How To Grow Organic Pomegranate Tree Faster At Home

Botanical name - Punica granatum

Family-Punicaceae

Origin - Afghanistan

Pomegranates are highly valued for their cool, refreshing juice and medicinal properties, making them a health-promoting fruit. The fruit is a major source of sugar, minerals, and iron. Its rind contains tannins. It is widely cultivated worldwide for its sweet and tart taste and for consumption. The bark of the stem, the roots, and the fruit peel are used to reduce obesity, control dysentery and diarrhea, and kill tapeworms.

Climate:

This is a subtropical plant. For its optimal growth and yield, it requires hot and dry summers and cold winters. It is an ideal fruit for arid regions. For sweeter fruits, the climate should be dry and the temperature high during the ripening period.

Soil:

Pomegranates can be grown in various types of soil, but deep, heavy loam soil with good drainage is ideal. Pomegranates can also be cultivated in soil with a pH value of up to 9.0.

Recommended Cultivars:

Bhagwa (2013): A Tree medium in size, bushy, partial deciduous, and a regular bearer. Fruit medium to large in size, rind smooth, glossy, red in colour, soft seeds having red colour aril. Fruit weight is 215g, juice 45.03%, TSS 13.6% and with low acidity 0.48%. To get well-sized and good quality fruits, flower buds/flowers should be removed manually after one month of fruit set in May. It matures in mid-August to mid-September. Its average yield is 20-25 kg/plant.

• Grow Bhagwa for red coloured fruits and red arils.

• Use hardwood cuttings for propagation of nursery plants and dip the cuttings in IBA (100 ppm) for 24 hours to get higher rooting.

• Always remove dead, diseased, broken, and water sprouts from the main trunk for a single stem up to 30 cm.

• Spray Bordeaux mixture for the control of black rot disease.

Ganesh (1997): The Tree is evergreen, bushy, precocious, and a regular bearer. Fruit medium, peel colour yellow with pink blush, 119 arils white with pink tinge. Soft edible seeds, TSS of juice is 13 per cent with low acidity (0.5%). Main crop (ambe-bahar) matures in mid-August. To get well-sized and good quality fruits, flower buds/flowers should be removed manually from 15th April onward. Its average yield is 25-30 kg/plant.

Kandhari (1997): The Tree is deciduous, vigorous, and upright. Regular bearer, moderate yielding, bears only in ambe-bahar with red splash on the fruit rind, arils light pink with semi-hard seeds, juice is sweet with 12 per cent TSS and well blended with acidity (0.61%). To get well-sized and good quality of fruits, flower buds/ flowers should be removed from 22nd April onward. Its average yield is 25-30 kg/plant.

Jodhpur Red: This is a local variety grown in Rajasthan. Its fruits have pinkish-red, firm kernels. It yields well even with limited water.

Jalore Seedless: This is a variety of pomegranate grown in alkaline soil. Its fruits are medium-sized with light pink, sweet arils and soft seeds.

Mridula: This is an improved hybrid variety of pomegranate. Its arils are soft and dark red. The plants are small in size and high-yielding.

Arakta: An improved variety with soft arils, the fruit weighs 249 grams and has dark red arils.

Ruby: A modern variety with red, soft arils. The average fruit weight is 221 grams.

Propagation:

By Seed: Plants grown from seed have uneven characteristics. Seeds are sown in the nursery at the beginning of the rainy season, and after about a month, the seedlings are transplanted into polythene bags.

By Cuttings: During the rainy season, 20-22 cm long woody cuttings of pomegranate should be treated with 300 ppm IBA and planted in the nursery. They should be transplanted once roots develop. Cuttings can also be planted in February-March.

By Air Layering: The appropriate time for air layering in pomegranate plants is during the monsoon season. In this method, on a one-year-old mature branch of the desired variety, a 2-2.5 cm strip of bark is removed 30-40 cm from the tip. A paste of 10,000 ppm IBA in lanolin is applied to the exposed area. Then, moist moss grass is wrapped around it and secured with polythene. After 2-3 months, when roots develop, the layered branch is cut from the parent plant and used for planting.

Planting:

Pomegranate plants should be planted during the rainy season, but if proper irrigation facilities are available, planting can also be done in February-March. For planting, dig pits of 75 x 75 x 75 cm at a distance of 5 x 5 meters in June. Mix 20 kg of well-rotted cow dung manure and 50-100 grams of endosulfan powder in each pit and fill the pits before planting.

Manures and Fertilizers:

Pomegranate plants should be manured and fertilized according to their age as follows:

Plant Age	Manure and Fertilizers (Quantity in Kg/plant)
Plant Age	F.Y.M	Urea	Super Phosphate	Murate of Potash
1 Year	10	0.1	0.25	0.05
2 Year	20	0.2	0.5	0.1
3 Year	30	0.3	0.75	0.15
4 Year	40	0.4	1	0.2
5 years and onward	50	0.5	1.25	0.25

5-6 weeks before flowering, pomegranate plants should be given the full amount of farmyard manure, superphosphate, and muriate of potash, along with half the recommended amount of urea. The remaining half of the urea should be applied when the fruits are developing.

Irrigation:

Irrigate the pomegranate plants immediately after planting. For the first 10-15 days after planting, irrigate the plants every 2-3 days. During the summer months, irrigation should be done every 7-10 days. Maintain adequate soil moisture during flowering and fruit development.

Training and Pruning:

Pruning is essential in the early stages of plant growth to give them the proper shape. Initially, keep four main stems. These stems will bear fruit for 3-4 years. After six years, allow new stems to develop in place of these four. Pruning should be done before new growth begins. After fruiting, dry and diseased branches should be continuously removed. Develop the plants as a single stem up to 30 cms. Basal branches should not touch the ground. The dead, diseased, broken, criss-crossing branches and water sprouts on the main trunk should be removed.

Flowering and Fruiting:

Pomegranate plants begin to bear fruit three years after planting. Like many fruit trees, it flowers three times a year, and these flowering periods are known by the following names-

Name	Flowering	Fruiting
Ambe- Bahar	Feburary-March	July-August
Mrig- Bahar	July-August	November-December
Hasta- Bahar	October	Feburary-March

For commercially viable, high-quality crops, it is advisable to harvest fruit from only one flowering season per year. The choice of flowering season should be based on water availability, regional climate, and market demand. Mrig Bahar fruits ripen in December, after which irrigation is not required. The plants shed their leaves by March and remain dormant. New growth and flowering begin with the onset of the monsoon rains. This flowering season is suitable for the low-water areas of Rajasthan. For this, irrigation should be stopped in March-April, and the pomegranate orchard should be tilled. In May, basins should be made around the trees, and manure and fertilizers should be applied, followed by irrigation. Ambe Bahar fruits ripen during the summer, and irregular irrigation and high temperatures during this period can lead to fruit splitting.

Pests and Diseases

1. Pests:

Pomegranate Butterfly: This is the major harmful pest of pomegranate. It lays eggs on flowers and small fruits. The larvae hatch from these eggs, enter the fruits, and cause them to rot. To control this pest, spray with Endosulfan 0.05 percent during the flowering period. Wrapping the fruits in muslin cloth bags can also protect them from infestation.

Bark-eating Caterpillar: This pest feeds on the bark of pomegranate plants and weakens the branches by making deep tunnels. For its control, prepare a solution of Endosulfan 35 EC (2 ml per liter of water) and spray it on the branches and twigs. Clean the tunnels made by the pest and inject 2-3 ml of kerosene into each tunnel using a syringe, then seal the opening with mud.

How To Grow Organic Pomegranate Tree Faster At Home

2. Diseases:

Leaf Spot Disease: With the onset of the rainy season, brown and white spots appear on the leaves and fruits due to the attack of fungi called Cercospora and Gloeosporium. To prevent this, spray Topsin-M (1 gram per liter of water) or Zineb (2 grams per liter of water) at intervals of two weeks.

Physiological Disorders:

Fruit Cracking: Fruit cracking in pomegranates is a serious physiological disorder. Irregular irrigation, boron deficiency, and extreme fluctuations in temperature during fruit development are the main causes. For its proper management, regular irrigation from fruit formation to ripening, and spraying with gibberellic acid (15-20 ppm) and boron (0.2%) are quite effective.