Ludhiana: You might have eaten just two varieties of guava — with pink and white on the inside, and creamy yellowish or greenish colour on the outside. The Department of Fruit Science of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has come up with a new variety named ‘Punjab Apple Guava’, which looks just like an apple. “As everyone craves variety, and as there is great demand for an apple colour guava, PAU did eight years of research for a changing trend, and came up with a guava variety that looks like an apple.”Dr Harminder Singh and Dr RS Boora from Department of Fruit Science said: “More than 2,000 plants will be ready in August, and will be handed over to the state horticulture department as a mother plant, which will further be given away to farmers.”At present, after kinnow, guava is ranked No.2 in area under cultivation in the state. The Punjab Apple Guava variety is helpful in increasing the area of guava cultivation in Punjab, which will lead to diversification in fruit cultivation in the state, and avoid the monoculture of kinnow.Further, scientists from PAU explained that farmers growing the ‘apple guava’ will get a premium price in the market, as compared to normal guava, owing to improved quality and good colour of this variety, which is selected from opened pollination seedlings of apple colour guava at PAU-RFRS (Regional Fruit Research Station) in Bahadurgarh, Patiala. The trees of this variety are semi-vigorous with a round canopy and drooping branches, and the four years of the plant have an average yield of 58kg per tree.It is advisable for farmers to take only the winter season crop of this variety, as the rainy season crop is infested with fruit fly, and is inferior in quality. Dr Navtej Singh Bains, director of Research, PAU, recommended Punjab Apple Guava to filed functionaries during the workshop. He said: “The Punjab Apple Guava — developed from an open pollinated source — is a medium-sized plant, dark red in colour with a creamy flesh and 11.8% sweetness.”

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