The Colombian Agricultural Research Corporation, Agrosavia, has developed two varieties of guava, called Corpoica Carmín 0328 and Corpoica Rosa-C. These new varieties are more resistant to pests and diseases, have better pulp quality, a lower percentage of acidity, fewer seeds, and are rich in nutrients, mainly vitamin C.
Researchers evaluated materials from the Agrosavia Plant Germplasm Bank at the Palmira Research Center to develop these new varieties.
Advantages of the new varieties
The Corpoica Rosa-C variety yields an average of 22.9 tons per hectare and per production cycle. Each tree produces around 68.9 kg of fruit. It stands out for its high nutritional value, mainly represented in its vitamin C content. It has 80.9 mg of ascorbic acid per 100 g of pulp, i.e. 121.8% more than the Palmira ICA 1 variety and 74.2 % more than the Regional Roja variety.
In turn, the Corpoica Carmín 0328 variety yields an average of 28.6 tons of fruit per hectare per harvest. On average, it produces 1,000 fruits per tree, which weigh approximately 85.7 kg. It yields 17-2% more than the Palmira ICA 1 variety and 23.8% more than the Regional Roja variety.
In addition, it has a high content of total soluble solids, 13.1 degrees Brix and low acidity, with 0.49% citric acid. Its red pulp is highly sought after in the national market for industrial processes, where it's used to prepare sweets, juices, and jams, among other food products.
Great reception in Colombian agriculture
Both varieties were initially released for the Cauca River's Geographical Valley region. However, the plan is to expand their registry with the ICA so they can be grown in the Magdalena River Geographical Valley in 2021. In addition, Agrosavia, producers, and different entities have expressed their interest in expanding the registry to other main areas that produce guava in Colombia.
These varieties have had such good reception that Nutrium, a subsidiary of Postobón, is supporting the cultivation of several hectares to use them in the production of juices.
You can learn more about these varieties in the technical and virtual seminar of the "Regional Guava and its agroindustry" that will be held by Agrosavia on October 28 and 29, 2020. To register for the event please visit the 'events' section at www.agrosavia.co.
Source: elpais.com.co