A two-season field study was conducted to evaluate the individual and interactive effects of four levels of drip irrigation (I₁ to I₄) and four levels of fertigation (F₁ to F₄) on the growth and canopy architecture of guava. The study measured Plant Height (m) and Plant Volume (m3) and analyzed the data using a factorial design with mean separation based on the Critical Difference (CD) at the 5% level of significance. Results indicated that both drip irrigation and fertigation levels significantly influenced both growth parameters (P<0.05). For both plant height and plant volume, the irrigation level I₂ consistently recorded the highest pooled mean values (1.80 m and 1.48 m³, respectively), and was statistically superior to all other levels, demonstrating that an intermediate water supply was optimal. The highest irrigation level (I₄) resulted in the lowest pooled plant height (1.47 m) and volume (1.21 m3). Similarly, the lowest fertigation level, F₁, yielded the highest pooled means for plant height (1.69 m) and plant volume (1.40 m3), with F₄ resulting in the lowest values. While the interaction effect (I×F) on plant height was statistically non-significant, the interaction effect on Plant Volume was significant (P=0.023). The combination of I₂F₁ (optimal irrigation with the lowest fertigation) recorded the maximum pooled plant volume of 1.57 m³. Conversely, the lowest plant volume (1.09 m3) was observed in the combination of the highest levels (I₄F₄). It is concluded that guava growth is highly sensitive to both water and nutrient levels, and excessive supply of either factor (I₄ or F₄) is detrimental to vegetative growth. The study recommends the use of an intermediate irrigation level (I₂) combined with a conservative fertigation level (F₁ or F₂) for maximizing the vegetative growth and canopy volume of guava.

Download this article as