Feijoa (Feijoa sellowiana) is a slow growing evergreen shrub native to South America where it is commonly found growing wild in the mountains. Feijoa flower petals are mildly sweet, edible and can make a refreshing addition to spring salads. The Feijoa plant is pest and disease resistant and its sweet, subacid fruit taste like a combination of pineapple, guava and strawberry with overtones of spearmint. The plant produces good yields of fruit and provides a number of value-adding opportunities for farmers.
General Description.
The feijoa is native to extreme southern Brazil, northern Argentina, western Paraguay and Uruguay where it is common wild in the mountains. The feijoa is a slow-growing evergreen shrub that can reach 4.5m high and 4.5m wide. The trees have pale grey bark, spreading branches that are swollen at the nodes and white-hairy when young. Feijoas can also be trained as a small tree (6 to 7 m. tall) with one or more trunks. The wood is dense, hard, and brittle.
The evergreen, thick, leathery leaves of the feijoa are opposite, short-petioled and bluntly elliptical. In size they range from 25 to 63 mm long and 15 to 25 mm wide. The leaves are smooth soft green on top and silvery underneath.
The flowers of the feijoa are 25 mm in size, bisexual and borne singly or in a cluster. They have long, bright red stamens topped with large grains of yellow pollen. Each flower contains four to six fleshy flower petals that are white tinged with purple on the inside. These petals are mildly sweet, edible and can make a refreshing addition to spring salads.
Bees are the chief pollinators of feijoa, although pollen is also transferred by birds that are attracted to, and eat the flowers. Most flowers pollinated with compatible pollen show 60 to 90% fruit set. Hand pollination is nearly 100% effective. Two or more bushes should be planted together for cross-pollination unless the cultivar is known to be self-compatible. Poor bearing is usually the result of inadequate pollination.
The fruits range from 20 to 90 mm long and vary in shape from round to elongated pear shape, with the persistent calyx segments adhering to the apex. The waxy skin is dull blue-green to blue or greyish green, sometimes with a red or orange blush. Skin texture varies from smooth to rough and pebbly and is 5 to 15 mm thick. The fruit emits a strong long-lasting perfume, even before it is fully ripe. The thick, white, granular, watery flesh and the translucent central pulp enclosing the seeds are sweet or subacid, suggesting a combination of pineapple and guava or pineapple and strawberry, often with overtones of winter green or spearmint. Each fruit has 20 – 40 very small, oblong seeds, hardly noticeable when the fruit is eaten.
Climate
Feijoas prefer cool winters and moderate summers (25° to 33° C), and are generally adapted to areas where temperatures stay above -5° C. Flower production is poor in areas with fewer than 50 hours of chilling. Optimum number of chilling hours is 100-200. The flavour of the fruit is much better in cool than in warm regions. Even though the plants are relatively hardy, sudden autumn frosts can damage ripening fruit and late spring frosts can destroy blossoms. Spring frost damage is most likely in mild-winter areas, where the plants are not completely hardened off and respond to warm spells by blooming early. Root growth starts in spring when the soil temperature is 8-10°C until autumn when the temperature drops below. Fruit set optimum temperature is 24-28ºC.
Soils
While it is often said feijoas are adapted to a wide range of soil types, they actually prefer well drained, rich organic soils. Feijoa’s are not suited to light or sandy terrain, as this will cause excessive vegetative growth. Slightly acid soil is best, with optimum pH being between 5.5 - 7.0. Alkaline soils will generally cause yellowing and poor shoot growth, and should be avoided. Feijoas are moderately tolerant to salinity, however, this will slow growth and reduce yields.
Propagation and Planting
Feijoa is often grown from seed but does not reproduce true to type. Germination takes place in 3 weeks; the seed media should be fresh and clean to avoid damping-off of seedlings. Seed grown plants fruit in 3 to 5 years from sowing.
Cultivars are propagated vegetative by one of several means. Vegetative propagated plant start to fruit in 2 years. Ground layering is a successfully used method with rooting occurring after 6 months. Grafting (whip, tongue or veneer) onto seedling rootstocks is reported as a less successful method.
Cuttings can be taken of young wood from branch tips or side shoots with a heel in summer. They will root in 1 to 2 months with bottom heat and a hormone rooting agent, given a moist humid atmosphere. Stooling can be practiced with good success by treating stooled shoots by ringing them and using hormone rooting agent before earthing up.
Trees should be planted 3.5 to 5m apart. At this spacing, trees will meet in the row after 5 years. This will give 500-600 trees per hectare or 200-263 per acre. Plant each tree with 150grams of blood and bone.
Fertilisers
The feijoa is a moderate feeder. Feed with low nitrogen NPK fertiliser in late winter and well rotted animal manure in autumn. High nitrogen fertilizers will cause excessive vegetative growth.
Irrigation
Feijoas are fairly drought tolerant. Lack of water, however, will cause the fruit to drop. For quality harvests, water deeply on a regular basis, especially during flowering and fruit periods, and mulch the soil around the plants to protect the shallow roots.
Pests and Diseases
The feijoa is remarkably pest and disease-resistant. It is occasionally attacked by insects, as well as fruit flies, which may create some issues.
