Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a favourite table fruit in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. A native to Iran (Persia), it is found from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, but is cultivated commercially only in Maharashtra. Small-scale plantations are also seen in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. In India, it is considered as a crop of the arid and semi-arid regions because it withstands different soil and climatic stresses.
Climate and soil
Pomegranate grows well under semi-arid conditions. It thrives best under hot dry summer and cold winter provided irrigation facilities are available. The tree requires hot and dry climate during fruit development and ripening. It cannot produce sweet fruits unless the temperature is high for a sufficiently long period. Humid climate lowers the quality of fruits and increases incidence of fungal diseases. The pomegranate tree is deciduous in areas of low winter temperature and an evergreen or partially deciduous in tropical and subtropical conditions. It can tolerate frost to a considerable extent in dormant stage, but is injured at temperature below –11°C. Orchards can be established up to an altitude of 500m.
Pomegranate can be grown on a wide range of soils. It prefers a well-drained, sandy-loam to deep loamy, or alluvial soils. It can also be grown on light soils. Quality and colour development in light soils is good but poor in heavy soils. It tolerates salinity up to 9.00 ec/mm and sodicity 6.78 esp.
Varieties
Wild pomegranate is too acidic and of little value except as souring agent (anardana). The double-flowered pomegranates (which do not bear fruits) are grown in parks and ornamental gardens for their beautiful red flowers.
The types under cultivation in the country are of seedling origin from the varieties introduced from neighbouring countries. Most of them are known by the names of the new places where they were introduced, adapted and cultivated. These cannot be considered as distinct varieties. Varietal improvement in pomegranate has been attempted both by selection of promising types from the indigenous ones and through controlled hybridization. Exotic introductions including Russian cultivars under the climatic conditions of Deccan plateau give sparse flowering, poor fruit set of highly acidic fruits with hard seeds, but very attractive red coloured arils perhaps due to lack of sufficient chilling requirement.
Alandi, Karadi and Muskati in Maharashtra; Madhugiri and Bassein Seedless in Karnataka; Dholka in Gujarat; Jodhpuri Red, Jodhpuri White and Jalore Seedless in Rajasthan; Chawla, Nabha and Country Large Red in Haryana; and Velludu in Tamil Nadu are traditionally identified popular cultivars. These are seedling types, originated from locally-grown pomegranates which yield medium quality fruits. Of the types introduced at Kodur (Andhra Pradesh), Paper Shelled, Muskati Red and Spanish Ruby are recommended for cultivation under south Indian conditions.
Recently, Ganesh from Alandi; G 137 from Ganesh; Jyothi and IIHR Selection from Bassein Seedless, Yercaud 1 and Co 1 are some promising types from locally-available material. Different types of pomegranate grown in India are given below in Table 1.
Table 1. Important characteristics of pomegranate varieties
Type Fruit characters
Alandi or Vadki Fruit medium sized, fleshy testa, blood-red or deep pink with sweet acidic taste, seeds very hard
Dholka Fruit large-sized, rind greenish-yellow, fleshy aril, pinkish-white with sweet juice and soft seeds. Medium-cropper
Kandhari Fruit large-sized, rind deep red, fleshy testa, blood-red or deeppink with sweet, slightly acidic juice and hard seeds
Kabul Fruit large-sized, rind deep red mixed with pale-yellow; thickfleshy aril, dark red with slightly bitter juice
Muskati Red Fruits small to medium-sized, rind medium thick, fleshy aril with moderately sweet juice, seeds not very hard, poor yielder
Paper Shelled Fruit medium-sized with pink aril of good quality, seeds soft
Spanish Ruby Small to medium-sized fruits and soft seeds
Ganesh (GBI)
A selection from Alandi, it was released for commercial cultivation in 1936 and renamed as Ganesh in 1970. Its fruits are medium-sized, with yellow, smooth surface and red tinge. The seeds are soft with pinkish aril. The juice tastes sweet. Ganesh has revolutionized the cultivation of pomegranate in Maharashtra.
G 137
This is a clonal selection from Ganesh. Tree has spreading habit, fruit surface smooth, yellow with red tinge. Fruits are large-sized with deep pink and bold aril, sweet in taste, soft seeds and prolific-bearer. This is a distinct improvement over Ganesh in colour and size of aril and TSS.
P 23
It is a seedling selection from a traditional Muskat seedling population grown in and around Kolhar region of Ahmednagar district. Fruit surface smooth, yellow with red tinge and bears heavily. Fruit size is large, fleshy, aril pinkish-white, sweet in taste, seeds moderately hard. It is distinct improvement over Ganesh in aril size and TSS.
P 26
A seedling selection of Muskat. It is superior to Ganesh in yield and fruit weight. Its fruits are large-sized, rind yellowish-green with red tinge; fleshy, aril pinkish-white with moderately hard seeds and sweet juice.
Mridula
A seedling selection from an open-pollinated progeny raised from the F1 proeny of a cross Ganesh × Gul-e-Shah Red. Its fruits are medium-sized, rind smooth, dark red in colour. It has blood-red arils with very soft seeds, juicy and sweet in taste. It is significantly superior cultivar to other commercially grown pomegranates.
Jyoti
This is a selection from mixed seedling population of Bassein Seedless and Dholka pomegranate. The fruits are medium to large-sized, having attractive, yellowish-red, more fleshy and pink aril. Fruits are very sweet, soft-seeded and taste good. It yields moderately.
Ruby
It is a hybrid from a 3-way cross between Ganesh × Kabul × Yercaud and Gulsha Rose Pink which has soft and red arils with good flavour. The plants are dwarf, prolific-bearer, providing uniformly red fruits.
IIHR Selection
A soft-seeded selection with a mean fruit weight of 255g. It provides quality fruits with a heavy bearing capacity. It is a selection from the open-pollinated seedlings.
Yercaud 1
Its fruits are medium-sized, with easily peelable rind. The seeds are soft with attractive, deep purple aril.
Co 1
It is also a high-yielding selection. Its fruits are medium-sized with attractive rind, soft seeds, higher pulp content and sweet taste.
Climate and soil
Pomegranate grows well under semi-arid conditions. It thrives best under hot dry summer and cold winter provided irrigation facilities are available. The tree requires hot and dry climate during fruit development and ripening. It cannot produce sweet fruits unless the temperature is high for a sufficiently long period. Humid climate lowers the quality of fruits and increases incidence of fungal diseases. The pomegranate tree is deciduous in areas of low winter temperature and an evergreen or partially deciduous in tropical and subtropical conditions. It can tolerate frost to a considerable extent in dormant stage, but is injured at temperature below –11°C. Orchards can be established up to an altitude of 500m.
Pomegranate can be grown on a wide range of soils. It prefers a well-drained, sandy-loam to deep loamy, or alluvial soils. It can also be grown on light soils. Quality and colour development in light soils is good but poor in heavy soils. It tolerates salinity up to 9.00 ec/mm and sodicity 6.78 esp.
Varieties
Wild pomegranate is too acidic and of little value except as souring agent (anardana). The double-flowered pomegranates (which do not bear fruits) are grown in parks and ornamental gardens for their beautiful red flowers.
The types under cultivation in the country are of seedling origin from the varieties introduced from neighbouring countries. Most of them are known by the names of the new places where they were introduced, adapted and cultivated. These cannot be considered as distinct varieties. Varietal improvement in pomegranate has been attempted both by selection of promising types from the indigenous ones and through controlled hybridization. Exotic introductions including Russian cultivars under the climatic conditions of Deccan plateau give sparse flowering, poor fruit set of highly acidic fruits with hard seeds, but very attractive red coloured arils perhaps due to lack of sufficient chilling requirement.
Alandi, Karadi and Muskati in Maharashtra; Madhugiri and Bassein Seedless in Karnataka; Dholka in Gujarat; Jodhpuri Red, Jodhpuri White and Jalore Seedless in Rajasthan; Chawla, Nabha and Country Large Red in Haryana; and Velludu in Tamil Nadu are traditionally identified popular cultivars. These are seedling types, originated from locally-grown pomegranates which yield medium quality fruits. Of the types introduced at Kodur (Andhra Pradesh), Paper Shelled, Muskati Red and Spanish Ruby are recommended for cultivation under south Indian conditions.
Recently, Ganesh from Alandi; G 137 from Ganesh; Jyothi and IIHR Selection from Bassein Seedless, Yercaud 1 and Co 1 are some promising types from locally-available material. Different types of pomegranate grown in India are given below in Table 1.
Table 1. Important characteristics of pomegranate varieties
Type Fruit characters
Alandi or Vadki Fruit medium sized, fleshy testa, blood-red or deep pink with sweet acidic taste, seeds very hard
Dholka Fruit large-sized, rind greenish-yellow, fleshy aril, pinkish-white with sweet juice and soft seeds. Medium-cropper
Kandhari Fruit large-sized, rind deep red, fleshy testa, blood-red or deeppink with sweet, slightly acidic juice and hard seeds
Kabul Fruit large-sized, rind deep red mixed with pale-yellow; thickfleshy aril, dark red with slightly bitter juice
Muskati Red Fruits small to medium-sized, rind medium thick, fleshy aril with moderately sweet juice, seeds not very hard, poor yielder
Paper Shelled Fruit medium-sized with pink aril of good quality, seeds soft
Spanish Ruby Small to medium-sized fruits and soft seeds
Ganesh (GBI)
A selection from Alandi, it was released for commercial cultivation in 1936 and renamed as Ganesh in 1970. Its fruits are medium-sized, with yellow, smooth surface and red tinge. The seeds are soft with pinkish aril. The juice tastes sweet. Ganesh has revolutionized the cultivation of pomegranate in Maharashtra.
G 137
This is a clonal selection from Ganesh. Tree has spreading habit, fruit surface smooth, yellow with red tinge. Fruits are large-sized with deep pink and bold aril, sweet in taste, soft seeds and prolific-bearer. This is a distinct improvement over Ganesh in colour and size of aril and TSS.
P 23
It is a seedling selection from a traditional Muskat seedling population grown in and around Kolhar region of Ahmednagar district. Fruit surface smooth, yellow with red tinge and bears heavily. Fruit size is large, fleshy, aril pinkish-white, sweet in taste, seeds moderately hard. It is distinct improvement over Ganesh in aril size and TSS.
P 26
A seedling selection of Muskat. It is superior to Ganesh in yield and fruit weight. Its fruits are large-sized, rind yellowish-green with red tinge; fleshy, aril pinkish-white with moderately hard seeds and sweet juice.
Mridula
A seedling selection from an open-pollinated progeny raised from the F1 proeny of a cross Ganesh × Gul-e-Shah Red. Its fruits are medium-sized, rind smooth, dark red in colour. It has blood-red arils with very soft seeds, juicy and sweet in taste. It is significantly superior cultivar to other commercially grown pomegranates.
Jyoti
This is a selection from mixed seedling population of Bassein Seedless and Dholka pomegranate. The fruits are medium to large-sized, having attractive, yellowish-red, more fleshy and pink aril. Fruits are very sweet, soft-seeded and taste good. It yields moderately.
Ruby
It is a hybrid from a 3-way cross between Ganesh × Kabul × Yercaud and Gulsha Rose Pink which has soft and red arils with good flavour. The plants are dwarf, prolific-bearer, providing uniformly red fruits.
IIHR Selection
A soft-seeded selection with a mean fruit weight of 255g. It provides quality fruits with a heavy bearing capacity. It is a selection from the open-pollinated seedlings.
Yercaud 1
Its fruits are medium-sized, with easily peelable rind. The seeds are soft with attractive, deep purple aril.
Co 1
It is also a high-yielding selection. Its fruits are medium-sized with attractive rind, soft seeds, higher pulp content and sweet taste.
Comments
Post a Comment