Phenological stages of the ‘Paluma’ guava tree in a region of subtropical climate according to the BBCH scale

Abstract

In the Serra da Mantiqueira region, of subtropical altitude climate, the cultivation of guava is geared towards subsistence farming. In this region, there is still no description of the phenological cycle of the guava tree or the definition of the most appropriate fructification pruning times. Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterize the phenology of the reproductive development of the guava tree from the cultivar Paluma in two times of fructification pruning (June and August) and to determine the degree-days requirements of the cultivar under the conditions of subtropical altitude climate. Through the BBCH general scale associated with the traditional Fleckinger’s code, it was possible to observe the duration of the different phenological stages. The duration of the phenological cycle from pruning to fruit harvest was 249 days for plants pruned in June and 224 days for pruned plants in August. The heat unit accumulation from B1:01 to J:81 did not vary significantly between the pruning times. Plant pruning in August allows early flowering and a shorter phenological cycle.