Alabama Pomegranate Association

11/25/2017

Fruit yield and quality of pomegranate trees have been assessed after two sprays with different Ca formulations, including a nano-fertilizer and CaCl2.

11/07/2017

Who was the father of modern agriculture and Pomegranate production in India?

Today I want look at a man named Dr. Ganda Singh Cheema who is responsible for transforming the country of India into one of the leading producers of pomegranates in the world. Dr. Cheema brought great pomegranate varieties to country of India. Today these pomegranate varieties are known for their superior fresh eating qualities of sweetness and soft seededness.

Let’s take a look at this remarkable man Dr. Ganda Singh Cheema. Dr Cheema was known "The father of Indian Horticulture". He was born August 2, 1894 in Sialkot district of Ounjab (Now in pakistan). He was appointed as Principal of 'Pune Agriculture College' and carried out most of research work at Ganeshkhind Pune. Dr. Cheema made a lifetime of achievements in agriculture and lived until January 1, 1972.

Horticulture was both a profession and hobby for Dr. Cheema. With the earnestness of a first rate scientist, he combined a romantic love for plants, flowers and fruits. Once Dr. Cheena sent King George V of England well preserved parcel of delicious golden mangoes. After receiving this parcel King George V of England sent Dr. Cheena a written personal congratulatory letter for sending him the well preserved parcel of delicious golden mangoes.

Dr. Cheema started his career as a horticulturist in Bombay state. After two decades, he was appointed Principal of the Agricultural College, Poona. Finally he rose to be the Director, Agriculture, Bombay State. Dr. Cheema also served as Fruit Adviser to the Government of India. He organized and successfully conducted the army Vegetable Scheme during World War-II. His research on various aspects of fruit preservation ranging from sun drying of figs to cold storage of mango, orange and other tropical fruits and vegetables can be considered as first systematic value addition work on horticultural crops.

Dr. Cheema believed that horticulture was no less important than agriculture. It could earn foreign exchange and generate employment for rural based youth. He argued that like France and West Germany’s export of roses, India could produce a variety of flowers for export. His philosophy is true even today and the country is emphsising on these points which were considered by Dr. Cheema over 50 years ago. Because of the efforts of Dr. Cheema , today the cultivation of Cheema Sahebi grapes Ganesh pomegranates, and Sardar guava, the lives of farmers of Maharashtra have been impacted and transformed throughout India.

There are several varieties of pomegranates that Dr. Cheema introduced to India. Both the varieties Ganesh and Bhagwa were great introductions by him. These outstanding varieties are known for their sweet flavor, soft seeds, and heavy fruit production. Initially, the variety Bhagwa was called Bhagwan, but with time the “N” was dropped and it became Bhagwa.

Dr. Cheema made huge advancements in growing Pomegranates in India. He brought commercial pomegranate varieties to India impact millions who still eat his pomegranate varieties today. Dr. Cheema, we are grateful for your contributions and legacy that lives on today.

Do any of you grow varieties that Dr Cheema introduced?

10/24/2017

Have you noticed large numbers of Ants crawling up and down your Pomegranate Tree?

Ants are commonly found in pomegranate orchards and reducing ant numbers improves the biological control of honeydew-producing insects such as aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies, and various soft scales. All of these Sap-sucking insects are not good for the health of your Pomegranate tree. These type of pests produce a sweet sticky substance called honeydew, which promotes the growth of black sooty mold and attracts ants. The ants 🐜 love the honeydew produced by these insects. The ants then harvest the honeydew and carry it back to their nests to nourish the queen and young ants. The ants become a farmer and protector of these pest. As part of this relationship, ants protect these insects from their natural enemies, thus interrupting Biological control of the honeydew-producing pests. By getting rid of the ant problem, then the natural enemies of aphids, mealybugs, whiteflies, and various soft scales can be controlled by Lady Bugs and other natural enemies.

Ant Barriers - Usually a sticky barrier like fruit tree grease or a glue band are put around the trunk of the tree to stop the ants. Glue bands are a product specially made for wrapping around fruit trees to keep climbing pests off. They're a strip of maternal with a very sticky adhesive on one side. You wrap this around the tree, adhesive side out, and tie it on with twine to keep critters from sneaking under it.

Borax - Borax is a naturally occurring mineral that is often used to boost the effectiveness of laundry detergent, but it also can be used to kill ants. A white powder that looks similar to powdered sugar or flour, you can usually find boxes of borax in your supermarket or discount store's laundry aisle.

How Borax Works - Borax is poisonous to ants and other insects. It is a slow-working poison that, when ingested, kills the ant by impairing its digestive system. To attract ants to the borax bait, you will need to mix it with something sweet, such as jelly or jam. I suggest putting the bait at the base of the Pomegranate tree. When the ants find the bait, they will alert other ants in the colony to collect it and bring it back for the others to eat. The ants in the colony eat the bait and will begin to die off within a day or two. Over several days, you will notice a decrease in the amount of ants, and eventually you won't notice them at all as the borax will have killed off the whole colony. Many formulations of borax-jelly ant killer exist, but Texas A&M University recommends mixing 1 teaspoon of borax with 1 cup of mint-apple jelly. Other types of sugar-containing jelly will also work effectively to lure the ants, but the amount of borax should be limited so that the ants still find the jelly alluring and will eat it. If you add too much borax, it may no longer be appetizing to the ants and won't work.

Ants 🐜 can become a real problem in Pomegranates. I would love to hear your feedback. How do you deal with ant problems? I would love to hear what works for you in controlling these pest.

10/17/2017

How to cut a Pomegranate.

10/10/2017

Manure can increase your microbes in your soil helping your pomegranate trees to stay healthy.

Recently a friend of mine originally from Iran told me he would tell his secret to growing better pomegranate trees and fruit. Of course, I eagerly awaited his advice. He mentioned to me that if I added manure to my Pomegranate trees, they would thrive and have less disease problems. So let’s take a look at what adding manure does to soil.

Soil quality - The quality of our soil can have huge rewards for the health of our pomegranate trees. Often we see this in New virgin soil. The first couple of years, there are huge yields for farmers and very healthy plants. Why would this new virgin soil produce so much better? Over time rain water gradually leeches the soil out. Initially this soil would have had large amounts of naturally composted materials within the soil itself. “Biological characteristics that determine soil quality include: mobilization of nutrients, microbial and enzyme activity, effects of soil fauna and suppression of plant disease.” Changes to the soil biology will have a huge influence in the soil environment in ways that alter crop productivity. These virgin soils would have had more organic matter to support higher microbe activity.

Microbes - Soils that are biologically active and have higher amounts of active carbon recycle and release more nutrients for plant growth than soils that are biologically inactive and contain less active organic matter. Microbes in soil are very important. Microbes are the underworld farmers that keeps our soil healthy for us to be able to grow crops. With a healthy population of microbes your soil will perform to it’s optimum potential.

Manure - Studies have shown that adding organic amendments such as manure results in increased microbial biomass (soil bacteria and fungi) and higher microbial activity. The carbon and other nutrients in manure can increase microbial biomass and soil respiration rates by two to three times. Much of the increase in microbial activity is due to increases in bacterial populations. Increased microbial biomass and diversity are beneficial for soil quality. These soil microorganisms play a key role in soil nutrient cycling. They accelerate the breakdown of organic substances and mineralize the organic nitrogen and phosphorus (P) contained in manures. These microbial soil organisms increase numbers and activity as a result of the added organic matter.

Soil Enzymes - Soil enzymes are also crucial to nutrient cycling and the decomposition of soil organic matter. Together, microbes and enzymes control nutrient availability. This soil decomposition has the potential to control soil quality and functioning. The majority of these soil enzymes are extracellular enzymes produced by soil microbes. They are partners.

Disease Suppression - The changes in soil organisms resulting from manure additions potentially has huge effects on soil functions itself. Besides increasing numbers of beneficial organisms in soil, manure has also been found to decrease the abundance of harmful organisms, such as disease-causing pathogens and plant pests. Together the increase in microbial activity keeps the soil healthy with less disease causing pathogens.

Adding manure can greatly alter your soil by increasing microbial activity. Have you used manure in your Pomegranate orchard. Has you noticed any huge benefits to adding manure. Like my Iranian friend, has manure decreased your soil disease problems? If so, I would love to hear your responses?

10/03/2017

How do you know when a pomegranate is ripe?

Cracked - Not the best method. I hear so many people say they wait till a pomegranate cracks open. A cracked pomegranate can be the result of infrequent irrigation. It is also an invitation for pest and aril damage.

Color - Not the best method. Pomegranate can range in color from red, to pink, to yellow, to orange, to purple, to black, and even remain green. There are many different varieties of pomegranates that are very different in look and taste.

Feel Heavy - A ripe pomegranate should feel heavy for it's size. This is a big indication that the arils are full of juice. Heavy ripe pomegranates give more juice.

Scratch Test - The outer skin becomes a little soft, if you are able to make a scratch by finger nail, with gentle pressure, then it is ripe. Usually before ripening the skin is hard and tight, and cannot be easily scratched.

Smoothness Test - Rub your finger over the surface of the pomegranate. The skin should be smooth(exception paper shell varieties). A ripe pomegranate outer skin will have been stretched out due to the pressure of the juicy, plump aril sacs filing up with juice.

Metallic Sound - Ripe pomegranates make a metallic sound when you tap on them several times.

Check the crown - Look at the top of the fruit. If the little petal-shaped appendages at the top are turned slightly inward, your pomegranate is ripe and ready to eat.

The shape - The unripe fruit is exactly round in shape like an Asian pear. But at the stage of ripening, the round shape is changed with sides slightly becoming square. It appears to have ridges. This happens due to the arils, which reach to the maximum size of juice content, and it presses against the outer wall. The pomegranate has four slots inside the fruit. The round shape is stressed and the fruit looks flattend from four sides. Ripe pomegranates loose their round shape.

The Sugar/Acid Ratio - Harvest maturity is determined by sugar and acid contents, sugar:acid ratio. This is tested by using a Brix Refractometer. This is the recommended for the variety called "Wonderful". The acids should be lower than 1.85 percent, soluble sugar content greater than 16 to 17 percent and the sugar:acid ratio greater than 18.5.

If anyone would like to add to this list about how you tell when a pomegranate is ripe, I would love to hear your feedback.

09/26/2017

What are the most expensive pomegranates to buy?

It is called the black pomegranate by most of the Westerners. But throughout the Middle East, my friends call them "Dark Purple". Their unusual color is strikingly very dark. These dark fruited varieties are not the typical looking pomegranates. There are dark fruited varieties that are sour as well as dark fruited varieties that have very sweet taste. These black fruiting pomegranate varieties are found growing in Iran, Jordan, Israel, and in Saudi Arabia. I have even heard of them being grown in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Some reports say they might also be grown in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia. There are also some very nice black fruiting varieties that are grown in Portugal. I have also heard that there might be some grown in North Africa as well.

In Iran, the black fruiting varieties are the most expensive to buy. Iranian people prefer these dark fruiting black pomegranates for their sweet taste and the medicinal qualities they have. The fruit is expensive in comparison to other cultivars of similar taste. Medicinally these black pomegranate varieties are particularly useful for whooping cough. People put its skin in boiling water, let it boil for a while and then drink the water for whooping cough. Two of the main varieties grown in Iran are Poost Siyahe Yazd & Shirine Siyahe Saveh. They have black skin (dark purple) and white to light pink arils. The taste is very sweet. In Iran these two popular for fresh use and medicinal use.

The picture of black fruiting pomegranates in the boxes are varieties grown in Ta'If Saudi Arabia. There are many black fruiting varieties grown in this region of Saudi Arabia as well. These varieties are also highly prized for their medicinal qualities as well. Actually the written words on the picture describes this.

As you can tell, these black fruiting varieties are very different. They are highly prized by many countries. If you grow one of these varieties, I would love to hear about where you grow this variety? In addition, do you have a medicinal use for the black or dark purple varieties that was not mentioned here. If so, I would love to know more about their uses. Let's keep learning together the world of pomegranates.

09/19/2017

Why would someone cover a pomegranate tree?

In California the pomegranate is sprayed with kaolin clay to prevent sun scald. Kaolin sprays are used for pest control and sunburn protection. Without the use of this protection 45% of the fruits would result in blemished fruits that are not marketable.

Sunscald appears as a change in blush of the pomegranate fruit, and will appear on the sun-exposed side of the pomegranate fruit. Sunburn is a progression of sunscald, and appears as either severely darkened pomegranate skin or as dry, necrotic and cracked skin in severe cases. Heat stress and sunburn caused from excessive temperatures and ultraviolet (UV) light can damage a pomegranate crop; significantly reducing marketable yield and cutting deep into a grower’s profit.

Recently I have noticed a lot of pictures coming from around the world with row covers for sun protection. In India, I am noticing the entire plant being covered, while in other parts of the world I see the individual fruits being covered.

These floating row covers are being used for sun protection At first glance, it looks like they are covered in ordinary plastic. But this is actually described as breathable fabric. The material is similar in feel to interfacing fabric used in sewing. A row cover is simply a piece of lightweight, semitransparent fabric that is most often constructed from spun-bonded polypropylene or polyester. Made of polypropylene, they will not absorb water and become heavy after a rain. Made of lightweight fabric, they allow both air and water to pass through to your pomegranate plants.

Commonly known as 'row covers' or 'floating row cover', these protective 'blankets' are composed of a cloth-like material made from spun polyester or polypropylene. You drape them directly over a row of plants. Usually hoops are used or other structures that allow some room at the top to grow unimpeded. This also allows for better airflow.

I would love to hear from you if you use this to protect your pomegranates from sun scald. How much has this helped and what are the benefits of using this verses kaolin clay?

09/16/2017

09/12/2017

At what stage of pollination in pomegranate flowers yields the best results?

Pomegranates are self-fruitful/pollinating. The primary pollination agents are insects and hummingbirds which love pomegranate blooms. Bloom begins in April and continues through to June, either in a continuous manner or in three to four flushes (variety dependent).

Let us look at the difference between the two basic types of blooms: hermaphroditic and functionally male. The hermaphroditic fruit-bearing flowers can be identified by their fuller, more rounded base, which appears bell-shaped. The male non-fruit-bearing flowers will be more narrow and vase-shaped and fall off shortly after blooming.

Recent studies have compared pomegranate flower pollination in day 1-4 to see if there was any difference in the outcome. The study of flower development and receptivity can be useful in developing production strategies. Each and every aril results from an independent fertilization event. The flowers in this study were hand-pollinated at different ages and then the fruit set , and fruit attributes evaluated. These flowers were emasculated and bagged to prevent open pollination. Hand pollination in day one verses day four resulted in fruit set drop from 79% to 50%. So the ability to set fruit goes down with a day four pollination. The end results were bigger fruit are produced if flowers that are pollinated early. The end results for day 4 pollinated fruit resulted 56% smaller. The results are that aril pollination is the absolute best when a flower opens on day one and fertilization of the o***s gradually decreases the older the flower gets. We already know that bigger fruit has more arils. So early flower pollination is critical to better higher quality fruit sets. Let us do everything we can to protect all the pollinators.

09/05/2017

What is the recommended temperature to store pomegranate fruit?

Pomegranate season has begun for early varieties. Many home gardeners often ask how to store the pomegranate once picked. There are traditional ways to store pomegranate fruit, but let's take a look at storing pomegranate fruit in refrigeration.

Fruit Respiration- what is fruit respiration?Respiration is the chemical process by which fruits and vegetables convert sugars and oxygen into carbon dioxide, water, and heat. Fruits are alive and respiration is how they breathe. As a result, transpiration occurs. Transpiration is the process by which fresh fruits and vegetables lose moisture. This process includes the transport of moisture through the skin of the commodity, the evaporation of this moisture from the commodity surface and the convective mass transport of the moisture to the surroundings. Fruit respiration is one of the most notable things to watch out for during long term storage of pomegranate fruit. Studies show that during storage, lower temperatures have resulted in lower respiration rates.

How long is too long? - Respiration rates increase after the second month of storage. But the respiration rate increased gradually after 2 months resulting in higher respiration rates. Overall, fruit became more susceptible to internal and external disorders as storage progresses past two months.

What temperature is ideal for storage? Storing pomegranate fruit longer 5°Celsius/41 Fahrenheit is recommended. Overall pomegranate weight loss increased with rise in temperature and storage duration. The primary source of moisture loss being the fruit skin (peel), which resulted in significant reduction in peel thickness with prolonged storage period. Therefore, to maintain a relatively low respiration rate and minimize physiological disorders, the cv. Wonderful should be stored at 5°C/41F and >92% relative humidity for storage period up to 3 months.

Benefits of storage- Studies suggest an increase in redness in arils. These findings showed that fruit may be stored between 2 to 3 months at 5°C/41F to ensure the best internal and external quality attributes. The total anthocyanin concentration increased up to 3 months of storage at 5°C/41F, and decreased gradually over time after this. These findings are beneficial to pomegranate export industries, especially where fruit are stored for long for use in health-promoting purposes.

I would love to hear what works for you. Any advice on storing pomegranate fruit would be greatly appreciated.

08/29/2017

What are some of the best hard seeded varieties recommended for juicing?

Many people often forget about some of the great tasting hard seeded varieties. I personally eat the hard seeded varieties. But for most people the hard seeded variety is simple too hard for them to consume as a fresh eating variety. There are many things that these varieties can be used for such as making great jelly or using them as a juice variety.

The U.S. grows about 33,000 acres of pomegranates, nearly all of it the variety called “wonderful,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Resnicks own more than a quarter of that acreage, squeezing most of what it bears into hourglass-shaped bottles of Pom Wonderful juice. Even though these large quantities are grown, the majority of these pomegranate fruits are juiced from the variety called Wonderful. The variety Wonderful has become an iconic trademark name, so for now this trend continues to use this variety for juicing and fresh eating.

There are other varieties that could be used for juice production, but today let's focus on varieties that are hard seeded. Just because a variety has hard seeds does not mean that it would not be a great juice variety. When you eliminate this idea that hard seeded varieties are not good for anything, you open the door up to a world of fantastic flavored varieties of pomegranates. Many hard seeded varieties have absolutely outstanding flavor combinations that burst your taste buds. Al Sirin Nar and Kara Gul are the best tasting hard seeded varieties based on UC taste tests performed at the Wolfskill station. Today let's take a look at a few varieties that are hard seeded that Jeff Moersfelder recommends as great juice varieties.

Nikitski Ranni - Nikitski-ranni (aka Russian number 19) Found to be one of the more successful “Russian” varieties, at the University of Georgia’s Ponder Farm. Nikitski-ranni is rated as one of the best tasting pomegranates grown in the humid south. This is a sweet-tart type with large fruit, red rind, medium to large size red arils, and hard seeds. It has good fruit flavor and excellent color. This variety is very productive and is best suited to juice. Appeared to be quite productive in Tifton, Georgia. In addition, this variety is very cold hardy just like Salavatski.

Al Sirin Nar - This is a sweet-tart type with large fruit, red rind, large sized dark red arils, and very hard seeds. It has good fruit flavor with citrus/floral notes and excellent color. This variety is very productive from a young age and is best suited to juice. Very cold hardy variety.

Kara Gul - It is a sweet-Tart type, with good flavor and medium to large sized fruit. Dark red rind with dark red arils and medium hard seeds. Darkest variety in Davis collection. Name means dark red / black flower.

Sakerdze - It is a sweet-tart to tart type with medium to large fruit, red rind, medium to large sized dark red arils, and hard seeds. It has good fruit flavor and color and seems to be quite productive. Good for juice. Very cold hardy variety.

I would love to hear from you. What hard seeded varieties do you like to juice? Also, I would love to hear some other useful ideas on how to use hard seeded varieties. As always, your input is valued by so many people that follow our page. Let's continue to help one another learn.