Big guavas from Uttar Pradesh have flooded the fruit markets of the Capital. Fruit dealers at the Azadpur market say that the extended rains are responsible for the large quantities of big guavas.

Most of these guavas have arrived from the Sasni area of Uttar Pradesh. But what has caught the fancy of the Capital's fruit lovers is the rarer Allahabadi guavas which come with an additional attraction of having a red variety.

Most guava dealers at the Azadpur market get either the smaller Patiali or Agra varieties. A mere 2,000 crates, each containing 10 kg of Allahabadi guavas, arrive at the market daily, according to dealer O.P. Ahuja. ``This variety did not reach the Capital till two years ago, but now the output has increased,'' he adds. The green variety of Allahabadi guavas costs Rs 40-50 per 10 kg while the red one costs Rs 80-90 per 10 kg in Azadpur. In Bengali Market, a kg of the green variety costs Rs 32 while a kg of the red guava costs Rs 40. A dealer says that though this market has started selling Allahabadi guavas recently, some upscale shops have been getting the fruit directly from Allahabad for some time.

Dr A.S. Khurdia, a scientist at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute on Pusa Road, says that fine soil conditions and good nutrients have produced the big variety of the fruit. He, however, says that big guavas are not unusual and he has bought bigger ones in Maharashtra for just Rs 2 a piece.

Though many shops are selling Allahabadi guavas at inflated prices, dealers in Azadpur swear by the Sasni variety. They say that Sasni guavas are as big as the Allahabadi ones, and sometimes bigger, and have fewer seeds.

Babulal, a guava dealer in Azadpur, says that the orchards in and around Sasni have produced a large quantity of the fruit. He gets these guavas for Rs 35 per five kg from the growers and sells them at double the price. ``I get four trucks each morning and the entire stock is sold in no time,'' Babulal says.