Pomegranates
Pomegranate (Punica Granatum L.) is a tree fruit crop species that is native to the Eurasian continent and has a long history of cultural significance in many parts of the world. Most cultivars in normal growing conditions are deciduous, dropping their leaves in fall or winter and then flushing new growth in late winter or early spring, but there are some cultivars that are reported to be evergreen in tropical and subtropical climates. The fruit is often red in color, but can be yellow, pink, and multi-colored, crowned with a large calyx. It is botanically a berry containing hundreds of seeds that are coated by juice-containing, flesh-coated gem-like structures that are called arils. It is a high-value fresh market commodity that can be consumed fresh or processed into juice or other value-added products, including wine, grenadine, syrup, nutraceuticals, processed foods, minimally processed packaged arils, dyes, among other uses. About two decades ago, pomegranate juice was reported to have exceptionally high levels of antioxidant activity and this finding resulted in tens of millions of dollars in biomedical research on the putative health benefits of pomegranate. Most production in the United States is located in California in the Central Valley, which provides a similar type of environment in which the species evolved. The California industry standard cultivar is ‘Wonderful’, which originated in Florida, possibly from Spain. This cultivar blooms in February or March and the fruit is typically ready to harvest in October, but harvest window is dependent on season. However, ‘Wonderful’ often does poorly in Florida. Most pomegranate cultivars thrive in Mediterranean environments, with warm, dry summers and mild wet winters, with showers starting in fall. Most cultivars do not produce much of anything at all in Florida’s environment for several reasons (disease, robust summer precipitation, temperature, and humidity), but there are some that can produce fruit. There exist heirloom and other cultivars that appear to set fruit in Florida’s subtropical and tropical growing conditions in some microclimates. There is an ongoing breeding program at University of Florida that is led by Dr. John Chater. Disease is the primary problem in pomegranate production in Florida, therefore selecting for disease resistance is critically important. Dr. Bill Castle started pomegranate research at the Citrus Research and Education Center many years ago and Dr. Zhanao Deng has published research on pomegranate disease resistance. Dr. Muhammad Shahid is evaluating cultivars in North Florida and Dr. Ali Sarkhosh is evaluating cultural methods for Florida pomegranate production. Research is being conducted at the CREC to select cultivars and develop cultural practices to make pomegranate production for processing or the fresh market a reality for Florida stakeholders.
Links
Pomegranate Pest Management
Pomegranate Diseases
- Diseases of Pomegranate (Punica granatum) in Florida
- Evaluating Pomegranate Cultivars for Resistance to Anthracnose Fruit Rot, a Severe Fungal Disease in Florida and Southeast United States
Pomegranate Production
Pomegranate Economicss
