower canopy than upper canopy fruits while chemical contents were found higher in upper canopy fruits. But, for better storage it is desirable to harvest guava from bottom half of the tree earlier than from the top with a gap of 7–10 days between harvests. The guava fruit with pedicel had 24–28 hours more storage life with minimum decay. Therefore, while harvesting guava cv. ‘Pant Prabhat’ the pedicel should remain attached to its fruit for better storage quality.