Studies of the morphological characters of local genotypes of guava (Psidium guajava L.) under West Garo Hills region of Meghalaya

Abstract

Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is one of the most cultivated fruit tree crops in tropics and subtropics. It is an important commercial fruit in India. It belongs to the family Myrtaceae which comprises at least 150 genera and more than 5650 species. It is also known as the Apple of Tropics and Poor man’s Apple as it is very rich and cheap source of Vitamin C. It is an important commercial fruit in India.Genotype WGHG-06 (Wadanang-Alotgre) showed superior fruit characteristics with maximum fruit weight (111.94 g), length (5.81 cm), diameter (6.14 cm), volume (107.45 ml), specific gravity (1.04), WGHG-01 (Rongram) excelled in pulp traits, recording the highest pulp weight (104.67 g), pulp percent (97.49%), pulp thickness (1.03 cm).Conversely, WGHG-18 exhibited the lowest performance for most fruit and pulp traits, including fruit weight (40.83 g), length (3.81 cm), diameter (4.04 cm), volume (40.23 ml), pulp weight (31.12 g), pulp thickness (0.57 cm), and pulp percent (76.22%). The study indicates that WGHG-06 and WGHG-01 are promising genotypes for conservation, domestication, multiplication, and breeding programs aimed at improving fruit quality and yield. The significant variability observed among the accessions provides a valuable resource for genetic improvement of guava in the West Garo Hills region.