Author Topic: Lemon Guava cultivars / breeding?  (Read 1766 times)

barath

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Lemon Guava cultivars / breeding?
« on: August 22, 2019, 01:42:00 AM »
Has anyone done breeding or selection on Lemon Guava?  Anyone know of any trees that produce particularly large / sweet fruit in large quantities?  The trees seem pretty variable in general, and while quite hardy the fruit is sometimes nice and sometimes bland, sometimes large and sometimes small, etc.  I did once plant out a bunch of seeds from a large-fruited tree, but never followed up to see if this quality was retained in the offspring.  If breeding is viable in it in the short term, it seems like a worthwhile plant to breed.

Separately, it might be worth doing a fruit expedition through the thickets of Strawberry Guava in Hawaii to find good cultivars, but I'm guessing most of the fruit is ruined by fruit flies.

Oolie

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Re: Lemon Guava cultivars / breeding?
« Reply #1 on: August 22, 2019, 02:36:13 AM »
I tried on the far-side of Maui to find a superior strawberry, they're all too similar.

As far as lemon guava is concerned, I know where to find a nice selection, but not sure if it will come true to seed, but I hear it's very difficult to propagate from cuttings/grafting.

ScottR

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Re: Lemon Guava cultivars / breeding?
« Reply #2 on: August 22, 2019, 11:00:58 AM »
I've started Lemon guava from cuttings before once and I believe it was Spring time when I took cutting! They do produce bigger fruit if you thin the crop. I've brought back seeds of strawberry guava from Hawaii , red skin with cream flesh and about half of seedlings were terrible fruit and about 20% came out with good quality fruit!
Yes, some young person should try breeding for better size and taste I agree with Barath ;) 8)

barath

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Re: Lemon Guava cultivars / breeding?
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2019, 03:34:57 AM »
I tried on the far-side of Maui to find a superior strawberry, they're all too similar.

As far as lemon guava is concerned, I know where to find a nice selection, but not sure if it will come true to seed, but I hear it's very difficult to propagate from cuttings/grafting.

If you know of a good selection it might be worth propagating by ground layering.  Lemon guava and pineapple guava seem to be easiest to ground layer vs. any other approach.

Bush2Beach

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Re: Lemon Guava cultivars / breeding?
« Reply #4 on: August 23, 2019, 11:13:44 AM »
I tried ground layering some long healthy Cattlieanium branches for 6-8 months and failed.
Any advice?

gnappi

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Re: Lemon Guava cultivars / breeding?
« Reply #5 on: August 23, 2019, 11:58:56 AM »
One of my my lemon guava gives me golf or ping pong ball sized reasonably sweet fruits, which my GF does notcare for. The other fruits are small like strawberry guava. I like the larger fruits quite a bit, the smaller not at all. That one is getting pulled.

Neither tree has had any volunteer seedlings appear in the 8+ years they're in the ground despite many fruits falling there during every harvest season. I have not tried to propagate it by cuttings, grafting or air layering.


« Last Edit: August 23, 2019, 12:02:15 PM by gnappi »
Regards,

   Gary

Capt Ram

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Re: Lemon Guava cultivars / breeding?
« Reply #6 on: August 23, 2019, 05:07:45 PM »
I've got about a half a dozen seedlings from a wonderful lemon guava tree at xcalaber nursery.. they're only about 6 months old and maybe two feet high, another year or so and I should know if they're any good
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nana7b

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Re: Lemon Guava cultivars / breeding?
« Reply #7 on: August 25, 2019, 07:42:06 AM »
I believe grafting is possible. I made 4 grafts last fall out of which 3 took. The only problem was that right after the grafts healed it was time to move them into the garage for the winter where they sat for the next 5 months or so. Over that time the grafts failed. Had I done it in spring here before the high heat set in the grafts would have had time to grow and become a solid part of the root stock.

barath

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Re: Lemon Guava cultivars / breeding?
« Reply #8 on: August 25, 2019, 09:24:42 AM »
I tried ground layering some long healthy Cattlieanium branches for 6-8 months and failed.
Any advice?

I'm not sure -- maybe make sure they are low branches and you ground layer them close to where they branch off of the main trunk?  That's where I've seen roots most often.

barath

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Re: Lemon Guava cultivars / breeding?
« Reply #9 on: August 25, 2019, 09:25:45 AM »
One of my my lemon guava gives me golf or ping pong ball sized reasonably sweet fruits, which my GF does notcare for. The other fruits are small like strawberry guava. I like the larger fruits quite a bit, the smaller not at all. That one is getting pulled.

Neither tree has had any volunteer seedlings appear in the 8+ years they're in the ground despite many fruits falling there during every harvest season. I have not tried to propagate it by cuttings, grafting or air layering.

Nice.  Did they get different amounts of water or anything else that might have made the difference?

gnappi

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Re: Lemon Guava cultivars / breeding?
« Reply #10 on: August 25, 2019, 10:05:25 AM »
They are in ground right next to each other.
Regards,

   Gary

Bush2Beach

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Re: Lemon Guava cultivars / breeding?
« Reply #11 on: August 25, 2019, 12:45:42 PM »
I am super curious the flavor of these fast growing Psidium Robustum and Longipetiolium and grafting those on the strawberry guava . Could be good to topwork old bushes to better tasting Psidium