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Taiwan Pink guava

Taiwan Pink (also called Pink Thai or Taiwan Pink Guava) is a high-yielding pink-fleshed guava cultivar introduced from Taiwan and widely adopted in commercial Indian plantings since the 2010s. It is prized for sweet juicy flesh, glossy pale-green skin and a relatively long ambient shelf life of around 15 days.

Key characteristics

  • Origin: Taiwan introduction
  • Fruit: round to slightly oval, glossy pale-green skin, pink flesh
  • Sweetness: high TSS with characteristic mild aroma
  • Shelf life: approximately 15 days at ambient temperature
  • Yield potential: around 9,000 kg/acre under good drip and pruning management at 6 x 6 m spacing
  • ICAR-CISH counterpart: Lalit, a pink-fleshed selection from CISH Lucknow with yields of up to around 100 kg/plant

Cultivation

Plants are propagated through wedge-grafting or air-layering and brought into bearing within two to three years. Spacings used in India range from 6 x 6 m down to 6 x 9 ft for higher-density commercial orchards. Drip irrigation, balanced NPK fertigation and the standard two-pulse pruning cycle (Guava Pruning Cycle) - typically a heavy May pruning followed by fruit set about three months later - drive most commercial production. On rocky soils, pre-plant gravel filling of 6-7 ft pits has been used to suppress nematode damage.

Pest and disease profile

Susceptible to mealybug (Mealybug Orchard Pest), fruit fly and guava wilt; less affected by anthracnose than some traditional cultivars. Integrated pest management combining biocontrol, sanitation and methyl-eugenol traps is the standard approach.

Adoption and use

Commercial Taiwan Pink plantings are now distributed across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and northern states. Fruit is sold primarily as fresh table fruit, with the pink colour and high sweetness commanding a premium over white-fleshed Allahabad Safeda (Guava Allahabad Safeda) in many urban markets.

See also: Guava Allahabad Safeda, Guava Pruning Cycle, Mealybug Orchard Pest.

References

  1. Taiwan Guava Farming: Planting, Harvesting, Yield and Profit. Agrifarming.
  2. Guava varieties. ICAR-CISH Lucknow.