Lalit
A CISH pink-fleshed variety, attractive and good for both table and processing.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Guava
- Type
- Planting material
- Season
- All seasons
- Starts bearing
- Winter crop
- Expected yield
- High
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- Moderate
- Release
- Released around 1999–2000 by ICAR-CISH (Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture), Lucknow.
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Lalit is a pink-fleshed guava released around 1999–2000 by ICAR-CISH (Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture), Lucknow. The skin is saffron-yellow with a red blush, and the flesh is firm. It is used both fresh and for processing. Sources disagree on its parentage. One says Allahabad Safeda crossed with a Chinese guava. Another says a seedling selected from a half-sib apple guava population. Fruit weight is usually 185–200 g with 12–14% TSS, though one academic evaluation recorded 171.71 g and 9.7–10° Brix.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Lalit if you want a pink-fleshed guava that works both as a fresh fruit and for processing, from a public institute (ICAR-CISH, Lucknow). The skin is saffron-yellow with a red blush, the flesh is firm, and TSS runs 12–14% in most reports, above the 10–12% of Allahabad Safeda. The catch is that no source gives Lalit's own wilt response, and its parentage is disputed. Choose Allahabad Safeda if your buyers want white-fleshed fruit and you farm clean land. Choose Lucknow-49 if you want a better-documented yield and wilt record.
Sowing & cultivation
Advantages & considerations
Things to consider
- Sources disagree on Lalit's parentage, and no single official source settles it. Do not quote one version as fact when you sell plants or fruit.
- Fruit weight and sugar differ by source: 185–200 g and 12–14% TSS in most extension material, 171.71 g and 9.7–10° Brix in one academic study. Orchard age and growing conditions probably explain the gap. Plan on the lower figures until your own trees fruit.
- Yield depends strongly on tree age: 16.45 kg per tree in one young-orchard study, and about 100 kg per plant by year six under good practice in trade material. Budget the early years on the low figure.
- No source gives Lalit's own wilt response. Ask your nursery or horticulture office about wilt in your district before you plant a large block on land with a wilt history.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Uttar Pradesh
Read Lalit's fruit figures before you promise a size
Most extension material gives Lalit at 185–200 g and 12–14% TSS. One academic study gave 171.71 g and 9.7–10° Brix. Both are real readings, from different trees and conditions.
If you sign a supply deal with a size or sweetness condition, use the lower readings in the agreement. Weigh 20 fruits from your own trees in the first fruiting year and use that number from then on.
The same applies to yield. A young orchard gave 16.45 kg per tree. Good practice gave about 100 kg per plant by year six. Do not price your first crops on the year-six figure.
Where the planting material comes from
This variety is a grafted plant: the variety on top, joined onto a rootstock below. Seed out of its fruit will not come up as this variety, so it cannot be kept as seed. Buy grafted plants from a registered nursery or a government farm, so the plant is true to the variety and free of disease.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Guava variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Starts bearing | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allahabad Safeda | A white-fleshed table guava for north Indian markets, on land that has never had guava wilt | Bearing from year 2–3 (grafted plant) | 150–200 q/ha at full bearing | Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh |
| Chittidar | An old-orchard replant in Uttar Pradesh where wilt has been a problem and you still want an Allahabad-type fruit | Bearing from year 2–3 (grafted plant) | 130–160 q/ha at full bearing | Uttar Pradesh |
| Lalitthis page | A firm, pink-fleshed guava for fresh sale and for processing, from a CISH release | Winter crop | High | Uttar Pradesh |
| Lucknow-49 (Sardar) | A higher-yielding, more wilt-tolerant replacement for Allahabad Safeda, for north Indian table-fruit orchards | Bearing from year 2–3 (grafted plant) | 180–220 q/ha at full bearing | Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana |
| Pant Prabhat | A regular-bearing, soft-seeded table guava bred at Pantnagar for Uttarakhand | Early winter | High | Uttarakhand |
| Taiwan Pink | An early-bearing pink-fleshed guava for premium and export markets, bought from a private nursery | Managed cropping | Very high | Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh |
| VNR Bihi | A jumbo, firm white-fleshed guava for premium and long-distance markets, from a private nursery | Managed cropping | Very high | Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Guava is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Guava plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Guava variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Guava into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Guava rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Guava seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
When and where was Lalit guava released?
Around 1999–2000, by ICAR-CISH (Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture), Lucknow.
What is Lalit's parentage?
Sources disagree. One says a cross of Allahabad Safeda and a Chinese guava. Another says a seedling selected from a half-sib apple guava population. No single official source settles it, so do not quote one parentage as fact.
What does the fruit look like and taste like?
Saffron-yellow skin with a red blush, firm pink flesh, roughly 185–200 g per fruit (one academic study recorded 171.71 g), sweet with 12–14% TSS (one study recorded 9.7–10°Brix).
How much does a Lalit guava tree yield?
Reported figures range widely by tree age and management — from 16.45 kg/tree in a young-orchard study to roughly 100 kg/plant by year six under improved cultural practices.
Is Lalit resistant to wilt?
No source gives Lalit's own wilt response, so the "Moderate" rating given above is only a working guide. CISH's wider wilt breeding uses Psidium molle crosses, which is separate work. Ask your nursery before you plant a big block on wilt-history land.
Lalit or Allahabad Safeda for fresh sale?
It depends on your buyer. Lalit has firm pink flesh and 12–14% TSS in most reports. Allahabad Safeda has white flesh and 10–12% TSS and is the fruit most north Indian buyers already know. If your market asks for white guava, plant Safeda. If you can sell a pink, firm fruit, Lalit gives you something different on the stall.
Is Lalit good for processing?
Sources describe it as good for both fresh use and processing. No pulp-recovery or jam-quality figure is published, so make a small test batch with your processor before you plant for a contract.
Which season does Lalit crop in?
It is a winter crop. Plan your picking and your selling for the winter months, when the fruit is ripe.
Why is my Lalit fruit lighter than 185 g?
Fruit weight changes with tree age, soil, water and how many fruits the tree carries. One academic evaluation recorded 171.71 g, so a figure below 185 g does not mean you have the wrong plant. Thin heavy crops and keep the soil moist, and weigh a sample each season.
Can I grow Lalit from seed?
No, not for fruit like the parent. Named guava varieties are propagated by grafting or layering. Buy plants from a nursery that can tell you where its mother plants came from, since Lalit's parentage is itself disputed.
Sourced from: Guava, TNAU Agritech Portal (lists Lalit among the suitable guava varieties). editorial policy.