Guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa) now a native fruit of Bangladesh

A full grown Kazi peyara/pearah or guava

Round size mature guava or apple guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa)

Indigenous green guava (deshi peyara/pearah or goyaa)

 

Thin copper-colored trunk of a guava tree(peyara/pearah or goyaa )

 

Buds of a guava (payara/pearah or goyaa) flower

Guava (peyara/pearah or goyaa) flowers

Guava (peyara/pearah or goyaa) leaves

Yielding young guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa)

Ripe and green guavas(peyara/pearah or goyaa)

Green guavas (peyara/pearah or goyaa) and leaves

Cross section of a guava (peyara/pearah or goyaa) and seeds

Cross section of a pink guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa) and seeds

Mature and ripe guavas (peyara/pearah or goyaa)

Guava is known as peyara/pearah or goyaa in Bangladesh. In English this fruit is also known and called apple guava. This is not our indigenous fruit. In Bangladesh region guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa) was first introduced by the Portuguese during the seventeenth century. Originally guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa) is native to Mexico and Latin America that is tropical and sub tropical American region. Now a days guava is regarded as a indigenous fruit of Bangladesh that grows and eaten all over the country. Its scientific name is Psidium guajava. It belongs to Myrtaceae family and genus is Psidium.

Archeological sites in Peru show evidence of guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa) use as early as 800 BC, and its use has spread to Central America and Mexico by 200 BC. Guavas were introduced to other tropical and sub-tropical areas around the world by the Spanish and Portuguese. There are now over 140 varieties found around the world, but only a few have horticulture value.

Guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa) tree is a evergreen, shallow-rooted shrubs or small sized tree with spreading branches. Guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa) tree can reach upto 10m in height. Its easy to recognize a guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa) tree because of its smooth, thin copper-colored smooth bark that flakes off, showing the greenish layer on older branches and trunk. Guava(peyara/ pearah or goyaa) plant grows symmetrically dome-shaped with broad, spreading, low-branching canopy and branching close to the ground and often heavily suckering from the base of the trunk.

Leaves of a guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa)  tree are opposite, short-petioled , oval or oblong-elliptic, somewhat irregular in outline, 5-15 cm long and 3-5 cm wide. The dark-green, stiff but leathery leaves have pronounced veins and are slightly down on the underside. Crushed leaves are aromatic.

 Guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa) fruits may be round, ovoid or pear-shaped, usually 5-10 cm in diameter and have 4 or 5 protruding floral remnants(sepals) at the apex. The fruit has a thin peel, usually pale green or yellow when mature. Some varieties have pink or reddish fruits. Varieties differ widely in flavor and seediness. The flash is rather hard(like an apple) and usually white or yellowish or pinkish in color. The fruit contains many small hard seeds and has a strong, very characteristic sweet taste. Some varieties are seedless or nearly so. Actual seed counts have ranged from 112 to 535. When immature and until a very short time before ripening, the fruit is green, hard, gummy within and very astringent. Once they are ripe, eat them quickly because they are only at their peak for about two days.

Guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa) tree can grow in any soil. This tree is drought –tolerant but in dry regions lack of irrigation during the period of fruit development will cause the fruits to be deficient in size. They can tolerate temporary water logging. Guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa) tree grows rapidly and fruit in 2 to 4 years from seed. They live 30 to 40 years but productivity declines after the 15th year.

In Bangladesh guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa) grows in abundantly in Barisal, Pirojpur, Jhalokathi, Chittagong districts which are the main guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa) producing areas. In Bangladesh the annual production is about 45,000 m.tons in an area of about 10,000 ha. Some varieties of guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa) grow in Bangladesh and they are known by the name of the places where these are grown commercially. Thus Swarupkathi is from Barisal, Mukundapuri from Brahmanbaria and Kanchannagar from Chittagong. Other varieties of guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa) in Bangladesh are BAU peyarah-1, BAU peyarah-2(Ranga), BAU peyarah-3(Chowdhury), BAU peyarah-4(Aapel). Bongabondhu Agricultural University invented IPSA peyarah-1, IPSA peyarah-2. Besides these there have also some other varieties, such as – Thai peyarah/Kazi peyarah, Poly peyarah, Angur peyarah etc.

 Now a days one of the variety cultivated widely in Bangladesh is Kazi peyarah. This variety has been introduced by the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute in the year 1985. After planting the seed Kazi peyarah plant fruiting with in a year and fruits twice a year. It produces fruits weighing up to 500g or even more. All the other varieties have fruit weights ranging from 100g to 200g. Another one variety is known as Bari-2. This variety has been introduced in the year 1996. This variety also fruits twice a year. It produces fruits weighing 230g-250g and round in shape.

Guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa) fruit has 5 times the vitamin C of an orange, and is also rich in vitamin B1 and vitamin A. It is also a moderate source of B-complex vitamins such as pantothenic acid, niacin, vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin E and K, and minerals like magnesium, copper, and manganese. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Copper is required in the production of red blood cells.

Guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa) fruit has many medical benefits. The benefits of guava(peyara/pearah or goyaa) include controlling blood pressure, lowering cholesterol, battling diabetes, combating cancer and protecting prostrate. Guava’s(peyara/pearah or goyaa) Lypocene reduces tooth ache, swollen gums and oral ulcers, heals wounds when applied externally. Convulsions, epilepsy, bacterial infections and so forth.

S: en.wikipedia.org; crfg.org; bijlmakers.com; infokosh.bangladesh.gov.bd; agrobangla.com; banglapedia.org; foodreference.com; nutrition-and-you.com;