Cultivation of Pomegranate

P. granatum is grown for its fruit crops and as ornamental trees and shrubs in parks and gardens.Mature specimens develop sculptural twisted bark multiple trunks and a distinctive overall form.Pomegranates are drought tolerant and can be grown in arid regions of the Mediterranean climate with rainfall in winter or in climates with summer rainfall.In wet areas, they are prone to root rot from fungal diseases.They can tolerate moderate frost down to about −12 °C (10 °F).Pests of pomegranates include the butterflies Viracola isocrates, Iraota timoleon, Deudorix epijarbas and the leaf-footed beetle Leptoglossus zonatus, fruit flies and ants are attracted to unpicked ripe fruit.Pomegranates are easy to grow from seed, but are usually propagated from 25 to 50 cm (10 to 20 in) hardwood cuttings to avoid genetic variation in seedlings.Air stratification is also an option for propagation, but grafting fails.

Varieties

P. granatum var. nana is a dwarf variety of P.granatum that is widely grown as an ornamental in gardens and in larger containers and as a specimen tree for bonsai.It is likely a wild form with a unique origin. It has won a Garden Merit Award from the Royal Horticultural Society.The only other species in the genus Punica is the Socotland pomegranate (P. protopunica), which is endemic to the Socotland archipelago of four islands in the Arabian Sea, the largest of which is also known as Socotra.The territory is part of Yemen. It differs by having pink (rather than red) flowers and smaller, less sweet fruits.

Variety:

Black pomegranate:P.granatum has more than 500 named cultivars, but there is clearly considerable synonymy, where the same genotype is named differently in different parts of the world.Several characteristics vary between pomegranate genotypes due to identification, consumer preference, preferred use, and marketing, the most important of which are fruit size, exocarp color (from yellow to purple, most commonly pink and red), Seed coat color (ranging from white to red), seed firmness, maturity, juice content and its sour, sweet, astringent.

Production and export

The major global producers are India and China, followed by Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria and Spain.During 2019, Chile, Peru, Egypt, Israel, India and Turkey supplied pomegranates to the European market.Chile is the main supplier to the US market, with limited supply from Southern California.China was self-sufficient in pomegranate supply in 2019, while other South Asian markets were mainly supplied by India.From 2012-18, South African pomegranate production and exports competed with shipments from South America, with export destinations including Europe, the Middle East, the United Kingdom and Russia and South Africa.