KALRO Guava Production

Guava is in the family Mytaceae, with its origin in central to South America. In East Africa, guava grows well from sea level to an altitude of about 2,300 m. It is drought tolerant and grows well in marginal areas. It grows in all provinces in Kenya with Eastern province being the major producer while North Eastern has the least production. The guava plant is a small hardy tree growing up to 6-7 meters high. The stem is erect, brownish-grey in colour. The leaves are evergreen, simple, oblong shaped and measure 8-18 cm long. Leaf arrangement is opposite and has serrated margins. The fruit is a berry and may be round, ovoid or pear-shaped measuring 5-10 cm long. It has a thin skin ranging in colour from pale yellow, whitish-yellow, yellowish-cream to greenish-yellow. The fruit contains whitish brown seeds, the pulp may be whitish, cream, yellowish, pink and reddish in colour. The fruits are generally sweet but some may be slightly acidic, while some have a salty test. The fruits have sweet arom