Comparative performance of superior guava genotypes in Northern India: Flowering and fruit set

An experiment was conducted to study the stigma receptivity, pollination, fruit set and fruit drop of guava cvs. Hisar Safeda, Hisar Surkha, Lucknow-49 and Allahabad Safeda during two flowering seasons viz., spring (April-May) and autumn (August-September) for rainy and winter season crops respectively. Stigma became receptive just after anthesis and remained receptive till 48 h of pollination in all the cultivars. Fertilization took place after 12 h of pollination and reached its peak after 72 h of pollination in relation to removal of the style. Highest fruit set and minimum fruit drop was recorded in cultivar Lucknow-49 under natural (open) pollination followed by self-pollination by hand which was observed to have more fruit set as compared to other mode of pollination viz., self-pollination by bagging and cross pollination.