Ajay K. BanyalYaachika Sharma2024-11-062024-11-062024-11-05https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810216055The investigation entitled, "Identification of Different Guava Cultivars in Nursery Stage through Morphological Variability and Biochemical Analysis" was conducted during 2023-2024 at the Fruit Nursery of the Department of Fruit Science, College of Horticulture and Forestry, Neri, Hamirpur. This study aimed to distinguish guava cultivars based on their morphological and biochemical traits. Morphological analysis revealed that Allahabad Safeda, G-14, Shweta, G-6, Dhawal and Arka Amulya had oblong leaves, while L-49 and Arka Poorna had obvate leaves and Lalit had trullate leaves. Arka Poorna, Shweta and Lalit had acute apexes whereas, others had obtuse or round apexes. Leaf margin undulation was present in L-49, Lalit, and Shweta and absent in others. Lalit had the largest leaf area (77.38 cm²) and Arka Poorna the smallest (44.64cm²). L-49 had the longest petiole (0.87 cm) and Arka Amulya the shortest (0.60 cm). The leaf length/width ratio was highest in Dhawal (2.71) and lowest in Shweta (2.34). Biochemical analysis showed G-6 had the highest total soluble protein (13.71 %) while, Shweta had the lowest (5.43 %). Arka Poorna had the highest carbohydrates (11.99 %) and Arka Amulya the lowest (9.65 %). Lalit had the highest total soluble sugar (1.85%) and reducing sugar (0.95 %). The highest total phenol was in G-14 (209.73 mg/g) and the lowest in Arka Amulya (183.10 mg/g). Shweta had the highest chlorophyll content (2.66 mg/g) and Arka Poorna the lowest (0.87 mg/g). Allahabad Safeda had the highest catalase activity (0.104 µmole/minute/g) and Dhawal the lowest (0.046 µmole/minute/g). Shweta had the highest polyphenol oxidase activity (0.354 µmole/minute/g) and L-49 the lowest (0.152 µmole/minute/g). Arka Amulya had the highest peroxidase activity (0.214 µmole/minute/g) and Arka Poorna the lowest (0.093 µmole/minute/g). Cluster analysis grouped cultivars into two clusters: Cluster I (L-49, Arka Amulya, Shweta, Lalit and Allahabad Safeda) and Cluster II (Arka Poorna, Dhawal, G-14 and G-6), based on shared morphological and biochemical traits. These findings provide key markers for identifying guava cultivars at the nursery stage.EnglishThesis