GUAPPLE PRODUCTION GUIDE

Guava has a shorter gestation period than most fruit trees. The guava tree starts flowering as early as eight months from planting the seedlings in the fields. With proper care, each tree may yield about 15 kilos of fruits during the first year. By the second year, the tree could yield 45 kilos and in succeeding years, it could produce 60 kilos or more.

Good quality fruits demands high price. The small fruits or those with scars which resulted from fruition caused by the wind during the fruits' formative stages are cheaper. There are usually made into guapple pie or into jam.

One can start with a few mother trees from which subsequent planting materials are propagated. Guavas can be propagated by seed or through marcotting and grafting.

The guava can be made fruitful throughout the year as long as it is irrigated during the summer months. The fruits responds to pruning. When the terminal buds is pinched, new branches are initiated and flowers will follow. With enough nourishment, the flowers will follow. With enough nourishment, the flowers will develop into full-sized fruits.

During the first year, the young plants are fertilized soon after planting with one half kilo of 14-14-14 per tree. A month later, 15 grams of urea is applied per tree.

Eight months after planting, when the trees start to flower, 300 grams of fertilizers is applied. This is a mixture of 16-20-0 and 0-0-60, applied usually in the early part of the rainy season and then before the end of the rainy season.

In the second year, the same kind of mixture is applied, and two times yearly. This time, the dose is one kilo per tree. In succeeding year, the dose is proportionately increased.

The trees should be sprayed monthly with insecticide and fungicide, especially when they are fruiting.

To protect the fruits from fruit fly, the developing fruits are wrapped with plastic bags when they are about the size of an eggs. The fruits are sprayed before they are wrapped.

To produce big fruits, some of the young fruits should be removed from the tree. To produce fruits that will weigh about a kilo each, allow only fruits to develop in a year-old tree.

While very big fruits look impressive, many growers prefer to produce fruits that weigh 300 to 350 grams each This size seems to be the most salable in the market.