Clonal Selection of Guava F1 Hybrid for Processing

Abstract

The study on varietal improvement of guava F1 hybrid was conducted by cross breeding which produced 13 hybrids, namely ACA, AKS, AWT, BAF, BBK, BCA, BKS, BWT, CAF, CBK, CBM, CKS and CWT. The hybrids were grown at 1,200 m above mean sea level, in order to evaluate the fruit quality among clones. The results revealed that the guava hybrids BBK, BCA and BKS from ‘Boumont’ guava as the mother plant expressed  higher number of flowers and fruits when compared to those from ‘California’ and ‘Africa’ as the mother plant. From an evaluation of fruit quality, 29 lines followed our specified criteria. They were then multiplied by   stem cutting method and grown for selection of processing hybrid. The suitable clone was considered according to physical and chemical quality of the fruit. The comparative study on fruit features showed that the guava hybrid BKS No.19 and No.13 gave considerably  high yield per tree as well as large fruit size. Fruit weights were 297.0 and 356.4 g, and vitamin C contents of pink flesh were 524.6 and 465.4 mg  per 100 g, respectively. The level of pectin content was suitable for guava juice processing. The guava hybrid CBM No.23 provided large fruit size, 293.7 g fruit weight, 350.8 mg vitamin C per 100 g and high pectin content, thereby suitable for jam or jelly products.