How and when to prune guava tree

Guava is a common tropical fruit grown in many tropical and subtropical regions. Psidium guajava is a small tree in the myrtle family, native to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. In the United States, they are found in Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, Florida and a few sheltered areas in California and Texas. In this article we will see everything about how and when to prune guava tree. Stay until the end of the article and you will not have any doubts when it comes to taking your scissors and trimming. 😉

1. Interesting fats about guava tree

Before entering the main topic of this post, prune the guava, I leave some interesting facts about this tree. I bet what you want, you do not know one or several of them.

• Thanks to its nutritional properties, it is said that guava was consumed by soldiers during World War II.

• The guava is one of the fruits that is available all year round in the Mexican market since it is cultivated by irrigation and seasonal mode.

• This fruit provides seven times more vitamin C than orange or lemon.

• Depending on its maturation, this fruit can be used both to treat diarrhea and constipation.

• The guava fruit contains from 100 to 500 miniature seeds, located in the center of the fruit. The seeds are edible.

• Unlike many types of fruit, cultivating guavas does not require much use of pesticides. They are among the least chemically-treated fruits in the world today.

• In the Philippines, ripe guavas are used to flavor a soup called “sinigang.”

• The guava can be sliced and consumed raw, or in the form of smoothies, gelatin, ice cream, syrups, jams and jams. Guava is also used as an ingredient in various alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

Until here some of the curiosities that I have considered more interesting about the guava. Now let’s do our thing, pruning. 😉

2. Tools needed to prune or trim an guava tree

There are several tools that you will need to perform your pruning or trimming of a guava tree. Each of them is appropriate for different cases depending on age, time of year, type of pruning, etc.

• Hand Pruning Shears: Stems up to half inch in diameter can be pruned with hand shears.

• Lopping Shears: It is suitable to use on stems between half inch and 2 inches in diameter.

• Pole Pruner: Pole pruners have a hooked blade above and a cutting blade beneath. The blades are on a 5- to 6-foot long pole and are operated by pulling on a long piece of cord.

• Hedge Shears: Manual and power shears are available for trimming hedges. Manual shears have long, flat blades with relatively short handles and are good for small jobs. Electric shears are a good choice for larger hedges.

• Saws: A number of pruning saws are available. These saws come with either curved or straight blades and of variable lengths and points. Curved blades that cut on the draw stroke are easy to use.

Keep in mind that you must disinfect all the tools before trimming your guava. This will help prevent disease transmission, you will have to do it before you start pruning and every time you change plants.

2.1 Needed care of pruning tools

If you want to extend the useful life of your pruning tools there are some basic care.

• Use the right tool for a job and avoid twisting or straining it.

• Clean and oil tools regularly by wiping an oily cloth on blades and other surfaces.

• Keep cutting edges sharp by regularly using an oilstone.

• Wooden handles should be varnished or regularly treated with linseed oil to keep them from cracking or splintering.

Carry out the previous care on a regular basis and you will be saving good money on tools. 🙂

3. Why to prune guava tree

All fruit trees need to be pruned for a control of the production and useful life of the plant, in the guavas is not the exception. If we want to list reasons why pruning should be carried out, we will have the following:

• Rebalance the tree among shoots, roots and fruit.

• Improve fruit quality, with more minerals available to the fruit.

• Keep fruit off the ground.

• Reduce tree size.

• Increase ease of harvesting.

• Develop trees with strong framework.

• Improve pest control.

• Improve profitability.

• Reduce costs.

• Restore tree vigor.

• Most fruit hangs low, making picking easier and more productive.

The above list can continue, but I think it is more than clear the importance of pruning in guava control and care.

3. How and when to prune guava tree

Since an guava is transplanted until the last days of its useful life, there are several types of pruning that must be carried out. Among them you can not miss:

3.1 Training pruning guava

This guava pruning is done a week after the transplant, a cut of the main branches is made, trying to be 25 centimeters long. With this cut the lateral buds are stimulated, which sprout and give rise to new branches (secondary branches). From these secondary branches are selected from two to three depending on the vigor of the plant, looking for them to be distributed equidistantly, then let them grow up to 30 cm and cut them leaving them of 25 cm. The latter also produce buds that are transformed into branches (tertiary branches) and again select two to three branches for each tertiary branch. This process is repeated three times (it lasts around six months), with which 8 to 12 branches are obtained.

Along with these prunings, the branches of the center should be eliminated to allow an open cup, the branches that cross from one side to the other, the low, stunted branches and those that leave the “back” of other branches. they come out vertically.

3.2 Production pruning

Almost all the branches that leave the mother branches, produce flowers so they can leave the production. In pruning guava production it is important to consider aspects such as: variety, climate, fertilization, irrigation, etc.

The majority of the branches when pruning or pruning produce flowers, indistinctly of the practice that is used. Pruning is done in the 2nd to 4th knots after the fruit. At 28 days after pruning the flower buds appear, the button takes between 28 and 30 days to open and from now on it takes 3 ½ months to harvest the fruit; depending on the temperature, this process can be advanced or delayed by 10 days.

To carry out production pruning, it is usually done in four ways:

1) As soon as the floral bud is noticed, the first to fourth knots are counted and a blip is made, this is used more in new plantations with good fertilization or to obtain smaller fruit for export.

2) Wait for the brown color of the branch to reach the 4th knot after the first flower and prune.

3) After harvesting, prune where desired.

4) When the branch has not produced, the pruning is done when the brown color has reached the desired size in the sixth node of the branch.

This is the easiest way to perform on adult plants.

3.3 Pruning of sanitation

This is a classic pruning in all fruit trees, having to cut all the dry and / or diseased branches, which must be done without exception on an annual basis.

The need to carry it out may come from the widespread attack of some plague. Understanding that trimming the branches is the only way to save the plant. It can also occur for the simple aesthetic reason of removing a dry branch, or by removing broken branches after a storm. In all those cases, what we will be doing is pruning the guava.

If you trim branches of an important thickness, do not forget to place a healing paste. This will protect the plant from the entrance of any pest, such as fungal diseases. Another key to avoid the entrance of this type of diseases is to make the inclined cuts. Since it does not allow water to remain in the cut.

3.4 Renovation pruning guava

At eight years the plant has reached up to 2 meters high; at this time a renewal pruning is recommended in the guava. The way of pruning consists in eliminating all the branches, leaving the 4 mother branches with a length of 40 cm, then it is recommended to apply some product covers cutting, thus helping the healing and preventing diseases.

The pruning season recommended by weather conditions (dry season: December to April, rainy season: May to November) is in the month of February or early March. This will make the first shoots that come with bad production or no fruit, leave in the rainy season since it is the time when the price is low.

Then in the months of August to September a second pruning should be carried out, following the pruning recommendations for production. Once outbreaks are left all without thinning, until the summer harvest passes the selection of children.

4. Thinning of the fruit

Prune guava is the task of cutting branches in a conscious way and with a specific purpose, and we consider it interesting to highlight in this article the task of fruit thinning, that although it is not properly pruning it is about the elimination of elements of the plant.

This task is only done for the production of fresh fruit, in the case of fruit for agroindustry it is not recommended. It is important to consider the market where the fruit is going to be sold, in the case of export the fruit is of a smaller size which is achieved by making pruning more continuous production.

It is recommended to leave one fruit per branch and have the peduncle down. The thinning is done several times, first when it is on the button it is left the ones that go down, if there are three buttons the central one is left. If there are no fruits with a downward position, two are left in the opposite position. At the time of bagging, only one fruit is left.

5. Pruning guava video

To close the post we leave a video of the Apple Ber Nursery channel, where you can graphically understand several things that we saw so far. I hope it helps you. 

Well up to here we have arrived with this article in which we talked about how and when to prune a guava tree. I hope you have no doubt when you should take your scissors and get to work. 

Source of information:

PODA EN EL CULTIVO DE GUAYABA – ING NIDIA BARRANTES DOBLES

GUIA TECNICA DEL CULTIVO DE LA GUAYABA– Ing. Mario Alfonso García