Pomegranate Tips

  • They like to be kept on the dry side as too much water will inhibit fruit set.
     
  • While many sources recommend removing the seeds from a pomegranate by placing half of the fruit cut side down on a work surface and hitting the end with a rolling pin or wooden spoon, we’ve found an even better way that removes every seed without any mess. Cut off the bump on the blossom end and score the outside of the fruit from pole to pole into six sections. Insert your thumbs into the blossom end and pull the fruit apart in sections. Submerge the sections in a bowl of cold water and then bend the rind backward to release the seeds. Pull out any stragglers and let the seeds sink to the bottom of the bowl. Discard the rind and any bits of membrane that float to the surface and drain the seeds in a colander. The seeds can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to five days.  Ref:  Cooks Illustrated
     
  • Check the flowers and help pollination. If the flower parts are perfect then maybe too much water and vegetative growth caused flower drop. Ants also like to eat part of the flowers so apply a band with a sticky substance to the trunk.
     
  • To produce big fruit, the key is to pollinate them very well. With hand pollination, adequate irrigation, right fertilization and fruit thinning, with the right variety, you can grow bigger fruits.
     
  • Air layering is carried out in the month of May/June. (Nov/Dec here in Australia). In this method a 1-2 year old, healthy, vigorous, mature shoot of 45-60 cm in length and pencil thickness is selected. A circular strip of bark about 3 cm wide just below a bud is completely removed from the selected shoot. Rooting hormones like IBA & NAA 50mg each in Lanoline paste are applied over this portion. Moist sphagnum moss is packed around this portion and tied with polyethylene sheet to prevent the loss of moisture. Application of such hormones promotes early rooting. Light brown roots are visible through the polythene wrap in the month of July-August. The rooted shoot is slowly detached by giving 2-3 successive cuts over a period of week before finally detaching from the parent plant. The polythene sheet is removed before planting them in pots. They are planted in pots and kept in nursery under shade. Top of the shoot is cut back to maintain a proper ratio of leaves:roots. The grafts can be transplanted in the field in the month of Sept/October (March/April in Aust).   Ref:  http://expertsystm.wixsite.com/pomegranate/propogation.

  • Disorder - Internal breakdown: Normal peel with discoloured arils
    Symptoms - The apparently healthy looking fruits when cut open reveal discoloured mushy arils. The arils become soft, light creamy-brown to dark blackish-brown and unfit for consumption.
    Causes - Boron deficiency, calcium and potash deficiency indirectly contribute in cracking. However, improper irrigation is the major cause.
    Control - Give proper irrigation to maintain proper humidity.
    The fruits should be harvested as soon as they mature.
    Management strategies used for other disorders may also help in reducing the problem.

  • PMG Agriculture was growing 120,000 Pomegranates at Bormabil North, Parkes Road, Condobolin but an unknown disease wiped them out a few years ago.