Highly fragrant fruit infact a “Super-fruit” - usually with green or yellow skin, about the size of a baseball, with pink or white flesh. The guava, Peru, Amrood, Psidium guajava is one of the most common fruits in the world and its sweet pulp is used in a wide assortment of drinks, desserts, and other food products. Green mature Guavas can be utilized as a source of pectin, yielding somewhat more and higher quality pectin than ripe fruits. Guava is rich in tannins, phenols, triterpenes, flavonoids, essential oils, saponins, carotenoids, lectins, vitamins, fiber and fatty acids. Guava is another tropical fruit rich in nutrition. With its unique flavor, taste, and health-promoting qualities, the fruit easily fits in the new functional foods category, often called “super-fruits.” Guava-fruit is an excellent source of antioxidant vitamin-C. 100 g fresh fruit provides 228 mg of this vitamin, more than three times the DRI (daily-recommended intake). Outer thick rind contains exceptionally higher levels of vitamin C than central pulp. Guava has a very high vitamin C content, the amount is four times more than an orange, and contains 10 times more vitamin A than a lemon. The other guava nutrition such as Vitamin C, A, B complex, fiber and many other minerals that are needed by the body. The fruit or fruit juice has been documented to lower blood sugar levels in normal and diabetic animals and humans. Most of these studies confirm the plants many uses in tropical herbal medicine systems. If the traditional adage says that “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” in Europe and Americas, the phrase is probably changed to “A few guavas in the season keeps the doctor away for the whole year” in the Indian Subcontinent and places where guavas typically grow. What makes guava special is that protecting the fruit does not require excessive use of chemical pesticides as in the case of grapes, apple, and other so-called “exotic” fruits. It is one of the least chemically treated and sprayed fruits. The outer skin may be rough, often with a bitter taste, or soft and sweet. Varying between species, the skin can be any thickness, is usually green before maturity, but becomes yellow, maroon, or green when ripe. The pulp inside may be sweet or sour, and off-white (white guavas) to deep pink (red guavas). The seeds in the central pulp vary in number and hardness, depending on species. The guava is a hardy tree that adapts to a wide range of growing conditions. Guava is more drought-resistant than most tropical fruit crops. Propagated often by seeds, which remain viable for up to a year. Sprouting can take 3-8 weeks. Better varieties are propagated by grafting, air-layering and root cuttings. The most common stumbling block is not allowing enough time to pass for germination as guava seeds routinely need a minimum of 4-6 weeks before any possible germination. The guava is not a long-lived tree (about 40years), but he plants may bear heavily for 15-25 years. Bats are the main fruit dspersal gents. Identified as useful for bio-indication and as a bio-accumulator in India. It is sensitive to sulphur dioxide; sensitivity to injury based on chlorophyll destruction. The guava plants thrive in any soil with good drainage and full sun for best flowering and fruit production. P.S. Pics sourced from web.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 04:37:45 +0000
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