Pineapple guava has a lot of fans all over the world, including you and me. But most people face a common problem. It is how to pick good pineapple guava. So, this article will show you the best practices to experience delicious fruit.
Generally, we say that a fruit is good when it is ripe. So, if you want to pick good pineapple guava, firstly, you should ensure whether the fruit is ripe or not. You can identify it easily by squeezing the fruit.
However, when you press the pineapple guava fruit is firm, it is not good to pick. Also, when you pick the pineapple guava, do not damage it.
Secondly, before you pick, you can view the outside appearance of the fruit. It means when pineapple guava is ripe, it has a uniform green color.
Moreover, you can decide whether the pineapple guava is ripe or not by its flesh. When the fruit is ripe, the inside flesh has creamy white color. Also, it has translucent pulp.
Further, you can identify ripe pineapple guava by its smell. Uncut ripe pineapple guava has a distinctive pleasant smell.
Also, some fruit outside is squishy, and the inside is brown. These pineapple guavas reached the peak of ripeness. So, when picking pineapple guava, you should be aware of this too. Further, it would be best if you do not pick the fruits that have bruises or blemishes.
However, well ripe pineapple guava detaches easily from the stem. This ripeness level is best to harvest delicious fruit.
Pineapple guava fruit
Pineapple guava fruit is muted green color throughout the growth circle. Generally, it becomes mature in autumn, generally from September to January.
Also, pineapple guava fruit’s shape is ellipsoid, and it is similar to the size of a chicken egg. Further, the flesh of this fruit is juicy. Also, pineapple fruit has a distinctive, potent smell that is similar to the fine perfume.
Pineapple guava is a more beneficial fruit. For instance, the pulp of pineapple guava is used to produce some natural cosmetics products.
Taste of the pineapple guava
Pineapple guava fruit has a mild, sweet, and aromatic flavor with a juicy texture. Most people mention this flavor is similar to pineapple, apple, strawberry, and mint. But the idea of some fruit lovers is that pineapple’s taste is more similar to the banana than pineapple.
Pineapple guava tree
This tree is commonly known as feijoa, pineapple guava, and guavasteen. Also, its scientific name is Feijoa sellowiana. Although this fruit is called guava, it is not real guava.
Pineapple guava is native to eastern Paraguay, Brazil, northern Argentina, Uruguay, and Colombia. Because they love a mild, dry climate.
Usually, peoples tend to cultivate pineapple guava in their gardens for fruit and ornamental purposes. However, if you consider the size of this tree, it is an evergreen shrub about 1-7 meters or 3.3-23.0 ft in height.
Also, the leaves of this fruit tree are dark green and glossy. Moreover, this tree has beautiful white color flowers, and these are blooming in early summer.
Pineapple guava growing guide
Pineapple guava is an ideal fruit plant to grow in your home garden. Because it needs small space, you can be a great owner of this fruit plant by following the instructions below.
Place
It would be best if you chose a place where has protection from wind and high temperature. Also, this place should be well-drained with half to full-day sunlight.
Adoptive climate
Normally, pineapple guava can grow anywhere except the places where the temperature is below 15 Fahrenheit. However, they prefer to grow in sub-tropical regions with moderate summers and cool mild winters.
Soil
You should use sandy loam, well-drained, and organic matter-rich soil to plant the pineapple guava tree. On the other hand, you can also grow this tree in clay soil as long as they are not saturated in winter.
Further, it is recommended to add compost to the soil to gain better results. Also, it would be best if you measure the soil’s pH level, and it should be between 6-6.5.
Watering
You should water your pineapple guava plant properly until it establishes well. Typically when the tree reaches three years old, it can survive in dry summer without irrigation.
But if you want to experience the delicious fruit, you have to water the plant weekly during flowering through fruit formation. Also, when the plant is stress without their requirements, they tend to abort the fruits and diminish the harvest.
Fertilizing
Generally, pineapple guava is one of the heavy feeders. So, they need better compost mulch and balanced fertilizers to maintain the production and replenish nutrients.
It means you should add fertilizers to the pineapple guava tree regularly. Further, mulch helps to protect the shallow roots of the tree.
Pruning
It would be best if you properly pruned your pineapple guava. Because it allows entering the light and air into the canopy. It helps to ripen the fruits.
On the other hand, some gardeners grow pineapple guava for ornamental purposes. So, they tend to prune the tree according to many nice shapes.
However, you should not prune your tree too much in summer because dry weather can create sunburns on fruits.
Propagation
you can propagate pineapple guava in different ways.
These are:
- Seeds
- Layering
- Cutting
- Grafting
Pest and diseases
like other fruit plants, there are common enemies to pineapple guava trees. For instance, moths, black scale, and spotted wing fruit flies are some of them. Mainly, these pests attack the fruits and leaves of the tree.
Generally, it is not common to see garden disease in this species. But you can notice the Cercospora leaf spot disease and sooty mold or downy mildew disease on pineapple guava trees.
Harvesting tips of pineapple guava
When the pineapple guava fruit ripens, they fall to the ground. But hand picking is the best practice to prevent bruising. Further, you can follow the below method to harvest pineapple guava easily.
Step 1: First, let them to ripe naturally
Step 2: Then, put a cloth, bet, or tarp down
Step 3: Now shake the tree. Because it allows the sweetest ripe pineapple guava to fall
Step 4: Next, collect them carefully
But, if you cannot wait until they ripen, you can pick the practice hand picking. Matured pineapple guavas must touch softly. Then, after harvesting, you should let them ripen.
Storing The Pineapple Guava
If your pineapple guava is not ripe, allow them to ripen. But if you have ripe pineapple guava, you can store them in the refrigerator. But it is recommended to keep fruits in the fridge for up to one week.
However, if you have once cut pineapple guavas, they most likely tend to be brown like apples. Here you can avoid it by dipping cut pineapple guavas into the mixture of lemon juice and water.
In addition to these, you can freeze pineapple guavas too. You can do this very easily. First, take a plastic bag or container. Then peel your fruits and put them into a bag. After that, freeze them.
Also, if you like to prepare drinks from pineapple guavas, you can puree them and put them into ice cube trace.
