Impact of Pruning Intensity and Foliar Nutrient Application on Yield and Quality of Guava (Psidium guajava L.) cv. Allahabad Safeda

A comprehensivefield investigationwas conducted during2022–23 and 2023–24to assess the effect ofpruningandfoliar feedingon theyield and quality of guava.The pruning treatment P₁ (25 cm shoot pruning)exhibited significantly superior performance, recording th e highest initial fruit set/ shoot (9.83), number of fruit/plant (174.53), fruit retention per shoot (7.93), yield/ plant (25.10 kg), andyield/ hectare (278.86 q/ha). Conversely, the lowest values for these parameters were recorded under P₀ (no pruning). Among the nutrient treatments, N₂ (Urea @ 3%),maximum initial fruit set per shoot (10.14), number fruit per plant (172.44), fruit retention per shoot (8.20), yield/plant (27.45 kg), and estimated yield/hectare (304.99 q/ha). With regard tofruit quality parameters, pruning at50 cm (P₂)resulted in thehighest TSS (11.47°Brix), ascorbic acid (235.96 mg/100 g pulp), total sugar (9.67%), reducing sugar (5.64%), andnon-reducing sugar (4.03%). Similarly, in terms of foliar nutrient application, N₆ (Zinc sulphate @ 0.6%) thehighest,TSS (11.46°Brix), ascorbic acid (245.05 mg/100 g pulp), total sugar (9.73%), reducing sugar (5.69%), andnon-reducing sugar (4.04%).The minimum titratable acidity (0.38%)was recorded in N₆, whereas thehighest acidity (0.44%)was found in the control ( N ₀ ).