Guava (Psidium guajava Linn.) is widely accepted fruit in India, it belongs to family Myrtaceae. Guava is said to be native of tropical America, as per Alphonse De Candolle, it came from Mexico to Peru. The plants of Guava reached in India by Portuguese in 17th century. Later it spread in other places.
It is grown in maximum states of India from Jammu to Tamilnadu & Assam to Gujarat. Guava can be grown in mostly all the soils having pH range of 4.5 – 9.4, with recommended agricultural practices. It can be grown successfully in tropical & sub-tropical climate in both humid & dry and is highly resistant to drought but is susceptible to frost. It produces abundant crop of better quality in areas having a distinct dry & moderate winter.In India highest Guava producing state is Maharashtra followed by Madhya Pradesh & Bihar.
VNR Bihi variety of Guava, researched and developed by Dr. Narayan Chawda, Chairman VNR Group is widely accepted by the farmers due to its big size, less seeds, longer keeping quality/shelf life & best whole sale price realised by the growers.
Presently, more than 3.5 million VNR Bihi plants are in farmers fields in more than 250 districts of 20 states.
In order to educate the growers of VNR Bihi it was felt that a detailed Package of Practices needs to be published and shared. The contents of the subject required to be supported with photographs to make it more valuable for all profiles of farmers. It is observed that majority of VNR Bihi Growers are following these recommended practices to keep their orchards healthy and are obtaining maximum yield season-on-season. Credentials of such results can be referred through farmers testimonials.
The Package of practices are prepared in following order –
– Land preparation
– Care of young plants before plantation
– Plantation / earthing up level
– Placement of drip laterals
– Staking of Plants
– Removal of tape from graft union
– Training of Plants
– Pruning
– Sunburn – Effects and Protective Measures
– Thinning of fruits
– Tip Cutting of Branches bearing fruits
– Bagging
– Harvesting
– Grading
– Post Harvest Management
– Fruit selling with VNR Nursery Buyer Seller Exchange
– Pest and Disease Management
– Insects Management
– Weed Management
– Frost Protection
– Orchard Management During Monsoon Season
The technical team of VNR Bihi will try its level best to make this knowledge sharing section, very much useful to Growers of this variety by upgrading it time to time. The team is open for valuable suggestions from Farmers, Scientists, Subject matter experts & Research scholars for making it a continuous effort.
