Growth and development of guava (Psidium guajava L.) fruit in Santa Bárbara, Monagas State, Venezuela

The cultivation of the guava, in the last times has acquired a great importance in Venezuela and especially in the Monagas state, mainly for its ascorbic acid content and for the profitable of the cultivation. Its fruit is used as raw material in the agroindustry and homemade candy store, which represents an important investment for the agribusiness of the cultivation. For that reason, it was carried out the present study with the objective of evaluating the development of the fruit of the guava and its physical and chemical properties under the conditions of savannas in the Monagas state. The experiment was carried out in a guava plantation, using the RíoChiquito cultivate, at the Santa Barbara Experimental Station, of the InstitutoNacional de InvestigacionesAgrícolas. 60 plants were selected, taking the date of beginning of the flowering; later, twenty branches were marked later when the floral opening happened the same day. At intervals of seven days, after the floral opening, it was determined: dry and fresh weigh, polar and equatorial diameter of the fruits, acidity titratable, total soluble solids, pH and the days lapsed from the floral opening until the crop; beside, visual observations for the color. The results point out that the growth curve described for the fruit of the guava is a double sigmoid model, with three stages: one of quick growth, followed by a slow growth and the last of exponential increase, where the fruits reach its physiologic maturity. The content of total soluble solids, acidity titratable and pH increase starting from the last phase, which indicates that the fruit reaches its maturity