Check the color of the guava.

Ripe guavas are those that have gone from bright green to a softer yellowish-
green color. If you see a touch of pink on the fruit, it is in its prime. If you don't find any
that are yellow, you can always buy green guava and wait for them to ripen

Storing Your Guavas

If you can't find nicely ripened guavas at your local supermarket, buy the best-
looking ones you can find and let them sit out for a few days to finish ripening.
It helps if they're in a fruit bowl with quick-ripening fruit like apples or bananas,
or if you keep them in a paper bag. Once they're ripe, you can keep them in
the fridge to slow the ripening process to a standstill, keeping them in perfect
eating condition for a week or more.

Peeled and cut guava should be refrigerated in a plastic bag or airtight food
storage container, and used within the first few days. Alternatively, you can
blanch the pieces briefly in boiling water and then freeze them, or can them in
sugar syrup.

Testing for Ripeness

Checking a guava for ripeness involves most of your senses. For many of the
guavas found in American markets, color can be a useful starting point.
Guavas have a green skin with varying tints of yellow, and in many cultivars
the green fades and the yellow becomes more prominent as the fruit ripens. In
some, you'll see a faint but noticeable flush of pink. That's always a good
indicator for ripeness when you see it.

Some guavas stay green, or have a completely different-colored skin, so color

isn't a completely reliable test. In those cases, draw on your sense of touch
and give the fruit a gentle squeeze. Like a pear, a ripe guava will be firm but
have a small degree of "give" when you apply pressure. Another test, useful
for any guava, is to give it a sniff. Guavas are remarkably aromatic when
they're fully ripe, so fragrance is one of the best tests.

Ultimately, the truest test comes when you cut or bite into the guava, but if you
haven't tried one of the other methods beforehand you might be disappointed
in the result.

Maturity & Quality

Maturity Indices
Guava fruits are picked at the mature-green stage (color change from dark- to light-
green) in some countries where consumers eat them at that stage. In countries where
consumers prefer ripe guava, the fruits are picked at the firm-yellow to half-ripe
(softer) stage for long-distance transport or at the fully-ripe (yellow and soft) stage for
local markets.

Quality Indices

 Color is a good indicator of ripeness stage

 Size and shape may be important in some markets
 Freedom from defects, insects, and decay
 Firmness and extent of gritty texture due to the presence of stone cells
(sclereids)
 Flesh color depends on cultivar and can be white, yellow, pink, or red
 Amount of seeds in the flesh (the fewer the better)
 Aroma intensity
 Soluble solids and acidity
 Guava is one of the richest sources of vitamin C (200 to 400 mg per 100g fresh
weight) and some cultivars are also rich in vitamin A

Maturity & Quality Photos

Title: Quality (1)
Photo Credit: Adel Kader, UC Davis

Title: Quality (2)

Photo Credit: Adel Kader, UC Davis

Title: Quality (3)

Photo Credit: Adel Kader, UC Davis
Temperature & Controlled Atmosphere

Optimum Temperature

 8-10°C (46-50°F) for mature-green and partially-ripe guavas (storage potential

= 2-3 weeks)
 5-8°C (41-46°F) for fully-ripe guavas (storage potential = 1 week)

Optimum Relative Humidity

90-95%

Rates of Respiration

Temperatur
ml CO2/kg·hr
e

10°C (50°F) 4-30

20°C (68°F) 10-70

To calculate heat production multiply ml CO /kg·hr by 440 to get Btu/ton/ day or by 122 to
2

get kcal/metric ton/day.

Rates of Ethylene Production
Guava is a climacteric fruit. Rates of respiration and ethylene production depend upon
cultivar and maturity/ripeness stage. Ethylene production at 20°C (68°F) ranges from 1
to 20 µl/kg·hr.

Responses to Ethylene
Ethylene at 100ppm for 1-2 days can accelerate ripening of mature-green guavas to
full-yellow stage at 15-20°C (59-68°F) and 90-95% relative humidity. This treatment
results in more uniform ripening, which is more important for guavas destined for
processing. Immature-green guavas do not ripen properly and develop 'gummy'
texture.

Responses to Controlled Atmospheres (CA)

The limited research on guava indicates that 2-5% oxygen levels may delay ripening of
mature-green and partially-ripe guavas kept at 10°C (50°F). Tolerance to elevated
carbon dioxide levels has not been determined.
Disorders

Physiological and Physical Disorders

Chilling injury. Symptoms include failure of mature-green or partially-ripe guavas to
ripen, browning of the flesh and, in severe cases, the skin, and increased decay
incidence and severity upon transfer to higher temperatures. Fully-ripe guavas are less
sensitive to chilling injury than mature-green guavas and may be kept for up to a week
at 5°C (41°F) without exhibiting chilling injury symptoms.
External (skin) and Internal (flesh) browning. Guavas are sensitive to physical
damage during harvesting and handling all the way to the consumer. Symptoms include
skin abrasions and browning of bruised areas.
Sun scald. Guavas exposed to direct sun light may be scalded. In some countries,
paper bags are used to cover guava fruits and protect them from solar radiation and
insect infestation while on the tree.

Pathological Disorders
Most of the postharvest disease problems begin in the orchard as latent infection in
developing fruits. Diseases include anthracnose (caused by Colletrotrichum
gloeosporioides and associated species), aspergillus rot (caused by Aspergillus niger),
mucor rot (caused by Mucor hiemalis), phomopsis rot (caused by Phomopsis destructum),
and rhizopus rot (caused by Rhizopus stolonifer).
Disease control strategies include good orchard sanitation, effective preharvest
management to reduce infection, careful handling to reduce physical damage, prompt
cooling to 10°C (50°F) and subsequent maintenance of that temperature throughout
the handling system.

Insect Control
Guavas are a preferred host for fruit flies and must be treated for disinfestation to be
accepted in many countries. One of the insect control treatments is heat either as
 immersion in 46°C-water for 35 minutes or exposed to hot air at 48°C for 60 minutes.
Another potential insect control treatment is irradiation at 0.15-0.30 kGy.

Category

 Guava

Question
I am working on post harvest handling of guava. I am experiencing the problem of skin
discoloration in guava during transportation. Do you have information on this topic?
(P.M.)
Answer
Skin discoloration is often due to physical damage (abrasions) followed by water loss.
Internal flesh browning may result from impact bruising, heat damage while on the
tree, or chilling injury if exposed to temperatures below 10C during postharvest
handling. --Adel Kader
Category

 Guava

Question
I am working on post harvest handling of guava. I am experiencing the problem of skin
discoloration in guava during transportation. Do you have information on this topic?
(P.M.)
Answer
Skin discoloration is often due to physical damage (abrasions) followed by water loss.
Internal flesh browning may result from impact bruising, heat damage while on the
tree, or chilling injury if exposed to temperatures below 10C during postharvest
handling. --Adel Kader
Category

 Guava

Question
I am working on post harvest handling of guava. I am experiencing the problem of skin
discoloration in guava during transportation. Do you have information on this topic?
(P.M.)
Answer
Skin discoloration is often due to physical damage (abrasions) followed by water loss.
Internal flesh browning may result from impact bruising, heat damage while on the
tree, or chilling injury if exposed to temperatures below 10C during postharvest
handling. --Adel Kader

Under subtropical climatic conditions guava can produce two crops i.e. summer
and winter crops in a year. In certain
guava producing areas of the country, growers scarify the summer crop to get a
heavy winter crop. However, presently
very little is known in literature about the physico-chemical quality profile of
guava fruit produced in the winter and
summer seasons.The study was undertaken to investigate the comparative fruit
quality of guava during summer and winter
seasons. The study was carried out on two guava cultivars i.e. ‘Gola’ and
‘Surahi’. Data regarding physical parameters
(size, weight and firmness) and biochemical [Soluble Solids Contents (SSC),
Titratable Acidity (TA) and Ascorbic Acid
(AA)] fruit quality characteristics was collected. In summer ‘Gola’ showed
significant results in fruit firmness, titratable
acidity as compared to ‘Surahi’. Only few parameters i.efruit length and ascorbic
acid in ‘Surahi’ showed significant
results than ‘Gola’ while other parameters like fruit width, fruit weightand
SSCwere non-significant. As a whole, fruit
harvested during winter season exhibited better quality and appearance than
summer.

SEARCH

PAKISTAN: Guava production and marketing hindrances

BY: TFNET NEWS COMPILATION 

ON: OCTOBER 16, 2013 

IN: FRUITS NEWS, NEWS 

WITH: 0 COMMENTS
Guava tree is local fruit of South Americans and Caribbean countries and it was brought to
Asian countries by Portuguese in the 17th century. Guava is the member of family
Myrtaceae, this plant has higher adaptability as well as productivity.
This plant can produce high yield and good quality fruit with different weather seasons.
Guava is purely edible fruit because it’s a thought it is poor’s man apple because of its low
price. It is very nutritious and good in taste it has low price in the market it is available in the
whole year because it bears two fruits in a single year and it has very low marketing cost.
It appears attractive due to its proper size, nice shape, good taste and sweet fragrance.
Guava contains very high nutritive value, flavor and more interesting this plant has also
medicinal properties and it has the potential in the processing industry for producing quality
products. It has a very short life but in the recent years there has been increased interest in
this fruit in the domestic as well as international markets. But due to short shelf period is the
main factor for the development of the guava market.
Guava has attained as a fourth position in the fruit economy of the country and third major
fruit in the province of Punjab. It is currently grown on large scale in many districts including
Faisalabad, Jhang, Sargodha, Lahore and Sheikhupara, however it is also grown on a
smaller scale on the plains of Punjab that’s why it is the leading in production. In Sindh a
good quality guava is produced with a narrow shaped and with less seeds in the districts of
Hyderabad, Dadu, Larkana and Shikarpur. In Khyber Pakthunkhwa (K.P.K.) it is produced in
the districts of Maradn and Harza valley that produce the excellent quality of guava. So, this
fruit is mostly grown all over the Pakistan. It is highly profitable fruit and it can be easily
produced on wide range of temperature.
In Pakistan it is sown on about 61.6 thousands hectares of land with production of 508
thousand tons. But per hectares yield is very low with 8,246 kg. In Punjab province guava
was grown on total area of 49 thousand hectares with the production of 454 thousand tons
and the average per hectares yield was better than overall yield that was almost 9,098 kg
(GOP, 2008). Punjab is only province that is contributing 80 percent of total production while
rest of the 20 percent is contributed by the other three provinces. Punjab and Sindh both
are producing best quality guava. In Sindh guava was the third largest fruit produced after
the mango and banana with the production of 70000 ton annually. Pakistan also exports
guava that earns high revenue for our country and the total exports for the guava was
24,520 million rupees (GOP, 2013).
Marketing of guava is an important process. The producer has to bear so many costs before
selling his commodity to the other persons or players in the markets. During the stage of
marketing the guava products could be faced with different problems and most of the
problems are mostly bear by the producers which reduces his profit. The important
problems include storage, market finance, and the price fluctuations.
There is an issue of low productivity of guava in our country because of mismanagement,
fruit fly disease is common in both winter and summer as well as the post-harvest losses is
common issues. Guava yield could be increased by two methods first by using the
conventional breeding such as mutation, hybridization and selection or by using second
method vitro hybridization, genetic transformation, double haploid production and embryo
culture.
In order to fill the technological gap faced by the farmers and to increase the export of the
guava. There is a need to increase storage facilities in the growing area of guava. There
should be establishment of processing units in order to process guava and earn more
revenue. High transportation charges and margins of the middleman should be reduced.
There should be proper pricing mechanism in the markets.
Guava is the fourth largest fruit produced in the country. The main hurdles in the marketing
of guava fruit was improper facilities of transportation, high charges of transportation and
variation in prices faced by both guava growers as well as consumers. The government
agencies should ensure that there should be proper pricing mechanism in the fruit market.
Authors are Student of MS (Agribusiness) at University of Agriculture Faisalabad.

Guava (Psidium guajava L. Famly Myrtaceae ) has attained commercial

importance in tropics and subtropics because of its wide adaptability to varied
soil and climatic conditions and as profile bearer. Guava is believed to be
originated in tropical America (Mexico to Peru). At present, it is mainly produced
in South Asian countries, the Hawaiian Island, Cuba, Brazil, Pakistan and India.
In Pakistan, it is grown in all the provinces over an area of 58.5 thousand
hectares with production of 468.3 thousand tones Table 1. The major guava
growing areas include Shariqpur, Kasur, Lahore, Sheikhupora, Sangla Hills,
Gujranwala in the Punjab; Kohat, Haripur and Bannu in the North West Frontier
Province and Larkana and Hyderabad in Sindh.
Presently guavas are grown almost entirely for fresh consumption. However,
international market for fresh guavas is small. Nevertheless, more trade is
carried on processed guava products like Juices and nectars, Jam and Jellies,
fruit paste, canned whole and halves in syrup. Some traders believe that there is
a good international market potential for fresh guavas and that demand will grow
as more consumers become acquainted with this fruit.
Introduction
Guava (Psidium guajava Linn.) is an arborescent shrub or a small tree and is one
of the popular fruits of the Punjab, Pakistan. It belongs to the family Myrtaceae
and is one of the most gregarious of fruit trees. The place of origin of the guava
is believed to be an area extending from the Southern part of Mexico upto the
Central part of America. It has been disseminated by man, birds and other
animals to all warm areas of tropical America and the West Indies. The guava
fruit is a berry with a large seedy core. The fruit may be smooth or ridgy and
waxy. Guava is a shallow rooted shrub with spreading branches. The height is
generally 4-5 meters but older trees may reach a height of 9 meters. In the
indigenous areas of tropical America including Peru, Mexico and Cuba, it grows
wild as bushes.
In Pakistan guava was not cultivated as extensively as it is being cultivated
now-a-days and after Independence, large areas have been brought under this
fruit plant. Presently guava is being grown all over the sub-tropical and tropical
world due to its high dietary value and good flavor. Guava fruit contains high
amounts of Vitamins A, B1 (Thiamin), B2 (Riboflavin) and C. It is a rich source of
vitamin C (Ascorbic acid). The vitamin C contents of guava fruit are four times
higher than those of citrus. The leaves of guava have been used for curing
diarrhoea and dysentery. Guava is commercially picked when it starts turning
from green to yellow so that it ripe one day later in the transit before marketing.
Guava can be grown on a wide variety of soils from heavy clay to light sandy soil
and with a range of pH 4.5 (acidic) to 8.5 (alkaline). It is tolerant to wet and
saline conditions on good soil and with proper care the trees are highly
productive. Guava produces high yield of good quality fruit in climates where
there is a distinct winter season. Several edible species of the genus Psidium
like Psidium cattleianum (strawberry guava), P. guineense Sw (Brazilian guava),
P. araca Raddi, P. friedrichsthaliannum (Ben.) Nied. (Costa Rican guava) and P.
britoa acida Ben. (Para guava) are grown in various parts of the world (Ahmad,
1961).
In Pakistan it is grown on an area of 61.6 thousand hectares with a total annual
production of 549.5 thousand ton and per hectare yield is 8920kg. In the Punjab
Province, guava is grown on 49.0 thousand hectares with a total production of
454.0 thousand tons and yield per hectare is 9098kg (Anonymous, 2005). Thus, it
has attained the status of the fourth most important fruit of the country and the
third most important fruit of the Punjab. It is grown on a large scale in the
districts of Jhang, Faisalabad, Sheikhupura, Lahore and Sargodha and on a
smaller scale throughout the plains of the Punjab. In Sindh, an excellent flask-
shaped guava with a smaller seed core is grown mostly in the districts of
Larkana, Dadu, Shikarpur and Hyderabad. In NWFP, the Mardan district and
Hazara Valley are famous for production of good quality guava.
Guava is a very productive and highly profitable fruit crop. It is liked by fruit
growers due to its wide adaptability and higher return per unit area (Khan, 1985).
But its successful cultivation is hampered by a number of biotic and a-biotic
factors. Among the biotic factors, diseases take a heavy toll. Some important
guava diseases include guava decline, wilt, anthracnose, Botryodiplodia rot, fruit
rot, Phoma rot, Rhizopus rot, collar rot, Pestalotia leaf spot, Cercospora leaf
spot, stem canker and seedling blight. Zinc deficiency is a significant a-biotic
problem. Among these diseases guava decline is a complex disease syndrome in
the Punjab.
Production Technology
Guava trees are planted at a distance of 5-6 meters. Trees grow rapidly and fruit
in 2-4 years. They live 30-40 years but productivity declines after the 15th year.
Orchard may be rejuvenated by drastic pruning. In guava, fruits are borne on
current season’s growth. Manuring and fertilization encourages vegetative
growth and fruiting. A balanced supply of NPK gives increased yield with quality
fruit. NPK at the ratio of 2:1:1 in two equally split doses once in January and
other in August is recommended according to plant age and soil conditions.
Guava some time suffers from deficiency of zinc and iron. Spraying the trees
with 7.0 gm per liter of ZnSo4 and 46.5 gm of FeSo 4 improves yield and quality.
Climate

GUAVA – MOST POPULAR FRUIT OF PAKISTAN

According to Investment Department, Government of Sindh, Sindh alone produces

70,000 tons of guava every year. Larkana a major producer of guava in Sindh produces
eight varieties, namely Benazir, local Sindhi, Thadharami, Riyali, Shamlo, Ramzani, Golo
and Hyderabadi.

These varieties of guava have a great demand across the country. The cultivation for
Guava in Sindh is done on 24,000 acres of land. The major countries who guava from
Pakistan are UAE, the UK, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. But Canada is one of the single
largest importers of this fruit. The guava production earns a revenue of about PKR 1
billion annually, as unfortunately a large portion of the guava produced simply goes to
waste because of improper handling and shorter shelf life

Report

DISTRICT-WISE AREA AND PRODUCTION OF GUAVA

        
Area in Hectares Production in Tonnes
District
2010-11 2011-12 2010-11 2011-12
PAKISTAN 63992 66662 546612 495231

PUNJAB 
Area in Hectares Production in Tonnes
District
2010-11 2011-12 2010-11 2011-12
Attock 33 44 297 312
Rawalpindi 25 28 187 176
Islamabad 6 10 45 60
Jhelum 33 54 216 362
Chakwal 25 34 173 246
Sargodha 2509 3703 16027 20967
Khushab 688 667 5076 5244
Mianwali 328 290 1511 1486
Bhakkar 1386 1390 8115 8206
Faisalabad 4207 4160 51314 39953
Toba Tek Singh 2776 2608 33730 25506
Jhang 877 925 10067 7376
Chiniot 485 538 5938 5241
Gujrat 370 446 1296 2772
M.B. Din 559 606 3213 3975
Sialkot 1080 1052 5975 7133
Narowal 713 728 3908 4770
Gujranwala 1831 2024 10561 14930
Hafizabad 607 566 4439 4232
Sheikhupura 4644 4947 39701 34455
Nankana Sahib 3662 4411 25933 24003
Lahore 1192 1182 10358 8663
Kasur 3116 4208 22525 24261
Okara 3183 3448 28463 22260
Sahiwal 4776 4086 43760 25634
Pakpattan 450 494 4199 3278
Multan 638 966 5556 7481
Lodhran 60 60 518 454
Khanewal 2840 2840 21944 22010
Vehari 3206 3214 31335 28302
M. Garh 48 48 365 364
Layyah 216 217 1841 1828
D.G. Khan 24 23 193 187
Rajanpur 16 16 120 122
Bahawalpur 283 243 2485 1972
Rahimyar Khan 324 324 2688 2717
Bahawalnagar 2104 2266 16019 16617
Total 49320 52866 420091 377555

SINDH
     
Area in Hectares Production in Tonnes
District
2010-11 2011-12 2010-11 2011-12
Khairpur 227 218 1840 1724
Ghotki 1 2 8 16
Sukkur 1 2 7 15
N. Feroze 1611 1582 13206 12822
Shaheed Benazir
538 391 4148 2628
Abad
Jaccobabad - - - -
Kashmore - - - -
Shikarpur - 13 - 96
Larkana 4705 5138 36182 40121
Kamber Shahdad Kot815 769 5937 5701
Sanghar 57 13 394 53
Tharparkar - - - -
Mirpurkhas 556 334 4232 1189
Umerkot 111 29 823 109
Dadu 22 18 154 130
Jamshoro 53 55 367 386
Hyderabad 570 519 4468 3950
Matiari 274 243 1869 1561
Tando Allahyar 136 141 941 808
T.M.Khan 43 20 268 97
Badin 18 4 103 17
Thatta 8 8 62 61
Karachi 59 69 373 464
Total 9805 9568 75382 71948
 KPK 
Area in Hectares Production in Tonnes
District 2010-
2011-12 2010-11 2011-12
11
Peshawar 33 38 335 408
Charsadda 55 55 579 579
Nowshera 78 78 7288 7288
Mardan 70 67 519 502
Swabi 89 92 452 466
Kohat 2062 1390 17321 11712
Hangu 14 17 213 225
Karak 0 0 0 0
Mansehra 9 10 45 50
Battagram 10 10 50 51
Abbottabad 0 0 0 0
Haripur 302 295 2284 2246
Kohistan 0 0 0 0
Malakand 286 280 1894 1865
Swat 0 0 0 0
Bunir 5 4 25 21
Shangla 2 2 16 15
Dir Lower 0 0 0 0
Dir Upper 0 0 0 0
Chitral 0 0 0 0
D.I.Khan 271 276 5492 5589
Tank 25 26 450 458
Bannu 721 720 9817 9955
Lakki Marwat 17 18 147 15
Mohmand Agency 50 55 325 354
Khyber 23 20 157 136
Kurram 0 0 0 0
Orakzai 0 0 0 0
Bajour 8 8 56 62
N.W 45 50 303 337
S.W 0 0 0 0
F.R. Peshawar 8 8 49 49
F.R. Kohat 9 9 83 83
F.R. Bannu 35 38 296 317
F.R. D.I. Khan 138 140 152 154
Total 4365 3706 48348 42937

Balochistan 
Area in Hectares Production in Tonnes
District
2010-11 2011-12 2010-11 2011-12
Quetta - 0 - 0
Pishin - 0 - 0
Killa Abdullah - 0 - 0
Chagai - 0 - 0
Loralai - 0 - 0
Musa Khail - 0 - 0
Barkhan - 0 - 0
Zhob - 0 - 0
Killa Saifullah - 0 - 0
Sibi 33 33 154 154
Ziarat - 0 - 0
Kohlu - 0 - 0
Dera Bughti - 0 - 0
Nasirabad - 20 - 0
Jaffarabad 53 54 223 223
Bolan 17 17 284 284
Jhal magsi 7 7 36 36
Kalat - 0 - 0
Mastung - 0 - 0
Khuzdar 4 4 14 14
Awaran - 0 - 0
Kharan - 0 - 0
Lasbela 219 219 1501 1501
Turbat 90 90 150 150
Panjgoor 1 0 0 0
Gwadar 78 78 429 429
Total 502 522 2791 2791
 Guava (Psidium
guajava L.) is an important horticultural fruit, belong to family Myrtacea, which contain about more than 80
genera and 300 species are dispersed throughout the world among different environments, mostly
Australia, America and Asia (Nakasone and Paul, 1988). The family of guava is further sub divided into
two sub families, one is Leptospermoidea (in which fruit is of capsular shape) and other is Myrttoideae (in
which fruit is barriers or drupe) (Cronquist 1981, Wagner et al. 1990).
Guava can be grown on various type of soils with different soil textures, drainage property. There are
many shapes of guava fruits like ovoid shape, round shape and pear shape. Average fruit weight is 100-
400g and diameter is4-10cm (Mitra, 1997). Guava is basically classified as a berry fruit. Fruit of guava is
consists of fleshy portion (Mesocarp) which is of different thickness, soft endocarp which contains many
small size, yellowish-creamy seeds (Malo and Campbell, 1994; Marcelin et al., 1993).

Pulp of guava contains two types of cell-wall tissues; stone cells and parenchyma cells. Stone cells are
high lignified woody type material which give a sandy or gritty sense when they are consumed, this
characteristic of guava fruit make it resistant to enzymatic degradation. Mesocarp tissues account 74% of
guava fruit, while parenchyma cells are present in endocarp dye to which they are soft in texture (Marcelin
et al., 1993).

Color of upper skin of guava fruit is light green to yellow. Pulp color varies from white, pink, yellow or light
red depending upon variety. Immature fruits are hard textured, astringent and acidic nature. Fruits are
astringent due to high phenol content and low sugar content. When the fruit is ripe, its skin become soft,
sweet, non-acidic (Malo and Campbell, 2004; Mitra, 1997). There are many cultivars of guava but they
are broadly classified as white and pink guava. In many countries, seedless varieties are also available,
which have potential to become popular (Yadava, 1996).

Guava is a good source of many important antioxidants and phytochemicals which includes ascorbic acid,
a good amount of carotenoids, antioxidant dietary fiber content, and polyphenolics. It is considered that
guava has second highest amount of ascorbic acid, which ranges from 60-1000 mg/100g, after acerola
cherries (Mitra, 1997). Carotenoids have many beneficial effects on human health relating to their
antioxidant properties. These are pigments which are red, yellow and orange in color (Wilberg and
Reodriguez-Amaya, 1995). Pink color in guava flesh is due to lycopene, a major guava carotenoid
(Mercadante et al., 1999). Guavas are considered as frost-free. It is because they can tolerate a wide
range of climates and soil conditions (Menzel, 1995). Mostly guava is propagated through seeds. Honey
bee is considered as a major source for pollination in guava trees (Yeshitela and Woldetsadik, 2003). The
range of cross pollination is usually considered to be 25.7 to 41.3%. For attaining high yield and good
quality fruit production, the choice of superior seedlings is considered to be essential and vegetative
propagation maintained the properties of seedlings (Morton, 1987).

Guava fruits have short shelf life ranging from 3-8 days. Short shelf life is due to high ripening rate. Shelf
life depends upon climatic conditions, harvest time and variety (Reyes and Paul, 1995; Basseto et al.,
2005). Rate of ethylene production and respiration increases from the first day of harvest. Guava reaches
its peak between day 4 and 5 (mature green harvested fruits) and then decreases (Akamine and Goo,
1979; Bashir and Abu-Goukh, 2002).

When guava fruits become ripe, total sugar contents and total soluble contents increases both in pulp and
peel. During ripening, sugar contents changes in guava as sucrose and starch are breakdown into
glucose (Bashir and AbuGoukh, 2002). In tropical climates, moisture loss in guava fruits which results in
up to 35% weight loss (Mitra, 1997). At mature green stage, guava fruits have high amount of ascorbic
acid and decreases as the fruits become ripen both in pink and white guava fruits (reviewed by Bashir
and Abu-Goukh, 2002).

During ripening, lycopene production increases in pink guava. When lycopene accumulate the rate of
respiration decreases (Thimann, 1980). During ripening, fiber contents also decreases12-2g/100g, which
is hypothesized that it is closely related to certain enzymes activity (El-Zoghbi, 1994).

Guava is at third position in Pakistan in terms of fruit production after citrus and mango. The area of
production in Pakistan of guava is 56,800ha, mango is cultivated on area of 90,900 ha, and citrus is
cultivated on area of 1, 94,700 ha. The guava is hardiest and that’s why it is cultivated on large area.
Guava can tolerate a pH ranges from 4.5 to 8.5 (Singh, 1990). The yield of guava is low, 8.1 tones/ha
(Anka, 2003).

In Punjab, guava is grown in all districts because climatic conditions and soil is suitable for its cultivation.
Pear shaped guava is produced in Larkana district, Sindh. In NWFP, the production of guava is 18570
tones and cultivated on an area of 1557 ha (Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan 2004 -2005).

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are the main reasons of losses after harvesting to consumption of guava

It might be due to increase in ethylene, respiration and loss of moisture from the surface of
fruits cause significant loss in fruit weight of guava. ... Maturity cause increase in sugar and
decrease in acidity the taste of fruits better as compare to time of harvesting (Bhattacharya,
2004)
how ethylene produced in guava fruit

Ethylene production at 20°C (68°F) ranges from 1 to 20 µl /kg•hr. Ethylene at 100 ppm for 1-2
days can accelerate ripening of mature-green guavas to full-yellow stage at 15-20°C (59-68°F)
and 90-95% relative humidity. ... Immature-green guavas do not ripen properly and develop
'gummy' texture
explain ripening process of guava ruit

Enzymatic breakdown and hydrolysis of storage polysaccharides occurs

during ripening. ... In some fruits such as guava, there is a steady decrease in vitamin
C as the fruit ripens. This is mainly as a result of the general decrease in acid content
that occurs when a fruit ripens.
Reasons of Post harvest losses of fruits and vegetables grown in different regions of Pakistan

Post-harvest produce losses are poor pre-harvest measures-adoption of poor production

techniques (varieties with low shelf life, imbalance use of nutrients, insect pest and disease
infestation and a biotic stresses; low tech harvesting procedures-non-application of pre-
harvest recommended treatments/practices

Problems of post-harvest of fruit and vegetables in Pakistan

Pakistan have a very fertile and variety of soil. It has variation in its soil and climatic conditions,
which is very favourable for the production of fruits, vegetables, flowers and other crops. Mostly
high valued fruits, vegetables and crops are produced in our country. Pakistan, ranging from
tropical to temperate, allows growing 40 different kinds of vegetables and 21 types of fruits.
Major vegetables grown include potato, onion, chilli, melons, cucumber, tomato, turnip, okra and
pea, whereas, citrus, dates, mango, guavas, apple, banana, apricot, grapes, almonds, peach, plum
and pomegranate are the main fruit crops.

At present area under fruits and vegetables is 0.995 million ha (4.3 per cent of the total cropped
area) with the total production of 10.992 million tons. Area and production both increased in the
past but at a very low pace. The major factor limiting increase in area and production remained
high investment and low return to the grower. Post-harvest losses in fruits and vegetables range
from 25 to 40 per cent or even greater. Consumers prices rise in addition to hidden quality losses.
These losses bring low return to growers, processors and traders and country suffers in terms of
foreign exchange earnings. Primary factors of post-harvest losses in citrus are mechanical,
physiological, pathological or environmental factors are directly responsible. Mechanical loss is
caused by careless handling during harvesting, packing, transportation, storage etc. Some insects
and birds are also responsible for the mechanical injury.

A significant portion of losses during the post-harvest period is attributed to the diseases caused
by fungi and bacteria. Besides attacking fresh fruits and vegetables, these organisms also cause
damage to canned and processed products. Environmental factors, temperature, humidity,
composition and proportion of gases in controlled atmospheric storage also play an important
role. High temperature and relative humidity favours the growth of micro-organisms which cause
extensive damage to the produce. In fruits and vegetables, the quality of produce starts
deteriorating right after their harvest. Post-harvest produce losses are poor pre-harvest measures-
adoption of poor production techniques (varieties with low shelf life, imbalance use of nutrients,
insect pest and disease infestation and a biotic stresses; low tech harvesting procedures-non-
application of pre-harvest recommended treatments/practices, harvesting at improper stage and
improper and improper care at harvest; and post-harvest problems-non-removal of field heat,
dumping produce, moisture condensation causing pathogen infestation, packaging in bulk
without sorting and grading of produce, improper transportation and storage, and distant and
time consuming market distribution.

In order to preserve the produce quality different post-harvest techniques are recommended for
variety of produce. These techniques include; hyper cooling, refrigeration and freezing, modified
atmosphere packaging, modified packaging storage, control atmosphere storage, skin coating,
hypo-baric or low pressure storage, irradiation, dehydration, canning, high pressure processing
and pulsed electric fields and pulsed light applications. Transportation and distribution of the
fruits and vegetables are the most important areas of post-harvest losses. In Pakistan, the
transportation of perishable commodities is in the most precarious stage. For local market, the
produce is brought either by bullock cart or tractor trollies and injuries done to the product.

Quick transport done in order to maintain the quality with minimum damage during
transportation is very important for successful marketing of the produce. It is very important that
horticultural produce reaches the market as soon as it is possible and at a time when the market
needs it the most. Storage also play important role its main objective is to extend the storage life
of fruits and vegetables and increase their period of availability.

In order to promote horticultural industry, standardization of pre-harvest and post-harvest

management technologies minimizing post-harvest losses and to enhance foreign exchange
earning to the maximum extent is therefore essentially required for necessary adoption. Efforts
are being made both at federal and provincial level to minimize these losses to safe guard the
interest of growers, processors, traders, retailers and consumers.

The writers are associated with the Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agricultural
Faisalabad and Post-harvest Research Centre, Ayub Agricultural Research Institute Faisalabad

Post-harvest losses in fruits and vegetables in Pakistan

Munawar Abbas1, Wazda Maqsood2, Moeen Ijaz1, Muhammad Hashim1 and Asim Yaseen1
1
 Department of Soil and Environmental Science, University of Agriculture Faislabad.
2
 Department of Soil Science, Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan
 
Post harvest losses expression in the world is “Degradation in the quality and quantity of the crop
products from harvesting to the consumer use”.  Inappropriate post-harvest handling can cause the
losses in quality and quantity in agricultural crops. It is also responsible for the increase of price of
agricultural products in Pakistan. Agriculture experts believed that, these losses responsible for the less
return back to the farmers, effect to processors and cause loss for traders and country income also effect
in foreign exchange. That’s why, these losses are in billions, this is danger alarm for the world as
increasing population fastly and at the same rate resources are not producing for the hunger and speedily
increasing population reducing the post harvest losses are the main goal for the agricultural and the food
scientist. The post harvest in cereal crops, fresh vegetables and fruits in the resulting of disorder and
infectious disease, which really different in the production area, commodities and seasons. Both quality
and quantity are the main cause of the loss in agricultural benefits, these are in the response of stress
related to excessive heat or cold, inappropriate mixture of environmental gasses and most important in
adequate storage, transportation and most important is the poor nutrient management.

Extra losses also occur due to the mechanical damage like cutting, excessive pooling and trimming.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are mostly soft to mechanical injury. Poor handling, improper packing and
careless transport can increase the losses. All the above factors are not caused by any disease microbes
or organisms, so by adopting new technology the losses can be reduced, because these all losses are
due to improper management in post harvesting. Some time these factors can weak the natural defense
against the pathogens. The attack on vegetables and fruit from insects, bacteria, fungi and other
microorganisms are the major factor in post harvest losses in the fruits and vegetables. Microorganisms
attack fresh produce and spread rapidly in the fruits and vegetables due to the lack of natural defense in
plants. Excess nutrients in plant and more moisture support the growth of microorganisms

Pakistan is the developing country, where 35-40 percent post-harvest losses are in fruits and vegetables.
In these losses 15-20 percent are at the time of management  harvested crop, 5-8 percent at harvesting
and 10-12 percent loss in vegetable and fruits when it transport. Agro-climatic conditions in Pakistan vary
from tropical region to temperate regions, where 40 different types of vegetables, 20 types of fruits are
produced in Pakistan. In the developing countries the losses are more due to unawareness about the new
technology and peoples adopt the old processes, but in the developed countries these losses are less as
compared to developing countries. In developing countries the losses are 10-30 percent, this is a big loss
for the farmers and country. The income of the farmers is very low or less profit due to the quality and
quantity. In the developed countries the losses are just 1 percent.

Pakistan falls in the list of developing countries. In Pakistan the total fruits and vegetables are produced
nearly 13.674 million tons, it is expected that 30 – 40 percent goes to waste. More than 50 percent in
mulberry, apricots, cherry, while in almond and walnuts is 6 percent. In horticultural crops the 40 percent
low price as compared to the world average price due to the low standard of post harvesting
management. In India these losses are similar as in Pakistan because both are developing countries and
lack of new technologies. Post-harvest losses in wheat are 10 percent and in the rice losses are 15
percent in Pakistan.

Insects and mites are also partially responsible in post harvest loss in food grain, 40-70 percent losses
from total loss are due to these factors.

enlist the reasons of post harvest losses of fruits and vegetables grown in different regions of pakistan?
Pakistan is the developing country, where 35-40 percent post-harvest losses are in fruits and
vegetables. In these losses 15-20 percent are at the time of management harvested crop, 5-8
percent at harvesting and 10-12 percent loss in vegetable and fruits when it transport