Best Fertilizer for Guava in India
Guava is a hardy, widely grown fruit tree that responds strongly to balanced nutrition and a good dose of organic manure. Its needs rise with age, from light feeding in the first years to a
Overview
Guava is a hardy, widely grown fruit tree that responds strongly to balanced nutrition and a good dose of organic manure. Its needs rise with age, from light feeding in the first years to a full dose once the tree is in regular bearing. Guava can give two crops a year, so nutrition is often timed to the chosen cropping season, usually the more profitable winter or mrig bahar crop. The tree needs balanced N:P:K with enough potash for fruit size and sweetness. ICAR-IIHR and State Agricultural Universities recommend doses per tree per year linked to age, applied in two or three splits. The figures below are a per tree per year range by age. Always adjust them to your Soil Health Card or a fresh soil test, your variety such as Allahabad Safeda, Lalit or Sardar L49, and local KVK advice.
Recommended NPK dose for Guava
Doses rise with age. A full bearing tree commonly needs about 300 to 400 g N, 250 to 350 g P2O5 and 250 to 350 g K2O per tree per year with 30 to 40 kg FYM, while high yield Sardar guava may take up to 600 to 900 g N, 600 g P2O5 and 600 g K2O per tree. Young trees in the early years get roughly one quarter to one half of the full dose, increasing each year. Treat these as a starting range and confirm with your Soil Health Card, a fresh soil test and KVK advice.
Application schedule
Apply the full FYM and phosphorus along with part of the nitrogen and potash for the chosen bahar, then give the rest of the nitrogen and potash in two more splits during fruit growth. For the winter crop in north India, the FYM goes in around May to June, with inorganic fertilizers split between July, September and February. Spread fertilizer in a shallow band under the canopy edge, fork it in lightly and irrigate. To skip the rainy season ambe bahar crop and take the better winter crop, growers withhold irrigation and nutrition for a period and then resume.
Organic & bio-fertilizers
Apply 20 to 40 kg of well rotted farmyard manure or compost per bearing tree per year, with young trees getting 10 to 20 kg. Vermicompost at 5 to 10 kg per tree and neem cake improve soil and supply slow nutrients. Biofertilizers such as Azotobacter, phosphate solubilising bacteria and mycorrhiza help nutrient uptake and root health. Guava responds very well to organic matter, which improves fruit quality, so a generous yearly dose of FYM is a key part of good guava nutrition.
Micronutrients & deficiency signs
Guava commonly needs zinc, boron and sometimes iron and manganese. Zinc deficiency causes small narrow leaves, short internodes and rosetting at shoot tips. Boron deficiency leads to fruit cracking, corky brown patches and hard, deformed fruit. Iron deficiency yellows young leaves while veins stay green, often on alkaline soils. Correct with foliar sprays such as 0.5 percent zinc sulphate and 0.1 to 0.2 percent borax, usually before flowering and at fruit set. Always confirm the need with leaf analysis or KVK advice before spraying micronutrients.
Tips & cautions
Be generous with FYM, since guava quality improves a lot with organic matter. Time nutrition to the bahar you want to crop, usually the better winter crop. Apply fertilizer under the canopy edge where feeder roots are, not against the trunk. Split nitrogen and potash so the tree is fed through fruit growth, and keep potash adequate for sweetness and size. Correct zinc and boron early to avoid small leaves and cracked fruit. Do not over apply nitrogen alone, which gives leafy growth and poor fruit.
These are general recommendations. For the exact dose, follow your Soil Health Card / soil test and local KVK, and avoid over-applying urea.
FAQs
How much fertilizer does a guava tree need per year?
When should I fertilize guava for the winter crop?
Why is FYM so important for guava?
What causes cracked and deformed guava fruit?
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