Foliar Feeding of Micro-Nutrient Influencing Physical Attributes of Winter Season Guava (Psidium guajava L.) cv. L-49

Abstract

Enhancing fruiting and physical attributes of guava is crucial for growers as these traits directly contribute to total yield production. Hence, the present investigation was undertaken to study the effect of foliar application of micronutrients on the physical and yield attributes of winter season guava (Psidium guajava L.) cv. L-49. The experiment comprised nine treatments, namely: T₀ -Control (water spray), T1 - Calcium chloride 0.1%, T2 - Calcium chloride 0.2%, T3 - Borax 0.1%, T4 -Borax 0.2%, T5 - Calcium chloride 0.1% + Borax 0.1%, T6 - Calcium chloride 0.1% + Borax 0.2%, T7- Calcium chloride 0.2% + Borax 0.1%, and T8 - Calcium chloride 0.2% + Borax 0.2%, with three replications laid out in a randomized block design (RBD). The results revealed that the treatment Calcium chloride 0.2% + Borax 0.1% (T7) recorded the highest fruit set (67.54%), fruit retention (57.84%), fruit length (8.89 cm), fruit width (8.85 cm), fruit weight (136.67 g), fruit volume (121.63 cc), specific gravity (1.18), yield per tree (62.17 kg), and yield per hectare (168.61 q/ha), compared to the control. The study concludes that foliar application of calcium chloride (0.2%) combined with borax (0.1%) is an effective approach to improve fruit size, quality, and overall productivity of winter season guava.