Synergistic Effects of Fertigation Scheduling and Planting Density on Guava Yield, Quality and Labor Productivity

In India, nutrient management in guava orchard remains challenging due to deficiencies of essential nutrients and continued use of traditional method of fertilization, resulting in nutrient losses and high input costs. Application of nutrients through fertigation enhances nutrient use efficiency while eliciting a rapid crop response. Therefore, an experiment was undertaken for 3 years (2017–2020) to optimize the fertigation schedules based on the critical phenological stages under different plant geometries. This study was conducted adapting FRBD with 12 treatments, comprising three fertigation levels (F 1 ‐75:75:75 g NPK/plant; F 2 ‐150:150:150 g NPK/plant; and F 3 ‐225:225:225 g NPK/plant) at four spacing levels (S 1 ‐2.0 × 1.0 m, S 2 ‐3.0 × 1.0 m, S 3 ‐3.0 × 1.5 m, and S 4 ‐5.0 × 5.0 m) on 5‐year‐old plants of guava cv. Lucknow‐49 under Mrig bahar. Optimized fertigation combined with appropriate spacing significantly improved light transmission, chlorophyll content, and fruit production, with S 4 F 3 excelled in light transmission ratio (61.18%), leaf chlorophyll content (68.48), number of fruits/tree (226.99), yield/tree (40.85 kg/tree), TSS (11.41°Brix), and acidity (0.35%). However, the highest yield/hectare (107.03 tonnes/ha) was achieved in closer spacing due to higher plant density. Additionally, S 2 F 1 demonstrated the highest labor use efficiency (87%) and BCR (3.47), making it the optimal strategy for balancing productivity and profitability. This study offers valuable insights for guava farmers, aiming to enhance economics and sustainability in the context of climate change. Based on the analysis, S 2 F 1 is recommended as the optimal approach for maximizing both productivity and profitability.