Research article · 2026 · Full text
International Journal of Biology SciencesInfluence of foliar application of nutrients on total yield per annum and leaf nutrient status of Guava (Psidium guajava) cv. L-49
Volume 8(2) · Pages 100–105 · DOI: 10.33545/26649926.2026.v8.i2b.584 ↗
Research areasPlant Physiology and Cultivation StudiesPsidium guajava Extracts and ApplicationsLeaf Properties and Growth Measurement
Abstract
Author-writtenA field experiment was carried out in the Experimental Orchard of Department of Horticulture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during 2016-17, to study the effect of foliar sprays of ZnSO4 (0.50, 0.75 and 1.00%), FeSO4 (0.2, 0.4 and 0.6%), K2SO4 (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5%) and Urea (1.0, 1.5 and 2.0%) along with control (water spray) before flowering and after fruit set, during rainy and winter seasons, on total yield and leaf nutrient status of guava (Psidium guajava L.) cv. L-49. The findings of the experiment revealed that the foliar application of various nutrients significantly influenced the total yield and leaf nutrient status of the plants over control. Total yield per tree per annum was recorded to be maximum (62.07 kg/tree) under ZnSO4 @1.00 per cent, which was significantly higher than all other treatments except ZnSO4 @0.75 per cent (61.39 kg/tree), while the minimum (50.46 kg/tree) was recorded under control. Maximum N content (1.78%) was obtained with the spray of Urea @2.0 per cent that was closely followed by Urea @1.5 per cent (1.76%), while the minimum (1.57%) was obtained under K2SO4 @1.0 per cent. Maximum P (0.23%) and K content (1.79%) were obtained with K2SO4 @1.5 per cent, which was closely followed K2SO4 @1.0 per cent by (0.22% P and 1.77% K) whereas, minimum P content (0.15%) was recorded under Urea @1.5 and 2.0 per cent and minimum K content (1.63%) was recorded under Urea @1.0 per cent and FeSO4 @0.2 per cent. Maximum Zn content (48.02 ppm) was obtained with the spray of ZnSO4 @1.00 per cent, which was closely followed by ZnSO4 @0.75 per cent (46.87 ppm) and the minimum (31.12 ppm) was obtained under control. Maximum Fe content (179.1 ppm) was obtained with the spray of FeSO4 @0.6 per cent that was closely followed by FeSO4 @0.4 per cent (177.3 ppm), while the minimum was obtained under Urea @2.0 per cent (153.1 ppm) followed by Urea @1.5 per cent (154.9 ppm).
Summary
Source-checkedPlain-language reading of the full paper, prepared with AI and checked against the text. Each point links to the authors' own words.
Why it matters
- Guava is a significant tropical and sub-tropical fruit crop valued for its high nutritional content and ability to grow in adverse conditions. View evidence ↗
- Because guava is often grown in poor soils, it frequently suffers from nutrient deficiencies that reduce the fruit's quality and storage life. View evidence ↗
- Applying micronutrients directly to the leaves (foliar application) is a vital method for improving crop quality and is more effective for rapid plant recovery in high pH environments. View evidence ↗
The question
- The study aimed to evaluate how foliar nutrient applications affect the annual total yield and the nutrient status of the leaves in guava cultivar L-49 (also known as Sardar). View evidence ↗
What they did
- The experiment used a randomized block design on 4-year-old L-49 guava plants spaced 6x6m, testing various concentrations of ZnSO4, FeSO4, K2SO4, and Urea against a water-spray control. View evidence ↗
- Foliar sprays were applied before flowering and after fruit set during both the rainy and winter seasons. View evidence ↗
- Leaf nutrient analysis was performed using colorimetric/Nessler's methods for Nitrogen, the vanadomolybdo-phosphoric acid method for Phosphorus, flame photometry for Potassium, and atomic absorption spectrophotometry for Zinc and Iron. View evidence ↗
What they found
- The highest annual yield per tree was 62.07 kg under 1.00% ZnSO4, which was significantly higher than the control yield of 50.46 kg/tree. View evidence ↗
- The highest leaf nitrogen content (1.78%) was achieved with 2.0% Urea spray, while the lowest (1.57%) occurred with 1.0% K2SO4. View evidence ↗
- Leaf zinc content peaked at 48.02 ppm with 1.00% ZnSO4 spray, compared to a minimum of 31.12 ppm in the control group. View evidence ↗
- The highest iron content (179.1 ppm) was recorded with 0.6% FeSO4 spray, while the lowest (153.1 ppm) was found with 2.0% Urea. View evidence ↗
What it means
- The authors conclude that foliar application of nutrients significantly improves both the total yield and the leaf nutrient status of guava plants compared to no treatment. View evidence ↗
Visual summary
3 visualsIllustrations explain the paper; charts are replotted from the paper's own table values.
Experimental Setup Concept
AI-generated conceptual illustration (Guava plants (Psidium guajava cv. L-49)). It explains the idea and does not show study data.
View source evidence ↗
Total yield (kg/tree): ZnSO4 (0.50%) vs ZnSO4 (0.75%) vs ZnSO4 (1.00%) vs FeSO4 (0.2%) vs FeSO4 (0.4%)
Replotted from Table 1 (page 3) of the original paper. Every bar is the paper's own table value.
View source evidence ↗
Zn (ppm): ZnSO4 (0.50%) vs ZnSO4 (0.75%) vs ZnSO4 (1.00%) vs Control
Replotted from Table 1 (page 3) of the original paper. Every bar is the paper's own table value.
View source evidence ↗Figures & tables
From the original paper
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Table 1
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Figure 14Introduction
Fruit crops occupy a central role in the world of agriculture. Guava is one of the most important tropical/ sub-tropical fruit, because of its high nutritive value and possibilities of cultivation even under adverse conditions. This belongs to the family Myrtaceae with basic chromosome number n = 11. It was introduced by the Portuguese in India during 17th century. In India, guava covers total area of 268.2 thousand hectares, with an annual production of 3667.9 thousand MT. The average productivity of guava is 13.7MT/ha. Haryana has 11.2 thousand hectare area and 152.2 thousand metric tonnes production under guava cultivation with a productivity of 13.59 MT/ha (Anonymous, 2016) [2] . The major guava producing districts of Haryana are Hisar, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Jind, Jhajjar, Sonipat, Karnal, Yamuna Nagar, Mewat and Ambala (Saxena and Gandhi, 2015) [8] . As guava tree produce fruits round the year, the maximum growth of the plants needs an optimum availability of all macro and micronutrients. If the nutritional balance is disturbed due to insufficient or excess of essential elements during the active growth period, disorder of growth manifestations will occur and special symptoms will develop on sooner or later. Guava is generally cultivated in poor soil due to which it suffers from different nutrients deficiency, that resultsa in the loss of quality and storage life of this important fruit crop. The foliar application of micronutrients plays vital role in improving the quality and comparatively more effective for rapid recovery of plants under high pH conditions. The foliar feeding of fruit trees has gained much importance in recent years, as nutrients applied through soil are needed in higher quantities due to leaching losses and also due to unavailability to the plant because of complex soil reaction.
Regular foliar spray of micronutrients is beneficial to increase fruit yield. Based on this fact, several workers have tried to study the effect of foliar feeding of nutrients to meet their immediate requirement in the growth and development of fruit with success upto certain extent. The present investigation was therefore, undertaken during 2016-2017 to evaluate the effect of foliar application of nutrients on the total yield per annum and leaf nutrient status of guava cv. Sardar.
Material methods
The present investigation entitled, "Studies on influence of foliar application of nutrients on growth, yield and quality of guava (Psidium guajava L.) cv. L-49" was carried out in the Department of Horticulture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar during 2016-17. The experiment comprising of ZnSO4 (0.50, 0.75 and 1.00%), FeSO4 (0.2, 0.4 and 0.6%), K2SO4 (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5%) and Urea (1.0, 1.5 and 2.0%) along with control (water spray) were laid out in randomized block design on 4 year old guava plants cv. L-49 planted at 6 x 6 m apart. The observations on total yield and leaf nutrient content status of guava plants were taken as per standard procedures.
Leaf sample analysis:
For nutrient analysis oven dried plant material from each tagged plant was grinded separately with grinder. Nitrogen (Colorimetric or Nessler's reagent method, Lindner, 1944) [6] , phosphorus (Vanadomolybdo-phosphoric acid yellow colour method, Koeing and Johnson, 1942) [5] , potassium (Flame photometer), Zn and Fe (Using atomic absorption spectrophotometer) contents in sample were analyzed. The important findings of the investigation were recorded.
Selection of variety
The present study was conducted on cultivar 'Lucknow-49', also known as 'Sardar Guava'. It is a chance seedling selection from 'Allahabad Safeda' at Pune. L-49 is a semidwarf tree of 2.3 to 3.4 m height with heavy bearing habit, vigorous and heavy branching with long flat crown (Gaur et al., 2014) [4] .
Results and discussion
Total yield Data pertaining to total yield per tree per annum is depicted in table 1. A perusal of the data shows that the effect of foliar application of nutrients on total yield per tree per annum of guava cv. L-49 was found significant. Total yield per tree per annum was recorded to be maximum (62.07 kg/tree) under ZnSO4 @1.00 per cent, which was significantly higher than all other treatments except ZnSO4 @0.75 per cent (61.39 kg/tree), while the minimum (50.46 kg/tree) was recorded under control.
| Treatment | Total yield (kg/tree) | N (%) | P (%) | K (%) | Zn (ppm) | Fe (ppm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZnSO4 (0.50%) | 57.45 | 1.67 | 0.18 | 1.69 | 42.41 | 165.2 |
| ZnSO4 (0.75%) | 61.39 | 1.64 | 0.16 | 1.67 | 46.87 | 160.7 |
| ZnSO4 (1.00%) | 62.07 | 1.69 | 0.17 | 1.65 | 48.02 | 162.3 |
| FeSO4 (0.2%) | 55.64 | 1.66 | 0.18 | 1.63 | 34.27 | 172.8 |
| FeSO4 (0.4%) | 57.48 | 1.72 | 0.18 | 1.64 | 39.15 | 177.3 |
| FeSO4 (0.6%) | 57.32 | 1.70 | 0.17 | 1.66 | 38.79 | 179.1 |
| K2SO4 (0.5%) | 54.68 | 1.59 | 0.20 | 1.73 | 34.67 | 161.3 |
| K2SO4 (1.0%) | 58.89 | 1.57 | 0.22 | 1.77 | 34.12 | 157.2 |
| K2SO4 (1.5%) | 58.58 | 1.58 | 0.23 | 1.79 | 32.87 | 158.4 |
| Urea (1.0%) | 56.53 | 1.71 | 0.16 | 1.63 | 35.31 | 157.6 |
| Urea (1.5%) | 61.11 | 1.76 | 0.15 | 1.65 | 41.16 | 154.9 |
| Urea (2.0%) | 60.46 | 1.78 | 0.15 | 1.68 | 39.89 | 153.1 |
| Control | 50.46 | 1.61 | 0.18 | 1.69 | 31.12 | 166.4 |
| C.D. at 5% | 0.98 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 1.32 | 2.34 |
Table text extracted from the original PDF; superscript letters are shown inline. The original table image is below.
View original table image
Nutrient analysis
The data concerning the leaf sample analysis for N, P, K, Zn and Fe are shown in Table 1. A brief appraisal of the data clearly indicates that all the treatments were found significant in altering the leaf N, P, K, Zn and Fe content over control. Maximum N content (1.78%) was obtained with the spray of Urea @2.0 per cent that was closely followed by Urea @1.5 per cent (1.76%), while the minimum (1.57%) was obtained under K2SO4 @1.0 per cent. Maximum P (0.23%) and K content (1.79%) were obtained with K2SO4 @1.5 per cent, which was closely followed by K2SO4 @1.0 per cent (0.22% P and 1.77% K) whereas, minimum P content (0.15%) was recorded under Urea @1.5 and 2.0 per cent and minimum K content (1.63%) was recorded under Urea @1.0 per cent and FeSO4 @0.2 per cent. Maximum Zn content (48.02 ppm) was obtained with the spray of ZnSO4 @1.00 per cent, which was closely followed by ZnSO4 @0.75 per cent (46.87 ppm) and the minimum (31.12 ppm) was obtained under control. Maximum Fe content (179.1 ppm) was obtained with the spray of FeSO4 @0.6 per cent that was closely followed by FeSO4 @0.4 per cent (177.3 ppm), while the minimum was obtained under Urea @2.0 per cent (153.1 ppm) followed by Urea @1.5 per cent (154.9 ppm). This increase in leaf N, Zn and Fe content might be due to the fact that application of urea, zinc sulphate and ferrous sulphate improved the concentration of these in plant tissue. Reduced P and K with foliar sprays of urea may be due to luxuriant growth and yield leading to higher biomass production which counter balanced the content of these elements, i.e. dilution effect (Dalal et al., 2011) [3] . These results are further supported by the findings of Dalal et al., (2011) [3] who reported that maximum leaf N (2.64%) content was obtained with spray of urea @2.0 per cent and minimum (2.18%) with K2SO4 @1.0 per cent, the maximum P (0.272%) and K (1.16%) contents with K2SO4 @1.0 per cent and minimum (0.203 and 0.85%) with Urea @2.0 per cent spray, respectively, maximum zinc (180.26 ppm) with ZnSO4 @0.5 per cent and maximum iron (184.32 ppm) with ZnSO4 @0.5 per cent sprays, respectively in ber leaves. Similar results were earlier reported by Prasad et al., (2017) [7] in Kinnow mandarin and Ahmad Khan et al., (2012) [1] in Feutell's Early (Citrus reticulate Blanco.) tree.
Figures and tables from the paper
References
8 in the original paper- Ahmad Khan S, Waseem U, Aman UM, Rashid A, Basharat AS, Ishtiaq AR. Exogenous applications of boron and zinc influence leaf nutrient status, tree growth and fruit quality of Feutrell's Early (Citrus reticulata Blanco). Pak J Sci. 2012;49(2):113-119.
- Anonymous. www.hortharyana.com. 2016.
- Dalal RPS, Navjot, Thakur A, Brar JS. Effect of foliar application of nutrients on leaf mineral composition and yield of ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) under arid conditions. Ann Arid Zone. 2011;50(1):53-56.
- Gaur B, Hada TS, Beer K, Kanth N, Syamal MM. Studies on the effect of foliar application of micronutrients and GA3 on yield and reproductive parameters of winter season guava. Trends Biosci. 2014;7(21):3386-3389.
- Koenig R, Johnson C. Colorimetric determination of phosphorus in biological materials. Ind Eng Chem Anal Ed. 1942;14(2):155-156.
- Lindner RC. Rapid analytical method for some of the more common inorganic constituents of plant tissues. Plant Physiol. 1944;19(1):76-89.
- Prasad H, Tomar CS, Kumari M, Sajwan P, Solanki SPS. Effect of 2,4-D, urea, zinc sulphate and combinations on growth and nutrient status of the Kinnow mandarin. Int J Chem Stud. 2017;5(1):167-170.
- Saxena M, Gandhi CP. Indian Horticulture Database 2014. National Horticulture Board, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India; 2015.