The influence of rootstocks on mineral nutrient composition in the edible tissue of citrus fruits has not been explored so far. This study assessed leaf and juice mineral nutrients of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) cultivars (‘Pusa Sharad’ and ‘Pusa Round’) grafted onto different rootstocks (‘RLC-6’, ‘C-35’, ‘X-639’, ‘Yamma Mikan’, ‘Soh Sarkar’, ‘RLC-7’, and ‘Jatti Khatti’). Deviation from optimum percentage (DOP) index was employed as an integrative measure to assess leaf mineral nutrient balance for specific scion–rootstock combinations. The relative abundance of leaf mineral nutrients was ranked as follows: Ca > K > P > S > Mg > Na > Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu. Overall, rootstock ‘X-639’ demonstrated superior mineral nutrient uptake efficiency across grafted plants of both scion cultivars, as indicated by higher leaf mineral nutrient concentrations. Juice mineral nutrient concentrations followed the order K (930.87–1362.17 mg L⁻¹), Ca (346.40–651.33 mg L⁻¹), P (116.23–236.97 mg L⁻¹), Mg (64.60–102.50 mg L⁻¹), S (49.35–74.34 mg L⁻¹), Na (25.61–47.88 mg L⁻¹), Fe (4.76–7.92 mg L⁻¹), Zn (1.79–4.34 mg L⁻¹), Mn (0.73–1.62 mg L⁻¹), and Cu (0.41–0.71 mg L⁻¹), indicating distinct differences in the accumulation pattern of macro- and micro-mineral nutrients in the edible tissues across the studied scion–rootstock combinations. Multivariate analysis revealed that the rootstocks significantly influenced juice mineral nutrient levels, indicating rootstock-mediated agronomic biofortification. Rootstock ‘RLC-6’ enhanced juice K levels, and ‘Soh Sarkar’ improved juice Mg contents, while ‘X-639’ improved juice micronutrient (Zn, Mn, Cu) accumulation in both cultivars. This study constitutes the first comprehensive investigation that explicitly evaluates the influence of rootstocks on the enhancement of mineral nutrient content in the edible tissues of citrus fruits. It further elucidates how rootstock selection can indirectly affect dietary mineral intake, thereby highlighting its potential role for improved nutrition.

Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is popularly known as ‘Super Fruit’ and ‘Apple of the Tropics’ due to its nutritive richness. The pulp color of the guava fruit is associated with its pigment composition. In the present study, twenty-two guava hybrids and their 5 parental genotypes were evaluated for various fruit quality-related traits. The fruit weight (FW), fruit length (FL), fruit width (WF), pulp thickness (PT), seed core diameter (SCD) and FL/width ratio in guava hybrids varied from 78.93-207.10 g, 49.66-83.95 mm, 50.07-73.08 mm, 9.58-18.97 mm, 17.46-44.95 mm and 0.83-1.30, respectively. Total soluble solids (TSS), ascorbic acid (ASC) content, lycopene (LYC) content, total anthocyanins (TAN) and total carotenoids (TCR) in the hybrid fruits ranged from 10.17-18.80 oB, 143.79-275.99 mg/100 g, 0.17-9.51 mg 100 g-1, 0.01-4.61 mg 100 g-1and 0.16-2.49 mg 100 g-1, respectively. In general, white-pulped genotypes had higher ASC content than the pink/red pulped ones. Pulp-color-related traits, viz., LYC content, TCR and TAN, showed high heritability (H) and mean genetic advance (GA). Correlation analysis revealed that LYC content was positively correlated with TCR. The observed phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) for all traits exceeded the respective genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV), indicating genetic diversity among the studied guava genotypes. Cluster analysis differentiated guava genotypes into distinct clusters based on pulp color as well as other fruit-related traits. The hybrids, red/pink pulp: ‘HSU/SH-16-8-2’, ‘HSU/SH-16-8-3’, ‘PPT/HSU-16-9-16’ and white pulp: ‘HSU/SH-16-8-18’, ‘SH/BG-14-1-2’, excelled for fruit-related traits, having potential to be utilized in future breeding programs.