Where is the guava native to

A 10 year old plant yields about to kg. If both rainy and winter season crops are taken, more yields may be obtained in the rainy season. Guavas are harvested throughout the year except during May and June in one or the other region of the country. However, peak harvesting periods in north India are August for rainy season crop, November- December for winter season crop and March-April for spring season crop.

In the mild climatic conditions of the other parts of the country, the peak harvesting periods are not so distinct. Guava fruits develop best flavour and aroma only when they ripen on tree.

In most of the commercial varieties, the stage of fruit ripeness is indicated by the colour development which is usually yellow. For local markets, fully yellow but firm fruits are harvested, whereas half yellow fruits are picked for distant markets. Fruits are harvested selectively by hand along with the stalk and leaves. Fruits are graded on the basis of their weight, size and colour. The fresh fruit has a short shelf life and distant marketing can be done only if it is properly stored.

It can be stored for about 10 days at room temperature 18 0 0 C in polybags providing a ventilation of 0. The fruits are packed in baskets made from locally available plant material. For distant markets, wooden or corrugated fibre board boxes are used along with cushioning materials viz.

Good ventilation is necessary to check build up of heat. Guava is a delicate fruit requiring careful handling during harvesting and transportation. Guavas being perishable in nature are immediately sent after harvesting in the local market and only a small quantity is being sent to the distant markets. Majority of the cultivation sell their produce either through trade agents at village level or commission agents at the market.

Major sources for technology are:. A summary is given in the figure below. The project cost works out to around Rs. Project Cost:. Amount in Rs. Proposed Expenditure. Cultivation Expenses. Cost of planting material. Cost of Labour. Others, if any, Power. Cost of Pipeline. Others, if any, please specify. Agriculture Equipments. Others, if any Drying platform. Land Development. Soil Leveling. Land, if newly purchased Please indicate the year. Grand Total.

This is part cost of tube-well. The actual cost will vary depending on location, plant population and plot geometry. The actual cost will vary from location to location depending upon minimum wage levels or prevailing wage levels for skilled and unskilled labour.

The main components are planting material, land preparation, inputs. Inter cropping upto 4 th year would also be taken in the project. Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 onwards The value of the produce accordingly increases from Rs. The inter-crop of vegetables is expected to fetch an income of Rs. Project Financing:. There would be three sources of financing the project as below:. Source Rs. It is an inexpensive fruit and its benefits are numerous and valuable.

Nutritionally, guava contains more soluble fibers than apples and it is an excellent source of pectin and dietary water, which are known to help prevent gastrointestinal cancers as well as lower cholesterol levels.

Guava is also low in trans and saturated fatty acids, which also makes guava good for heart health. Guava also contains many vitamins and minerals, which include potassium, beta carotene, calcium, folate, iron, lycopene, vitamins A-C, which are present in guava. If you want good and young-looking skin, then you need to give guava leaves and fruits a try. Guava is rich in vitamin B and lycopene that help retard the oxidation of cells. The antioxidants that are present in guavas such as carotenoids vitamin A , flavonoids, terpenoids, and vitamin Bs, and these antioxidants provide skin-smoothing and moisturizing properties, and protection against environmental toxins.

The vitamin C present in guava is five times the vitamin C in an orange. Vitamin C is a powerful vitamin that helps stimulates the assembly of collagen and helps with the building and maintaining of skin, blood vessels, joints, and cartilage. Moreover, In addition to building the body, Vitamin C also helps improve heart functions.

It also has properties of antihistamine and assists with balancing pollutants; this protects the skin from various skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, and hives. The origin of guava is uncertain. However, some sources suggested that guava is native to the tropical Americas such as Mexico, Brazil, and the Caribbean Islands. Archaeological evidence in Peru suggested that guava had been in existence for more than years Clement et al.

Guava was shown to arrive in Asia, specifically Southeast Asia around the 17th century in Thailand. Guava was said to have reached subtropical and tropical Asia as a crop. Guava was first brought to Florida around the 19th century. Guava and its different varieties are currently cultivated in different tropical and subtropical countries. Many varieties and species of guava are grown commercially.

For instance, apple guava and its developed varieties are the most commonly traded guavas internationally.

Guavas thrive well under optimal temperatures. They neither like extreme hot climate nor extreme cold climate. However, guavas prefer a warm climate over a cold climate. However, younger guava plants were found to be affected by this temperature, where they usually freeze to the ground. Read also: Guava Worms And Management. Guava can be propagated from seeds, cuttings, grafting, and air layering. However, growing guava from seeds is not recommended because the pant may not inherit the parents in vigor.

Guava can be grown in pots indoors as a hedge. It can also be cultivated on an orchard for commercial farming. Colonial movements dislodged the plant from its familiar contexts and spread it around the world. The European fascination with tropical fruits can be seen in illustrations of South American guavas digitized by the Rare Book Collection at Dumbarton Oaks, the work of groundbreaking naturalist and artist Maria Sibylla Merian, who would have seen the fruit in Suriname at the turn of the eighteenth century.

In , a Spaniard chronicled the first known European encounter with guava on what is now Haiti. Colonial ships introduced the tree to the Philippines and India, and soon guava took root around the world. People in these new regions developed traditional guava medicine—for hypertension in South Africa, ulcers in the Philippines, antiseptics in China—naturalizing a foreign species within local cultures in just a few centuries. It was not the first guava on the islands, where at least seven species and forms were recorded in a report.

In the ensuing years, strawberry guava grew across hundreds of thousands of acres of native forest, clearing out practically every other plant in its path. It is poised to take over half the land area of the Big Island. When a plant enters a new ecosystem where it did not evolve, it can act invasively—taking without giving. Predators and diseases from Brazil are not around to hamper strawberry guava.

Instead, it attracts feral pigs and non-native fruit flies that damage the ecosystem. Older islands should display more biodiversity, but non-native plants are erasing signs of these long-term evolutionary effects on the Hawaiian Islands. In a twist, they won USDA and state approval to introduce the non-native Brazilian scale insect Tectococcus ovatus , which attacks only strawberry guava and slows its growth, after years of research.

But local farmers complained about the measures. In their eyes, strawberry guavas were the source of lucrative jams and a longstanding flavor of Hawaiian food culture. The bugs were not a savior of native plants but a perceived threat to their backyard orchards and family farms. As strawberry guava proliferated, people adopted it into their customs and livelihoods. But as that spread threatened other local plants and key resources, the plant was recategorized as an invasive, a danger to be contained.

Across the Pacific, a very different biocultural battle has emerged. Native guava species Rhodomyrtus psidiodes seems headed for extinction after a devastating myrtle rust fungus Austropuccinia psidii arrived ten years ago.