Evaluation of red fleshed guava (Psidium guajava L.) accessions for growth and fruit yield under north-eastern transitional zone of Karnataka

Ten red fleshed guava varieties comprising of improved viz., Arka Kiran, Arka Rashmi, Lalit, H-17-16, Punjab Pink and SRD-HYD-1and local types viz., SR-I, SR-II, GR-I and GR-II were evaluated for growth and fruit yield under North-Eastern transitional zone of Karnataka. The accessions evaluated showed wide range of variation with respect to plant growth and yield traits of fruit. The accession H-17-16 registered significantly superior values for plant height (2.36 m) and number of quaternary branches (76.45). While, the variety Arka Kiran recorded significantly superior values for stem girth (6.21 cm), east-west (3.06 m) and north-south (2.52 m) spread, canopy volume (13.85 m3) which was found statistically on par with H-17-16. The vigorous growing accession H-17-16 recorded maximum per cent fruit set (90.47%), maximum number of fruits harvested per plant (104.67) and highest yield (11.45 kg/plant and 12.72 t/ha) which was followed by Arka Kiran (5.75 kg/plant and 6.38 t/ha). On the basis of different characters the accessions H-17-16, Arka Kiran and Punjab Pink were found to be superior in their performance for growth and fruit yield.