Seed index and relative content of pigments are the key to select soft seeded and coloured guava varieties

Mauryaa, Poonam and Thakre, Madhubala and Jagga, Shubham and Anusha, C and Nayan Deepak, G and Nagaraja, A and Verma, Mahendra Kumar and Varghese, Eldho and Goswami, Amit Kumar and Awasthi, Om Prakash and Gopala Krishnan, S and Amitha Mithra, S (2025) Seed index and relative content of pigments are the key to select soft seeded and coloured guava varieties. The Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology. pp. 1-12. ISSN The Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology

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Abstract

Guava (Psidium guajava L.), also known as ‘apple of tropics’, is a nutritious fruit of the Myrtaceae family. Two pink pulped guava parents (Punjab Pink and Hisar Surkha) and their 72 F1s were studied to understand the segregation of pigments, seed-based characters, and other traits. Crossing between two pink pulped guava parents, gave rise to 48 pink (various shades of pink) and 24 white (different shades of white) pulped genotypes. PP/HSU-19–18–19 had the highest lycopene content (10.328 mg/100 g) among the 72 F1s. The findings suggested that lycopene had significant positive correlation with the other two pigments, and antioxidants activity, indicating coloured guavas have more antioxidants. Titratable acidity showed a significant positive correlation with ascorbic acid. Seed hardness had a significant positive correlation with seed index. This study validates the polygenic control of pulp colour trait in guava and the heterozygous background of Punjab Pink and Hisar Surkha for the genes governing pulp colour. Seed index proved to be a reliable parameter to judge seed hardness. These findings enrich the knowledge about two important traits i.e. pulp colour and seed hardness in guava, which will be useful in breeding coloured and soft-seeded guava varieties.

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