Pomegranate is an important fruit crop grown in India. It originated in Iran, and extensively Pomegranate farming is done in the Mediterranean countries like Spain, Morocco, Egypt, Iran, Afghanistan, and Baluchistan. It is cultivated to some extort in Myanmar, China, the USA, and India.

India ranks first in pomegranate cultivation in the world. In India, major pomegranate producing states are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu Rajasthan.

Maharashtra leads with 90 thousand ha areas with an annual production of 9.45 lakh Mt tones and 10.5 Mt/ha productivity. Maharashtra state accounts for 78 percent of India’s total area and 84 percent of its total production.

Pomegranate is one of the most favorite table fruits. The fresh fruits are used for table purposes. They can also prepare processed products like juice, syrup, squash, jelly, anar rub, juice concentrates, carbonated cold-drinks, and anar dana tablets, acids, etc.

Pomegranate fruit is nutritious, rich in minerals, vitamins, and proteins. The juice is useful for leprosy suffering patients.

Health benefits of Pomegranate :

Pomegranate and its juice have been found to reduce blood pressure and exert beneficial effects on blood vessels thereby reducing risk of heart attacks….

Pomegranate

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1. Antioxidants : These help to wrangle the hoards of free radicals in your system. Free radicals have an uneven number of electrons and like to balance themselves out by stealing from other molecules and cells in your body. These cells are oftentimes very important ones dealing with your DNA, and when they are destroyed, disease steps in. Pomegranate juice is an excellent source of antioxidants that work to help you stay disease-free.

2. Blood Thinner : Pomegranate juice helps your blood circulation, making it easier for blood to travel to your heart, brain, and the rest of your body.

3. Cancer Fighter : Pomegranate has been known to reduce and prohibit the growth of cancer cells and tumors in your body.

4. Digestion Aide : Pomegranate juice is a natural remedy for diarrhea, dysentery, and great number of other digestive problems.

5. Anemia Relief : With a high content of iron, pomegranate juice is a great home cure for anemia because it promotes higher levels of hemoglobin.

6. Anti-Inflammatory : Pomegranate juice has properties that help treat sufferers of arthritis. It can also help cure a cough or sore throat.

7. Neonatal Care : It has been proven that pomegranate juice ingested by pregnant women can help protect the neonatal brain.

8. Artery Protection : It helps keep plaque from building up in your arteries.

9. Cartilage Protection : It works to prevent the deterioration of cartilage in your body.

10. Cholesterol Reducer : Pomegranate juice is capable of lowering blood pressure by as much as 6% in daily drinkers, Always be thankful of Allah swt for the All the favors which he did even without asking for us.

Climate : Successful pomegranate cultivation is essentially dry and semi-arid weather, where cold winter and high dry summer quality enables fruit production. Pomegranate plants can tolerate frost to some extent and may be considered drought-tolerant.

The optimum temperature for fruit development is 35 -38 ° C.

The region with 500 m above from sea level is best suited for pomegranate cultivation.

Soil : Considering the soil requirement, it can be grown under different soil types, from low-fertile to high-fertile soil. However, in deep loamy, it gives an excellent yield. It can tolerate salinity and alkalinity in the soil to a certain extent.

Soil having a pH range between 6.5–7.5 is ideal for Pomegranate farming.

Commercial Pomegranate Varieties

These are the commercial varieties that grow in India.

  • Bhagwa
  • Mridula
  • Ganesh
  • Jyothi
  • Jalore Seedless
  • Kandhari
  • Phule Arakta
  • Phule Bhagwa Super
  • Bhagwa Sindoor
  • Bhagwa is the most cultivated variety due to its high demand for domestic and export purposes.

    Pit Preparation And Planting :

    Ninety-days old Pomegranate plants are ready for transplanting into the main field in pits.

    Prepare a suitable size of the pit is 60 cm x 6o cm x 60.

    The ideal planting distance followed by farmers is 10 to 12 ft (3 to 3.6 m) between plants and 13–15 ft (3.9 to 4.5 m) between rows.

    During monsoon, pits are filled with farmyard manure (10 kg), single superphosphate (500 gm), neem-cake (1 kg).

    The optimum time for pomegranate planting is in the rainy season (July-August) when sufficient soil moisture is available for plants’ optimum growth.

    Harvesting

    Pomegranate harvesting is starting after 150 to 180 days from flowering to fruit maturity. But it depends on genotype, climatic condition, and growing region.

    Harvesting of fruits should be done at the optimum maturity stage because early harvesting results from the dull, immature, and improper ripening of fruits. In contrast, late harvesting leads to more prone to the attack of disorders. However, Pomegranate is a non-climacteric fruit that should be harvested after at proper ripening stage.

    There are several harvest signs used to assess the maturity and harvesting of pomegranate fruits. Dark rose pink colour should develop on the surface and dark pink aril mostly preferred by the consumers.

    The calyx at the bottom of Pomegranate fruits gets turn inward side is also a maturity index. Aril should be turned in deep red or pink. Fruits of pomegranate should not be over-ripened.

    Fruits should be harvested with secateurs or clippers’ help because manual twisting may cause damaged fruits in clusters.

    Yield : A healthy Pomegranate tree can produce up to 12 to 15 kg/ plant yield during the first year. From the second year onwards, the yield per plant is around 15 to 20 kg.

    Postharvest Handling : It follows the given steps.

    Cleaning And Washing : After harvesting, fruits should be sorted out because diseased and cracked fruits should be removed, and healthy fruits are selected for further treatment.

    After sorting, fruits should be washed with solution sodium hypochlorite at the rate of 100ppm in water. This treatment will be helpful to reduce microbial contamination and to maintain a longer shelf-life.

    Pre-Cooling : It is an essential operation before storage of fruits, so It helps to remove vital heat and field heat of produce which results in shelf-life enhancement of fruits.

    For pomegranate fruits, the forced air cooling system is used for precooling. Hence it should be maintained around 5ºC with 90% relative humidity.

    Grading Of Fruits : Graded fruits attract and appeal to the consumers, which helps get a higher price from domestic and international markets.

    Their size and weight generally grade pomegranate fruits. However, grading standards are varying from country to country.

    However, grade specifications as per National Horticulture Board for the export purpose are as follows.

    GradeFruit weightSupersize750 gmKing size500–700 gmQueen size400–500 gmPrince size300–400 gm

    Pomegranate Packaging

    Pomegranate fruits are packed in wooden boxes, plastic crates for domestic and local markets.

    For the international market, mainly corrugated fibreboard boxes are used, and the capacity of the box should be 4 kg or 5 kg.

    According to AGMARK specifications dimension of the 4 kg capacity box is 375×275×100 mm3 and for the 5 kg box is 480×300×100 mm3.

    Temperature is the most crucial factor for pomegranate shelf-life because pomegranate fruits are perishable in nature, so an optimum temperature is required for long-term storage.

    The very low temperature may induce chilling injury in fruits, so an ideal temperature for the storage of fresh pomegranate fruit is 6° to 7°C and 90 to 95% Relative Humidity. At this temperature, Pomegranate fruits can store up to 3 months.