Guava (Psidium guajava L.) 'the apple of the tropics',
is one of the most important fruit crops grown in
India. It belongs to the family Myrtaceae. The guava
fruit has gained a considerable prominence on account of its
high food value, a pleasant aroma, rich flavour and availability
in the market at moderate prices (Bal and Dhaliwal, 2003). In
general, guava bears in three seasons namely rainy, winter
and spring seasons in a year. Under Tarai conditions, guava
trees produce 90 per cent crop in rainy season, 8-9 per cent in
winter season and 1-2 per cent in spring season (Lal, 1992).
Fruits of rainy season crop are insipid, poor in quality, less
nutritive and are also attacked by insect pests and diseases.
On the other hand fruits of winter season crop are superior in
quality, comparatively free from diseases and insect pests
and fetch higher prices in the market (Rathore and Singh, 1976).
Members of the Research Forum
Associate Author :1Department of Horticulture,
College of Agriculture, G.B. Pant
University of Agriculture and
Technology, Pantnagar, U.S.
NAGAR (UTTARAKHAND)
INDIA
HIND AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE
Recently shoot pruning have been reported to be successful
in regulating the crop of guava in spite of that reduces the tree
size and improves the fruit quality. This gives an opportunity
to increase the number of trees per unit area (Lal et al., 2000).
Very scanty information is available regarding shoot pruning
and planting systems in guava, therefore, an experiment was
initiated to study the effect of shoot pruning and different
planting systems on growth, yield and quality of guava cv.
SARDAR.
RESEARCH METHODS
The experiment was conducted at the Horticulture
Research Centre, Patharchatta of G.B. Pant University of
Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar during the year 2006-
Effect of shoot pruning and different planting systems on
vegetative growth, yield and quality of guava cv. SARDAR
PRATIBHA AND SHANT LAL1
THE ASIAN JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE
Article history :
Received : 22.11.2011
Revised : 05.02.2012
Accepted : 20.03.2012
Research Paper
Author for correspondence :
PRATIBHA
Department of Horticulture,
College of Agriculture, G.B. Pant
University of Agriculture and
Technology, Pantnagar, U.S.
NAGAR (UTTARAKHAND)
INDIA
Email : pratibhahorti@rediffmail.
com
Volume 7 | Issue 1 | June, 2012 | 65-71
Abstract : The present investigation was carried out on guava (Psidium guajava L.) cv. SARDAR during
the years 2006-07 and 2007-08 to investigate the effect of different shoot pruning levels and planting
systems on shoot emergence, number of fruits per tree, fruit yield and fruit quality. The treatment
consisted of two shoot pruning levels i.e. one leaf pair shoot pruning, unpruned (control), and five
planting systems i.e. square system, hedgerow system, double hedge row system, paired system and
cluster system of planting. Thus, there were ten treatment combinations replicated thrice in Factorial
Randomized Design with single tree as a treatment unit. Findings revealed that one leaf pair shoot
pruning significantly influenced the emergence of new shoot, fruit set (%), number of fruits per tree,
yield (kg/tree) and fruit quality. In the year 2006-07, the maximum number of new shoots emerged
(40.21) in cluster system of planting with one leaf pair shoot pruning during winter season, while in the
year 2007-08, the maximum number of new shoots emerged (41.83) in double hedge row system of
planting with one leaf pair shoot pruning during winter season when compared with other treatment
combinations. More number of fruits per tree was found in rainy season with control treatment while,
it was maximum in winter season with one leaf pair shoot pruning during both the years. In one leaf pair
shoot pruned trees; yield was significantly less than the unpruned trees in rainy season whereas, yield
was significantly more in one leaf pair shoot pruned trees than unpruned trees in winter season. Fruit
yield per tree increased with decrease in plant population per unit area. Wider spacing gave higher fruit
weight, size, TSS, acidity, ascorbic acid and TSS: acid ratio of guava fruits than closer spacing.
Key words : Guava, Shoot pruning, Planting systems, Growth, Yield, Quality
How to cite this article : Pratibha and Lal, Shant (2012). Effect of shoot pruning and different planting
systems on vegetative growth, yield and quality of guava cv. SARDAR, Asian J. Hort., 7(1) : 65-71.
Hind Agricultural Research and Training InstituteAsian J. Hort., 7(1) June, 2012 : 66
07 and 2007-08. Seven year old trees of guava cv. Sardar of
uniform vigour and size, planted in different planting systems
and maintained under uniform cultural practices were selected
for study. The treatments consisted of two factors viz., two
shoot pruning levels and five planting systems. Thus, there
were ten treatment combinations replicated thrice in
Randomized Block Design with single tree as a treatment unit.
The details of the treatments and the symbols allotted to them
are given below:
Table A :
Factor 1 : Shoot pruning: 2 levels
Sr. No. Treatments Symbol used
1. Unpruned (control) P0
2. One leaf pair shoot pruning P1
Shoot pruning of current season’s growth was done as
per treatment retaining only one leaf pair at the base of the
shoot. It was performed with the help of secateur in the first
week of May during both the years. Data were recorded for
both rainy and winter season on number of new shoots (the
emergence of new shoots was counted on the four selected
branches having approximately equal diameter and spread
over in all the directions of each tree), number of fruits per tree
(total fruits retained at the time of harvesting on trees were
counted) and yield kg/ tree (total number of fruits on each tree
multiplied by the mean fruit weight at the time of harvest and
fruits yield per tree in kg was worked out), mean fruit weight
(weight of ten fruits was recorded on a physical balance and
mean weight (g) was obtained by dividing the total weight of
the fruits with the number of fruits), fruit length (measured in
cm from the apex to stem end of the fruit by digital Vernier’s
calliper), fruit diameter (measured in cm at widest point of fruit
by digital Vernier’s calliper), total soluble solids (with the help
of digital refractrometer), acidity (calculated by titrating the
fruit pulp aliquot against 0.1 NaOH as suggested by A.O.A.C.,
1970), ascorbic acid (by reduction of 2,6- dichlorophenol
indophenol dye) and TSS: acid ratio during both the years i.e.
Factor 2 : Planting systems: 5 levels
Sr.
No.
Treatments
(Planting systems)
Symbols Planting
density
(21m× 21m)
Tree
population
per
hectare
1. Square or standard
system
S1 9 trees 204 trees
2. Hedgerow system S2 15 trees 340 trees
3. Double Hedgerow
system
S3 20 trees 453 trees
4. Paired system S4 12 trees 272 trees
5. Cluster system S5 16 trees 363 trees
2006 and 2007. The data were statistically analyzed for analysis
of variance according to Snedecor and Cochran (1999) for
Factorial Randomized Block Design (FRBD).
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
The data pertaining to number of new shoot emergence
(Table 1) revealed that shoot pruning treatments and planting
systems significantly affected the number of new shoots per
branch during both the years of rainy and winter season,
respectively. A perusal of data indicates that shoot pruning
decreased the number of shoots per branch during rainy
season and subsequently increased in winter season during
both the years. During the year 2006-07, maximum number of
new shoots per branch (37.88) was found in plants with
highest plant population i.e. double hedgerow system of
planting followed by hedgerow system (32.50) and minimum
number (27.52) in plants with lowest plant population i.e.
square system of planting in rainy season, while in winter
season maximum number of new shoots per branch (23.91)
was found in double hedgerow system of planting which was
at par with cluster system of planting and minimum number
(17.56) in square system of planting. However, maximum number
of new shoots per branch was found in double hedgerow
system of planting followed by cluster system of planting
and minimum in square system of planting during both the
seasons (rainy and winter) of the year 2007-08. The interaction
was found to be non significant for number of new shoots per
branch in both the years (Table 1) except in winter season
crop of 2006-07. The number of new shoots was significantly
increased with one leaf pair shoot pruning in all the planting
systems. The trees planted in high density planting produced
more number of new shoots per branch (Lotter and Lotter,
1990; Sheikh and Hulmani, 1997; Jadhav et al., 1998; Saxena,
2002 and Mahajan, 2004).
Number of fruits per tree is an important component of
yield. Shoot pruning had highly significant effect on number
of fruits per tree in rainy and winter season of both the years
(Table 1). In rainy season, unpruned trees produced higher
number of fruits, while in winter season the trend was just
reversed. One leaf pair shoot pruned trees produced lesser
number of fruits in rainy season and more number of fruits in
winter season in comparison to unpruned trees. Decreasing
plant population significantly increased the number of fruits
per tree in both the seasons as well as annually. The maximum
number of fruits was obtained from the Square system of
planting during both the years i.e. 2006 and 2007. Treatment
combination unpruned and square system of planting gave
maximum number of fruits per tree in rainy season during both
the years. Minimum number of fruits per tree was obtained
with the treatment combination of one leaf pair shoot pruning
and double hedgerow system of planting in rainy season
during both the years. However, in winter season maximum
number of fruits per tree was obtained with treatment
PRATIBHA AND SHANT LAL
65-71
Hind Agricultural Research and Training InstituteAsian J. Hort., 7(1) June, 2012 : 67
combination of one leaf pair shoot pruning and square system
of planting, while minimum number of fruits per tree was
obtained with treatment combination of unpruned and double
hedgerow system of planting during both the years (Table 1).
Shoot pruning significantly decreased the number of fruits
per tree during rainy season and subsequently increased the
yield significantly during winter season. It might be due to
the fact that the plant accumulates food reserve during rainy
season which was diverted for the development of more fruits
during winter season (Chandra and Govind, 1995).
A close examination of data presented in Table 2 indicated
that shoot pruning significantly affected the yield per tree
during both the years. One leaf pair shoot pruning significantly
decreased the fruit yield per tree during rainy season and
subsequently increased the yield significantly during winter
season. It might be due to the fact that the plants prepare
food during rainy season which was diverted for the
development of more fruits during winter season (Chandra
and Govind, 1995).
Shoot pruning increased the mean fruit weight
significantly in both the seasons i.e. rainy and winter seasons
(Table 2). One leaf pair shoot pruning treatment gave
significantly higher mean fruit weight than unpruned trees.
Planting systems had only significant effect on mean fruit
weight in winter season of 2007-08. As the plant population
increased, mean fruit weight decreased significantly during
both the seasons. Fruits obtained from square system of
planting had maximum fruit weight, while double hedgerow
system gave fruits of minimum weight, which was at par with
hedgerow planting system. However, interaction of shoot
pruning × planting system had no significant effect on mean
fruit weight in either of the season of both the years.
At a glance of data presented in Table 3 clearly indicate
that shoot pruning increased fruit length and fruit diameter
significantly during both the seasons. The fruit length was
decreased significantly with increasing plant population
during rainy season, while it did not differ significantly during
winter season. On the other hand planting systems had
significant effect on fruit diameter during winter season but it
did not affect fruit diameter during rainy season. Interaction
between shoot pruning and planting system had no significant
effect on mean fruit length and mean fruit diameter in either of
the season of both the years.
Smaller fruit size and lesser fruit weight in closer spacing
might be due to more competition between source (leaves)
and sink (fruits) absorbing carbohydrates reserves for their
growth and development. At closer spacing, rate of
photosynthesis might also be reduced due to lesser
penetration of light and limited leaf area. Lower leaves did not
receive the significant amount of light for photosynthesis as
compared to widely spaced trees. Lesser weight, size and
volume of fruit at closer spacing have also been reported by
Chundawat et al. (1992), Lal (1992), and Kumar and Singh
EFFECT OF SHOOT PRUNING & DIFFERENT PLANTING SYSTEMS ON VEGETATIVE GROWTH, YIELD & QUALITY OF GUAVA
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PRATIBHA AND SHANT LAL
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Hind Agricultural Research and Training InstituteAsian J. Hort., 7(1) June, 2012 : 69
(2000) in guava.
It is evident from the data presented in Table 4 that shoot
pruning increased T.S.S. and total titratable acidity content of
the fruits during rainy and winter seasons of both the years.
Planting systems had significant effect on T.S.S. and total
titratable acidity content of the fruits during both the seasons
of the year 2006-07 and 2007-08. TSS content of fruit increased
with decrease in plant population. However, the maximum TSS
(13.04%) was found in winter season crop with square system
of planting during both the years i.e. 2006-07 and 2007-08.
Interaction between shoot pruning and planting system had
only significant effect on TSS content of fruit in winter season
of 2007-08. Maximum TSS content of fruit was obtained in
treatment combination one leaf pair shoot pruning and square
system of planting (P1 ×S
1). Lowest T.S.S content was reported
in treatment combination unpruned and double hedgerow
system of planting (P0 × S
3). On the other hand decrease in
plant population, decreased the total titratable acidity of guava
fruits and increase in plant population significantly increased
the total titratable acidity. This is may be due to lower rate of
reduction of starch to sugars, competition and light
unavailability. These results are in close conformity to Lal
(1992) and Mishra (2000). However, the maximum total titratable
acidity (0.74 %) was found in winter season crop in double
hedgerow system of planting in first year. Similar trend was
noted during second year. Interaction between shoot pruning
and planting system had no significant effect on total titratable
acidity of the season of both the years
Close examination of data presented in Table 5 showed
that shoot pruning increased ascorbic acid content of the
fruits during rainy as well as winter seasons of both the years.
Planting systems had significant effect on ascorbic acid
content of the fruits during both the seasons of the year 2006-
07 and 2007-08. Ascorbic acid content of fruit increased with
decrease in plant population. However, the maximum ascorbic
acid content was found during winter season crop in square
system of planting during both the years. Interaction between
shoot pruning and planting system had no significant effect
on total titratable acidity during rainy and winter seasons of
both the years.
Shoot pruning did not significantly affect the TSS: acid
ratio of the fruits during rainy as well as winter seasons of
both the years (Table 5). However, planting systems had
significant effect on TSS: acid ratio of the fruits during both
the seasons of the year 2006-2007 and 2007-2008. TSS: acid
ratio of fruits increased with decrease in plant population.
This may be due to more increase in acidity and adequate
quality of carbohydrate reserves, due to sufficient light
interruption. These results are close conformity with Lal (1992)
and Pandey et al. (1997). However, the maximum TSS: acid
ratio was found in winter season crop in Square system of
planting in the first year. Similar results were obtained during
second year. Interaction between shoot pruning and planting
EFFECT OF SHOOT PRUNING & DIFFERENT PLANTING SYSTEMS ON VEGETATIVE GROWTH, YIELD & QUALITY OF GUAVA
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Hind Agricultural Research and Training InstituteAsian J. Hort., 7(1) June, 2012 : 70
system had no significant effect on TSS : acid ratio in any of
the season of both the years. It is apparent from the data that
chemical quality characters of fruits in winter season were
invariably higher than rainy season crop. The superiority of
fruits with respect of chemical quality characters in winter
season might be due to the effect of low temperature received
at the time of fruit ripening.
Low temperature not only retarded the excessive loss of
respiratory substance (Kliewer and Lider, 1970) but also
increased the translocation of photosynthates from leaves to
other parts of the plant including fruits (Went, 1944). In guava
vegetative growth is almost ceased during winter season
(Rathore, 1972) due to lower temperature and this leads to the
accumulation of more food reserves with in the plants,
particularly in the fruits (Crane, 1969).
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