Punica granatum - Pomegranate

Description and Uses

Punica granatum (Pomegranate) is a tropical tree from Mesopotamia . It is mainly grown for its fruit crops , which have a medium shelf life. The crop is harvested by hand picking. It starts flowering after 7 - 8 years. The yield will be 7 kg/tree, but in its top season there will be a yield of 25 kg/tree. Other crop types include; alcohol, apiculture, fruit, oil, ornamental, timber, The fruit is used as delicacy . The fruit is used as " high vitamin-C content, anti-inflammatory, " with ascorbic acid (362 mg/l - 372 mg/l) as its significant phytochemical. There is pomegrane seed oil extracted by solvent extraction from the tree's seed/nut yielding 4%/seed - 5%/seed oil. The tree's wood is called pomegranate wood and has a density of 760 - 780 kg/m³. Regarding firewood production the tree's growing speed is slow, it's energetic value is 4400 ckal/kg and the wood's drying speed is fast. After 50 years the tree can be totally removed as it reached its commercial and ecological goal. Punica granatum has a lifespan of 100 years.

Environmental limitations

The tree is 8 meters tall with a crown of 6 meters wide. The tree prefers a planting distance of 250 cm and a row distance of 600 cm. It is slow growing and intolerant to shade. Punica granatum has a deep root-system and it has symbiotic associations with the Glomus intraradices fungi (endo-mycorrhiza). It is not able to fix nitrogen with "any bacteria. The name(s) or string of bacteria include(s) "Sinorhizobium americanum ". The tree's flower-morphology is hermaphroditic and is pollinated by bees. Punica granatum is evergreen and not allelopathic and has thorns.

Punica granatum thrives in an altitude of 0 to 1500 meters above sea-level (tropical). The minimum temperature is -11°C; optimally between 15 - 40°C. The optimal rainfall is 1150 mm/year. Without irrigation the annual rainfall should be between 400 - 1500mm (L/m²). The optimal soil-pH is between 6.0 - 7.0 in a soil texture of sand. To salt it is tolerant to wind tolerant and to fire a bit tolerant.

Pests and Diseases

Punica granatum is susceptible to the following pests: Anastrepha ludens , Dacus dorsalis , Dacus zonatus , Indarbela quadrinotata , Virachola isocrates . Indarbela tetraonis And it's susceptible to the following diseases: Witches broom , Angular leaf spot , .

Seed Propagation

Seeds are orthodox and can be stored for 2 months. There are approximative 75000 seeds/kg. The seeds can be propagated as followed:

• (1) Store harvested seeds in water or in the fruit at room temperature
• (3) Remove the seeds from cold to a permanent warm temperature.
• (3) Seeds germinate above ground (epigeous)