Guava is the sixth most cultivated fruit in India but in recent years the prevalence of wilt disease has been the bane of growers in the country.
Now the Central Institute for Sub-tropical Horticulture (CISH) in Lucknow has developed a hybrid variety of wilt-resistant guava plants, Indian Express reported.
Wilt is a soil-borne disease that is caused by several pathogens and plant death occurs quickly after infection.
The new plant hybrid is expected to help increase the lifespan of guava orchards in northern India, where the problem of wilt is more common.
'An inter-specific hybrid rootstalk of guava has been derived by crossing the normal variety of guava with its wild relative called psidium molle, which has a wilt-resistant gene in it,' said CISH principal scientist Dr Shailendra Rajan.
'Its field results were encouraging.'
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