Variability studies of guava (Psidium guajava L.) genotypes for growth, yield and quality attributes in Chattogram region of Bangladesh

Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is considered as an important profitable fruit in Bangladesh. The study was conducted in the fruits orchard of Agriculture Research Station (ARS), Pahartali, Chattogram and Regional Agriculture Research Station (RARS), Hathazari, Chattogram during 2019-20 to assess the genetic diversity of the in situ guava germplasm. Twenty two guava lines were assessed in this investigation. A total of 21 traits (11 qualitative and 10 quantitative) enabled an assessment of the genetic variability and construction of this guava germplasm. The maximum variation was observed in pulp color and seediness in guava fruits. Plant height ranged from 2.38 to 6.20 m with an average 3.85 m. Based girth ranged from 28.00 to 81.00 cm with an average of 47.79 cm. Fruit weight ranged from 55.0-362.0 g with average 101.92 g and yield per plant ranged from 12.53 to 126.70 kg with average 26.54 kg. The morphological dendrograph generated from agglomeration hierarchical clustering grouped the 22 genotypes into 5 major clusters. Heatmap explaining the overall performance of the genotypes indicated that BARI Peyara 2 and BARI Peyara 4 had higher yield potentiality.  BARI Peyara 2, BARI Peyara 4 , PG Pah 001, PG Pah 005,  PG Pah 07, PG Hat 004, PG Hat 009, PG Hat 010, PG Hat 012,  PG Hat 017, PG Hat 018 and PG Hat 020 can be selected for breeding program based on their desirable qualitative and quantitative traits.