After 12 years of research, scientists from the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) have come up with the second largest guava in the country. It is named 'Arka Poorna'. These guavas were released in the market in 2018.
A number of farmers from Karnataka and other Indian states took the new guava hybrids to the market and are available at Rs 40-50 per kg (€0.50-0.62).
C Vasugi, Principal Scientist from the Fruit Crops division at IIHR: "The Arka Poorna has fewer seeds, making it suitable for the table and for processing. It is also rich in Vitamin C. After five years of planting an Arka Poorna tree, one can harvest 50-80 kg of guavas every year. It can be a bit exhausting to grow at homes as it needs to grow into a tree. The suitable climate to grow it is between 20-40 degrees."
It is not yet clear if the Arka Poorna will be white or red from inside.
M Shankaran, principal scientist with the Division of Fruit Crops at IIHR: "It took us 12 years to work on the hybrid. This is a progeny selection of the cross Purple local X Allahabad Safeda. Allahabad Safeda is one of the largest guavas in the country with each guava weighing 200-220 gram. Arka Poornas weigh 200-230 gram. It usually takes 15 years to develop hybrids of other fruits because we have to see how the produce turns out to be and whether it is fit for commercial purpose or not."
The country's largest guavas were developed in Chattisgarh called VNR-Bihi, each of which weigh between 300 and 1,250 gm. Shankaran says, "VNR-Bihi is large but its pulp content is lesser than Allahabad Safeda or Arka Poorna as the former has a thick layer of peel."
