Diseases of pomegranate is not completely managed by adopting a single method of control. Therefore integrated approach of control measure is done to reduce the incidence of several diseases

1. *
P. Sabari Grish

2. *Pomegranate (Punica granatum)

3. *Climatic requirement: The tree requires hot and dry
climate during fruit development and ripening.
*Temperature: 25-30 degree
*Soil: Well drained, sandy loan to deep loamy soil.
*pH: Slightly acidic to neutral.
*Spacing: 3 x 3 metre

4. Major diseases of Pomogranate:
Bacterial diseases:
Bacterial leaf and fruit spot Xanthomonas axonopodies pv. Punicae
Fungal diseases:
Leaf and fruit spot Pseudocercospora punicae
Anthracnose Colletotrichum gloeosporioides
Wilt Fusarium oxysporum
Post-harvest diseases:
Grey mould Botrytis cinerea
Aspergillus decay Aspergillus niger
Alternaria rot Alternaria sp.

5. Bacterial leaf and fruit spot:
Xanthomonas axonopodies pv. Punicae
Resistant variety : Mridula, IC-318762
Disease symptoms:
*Appearance of one to several small water soaked, dark colored
irregular spots on leaves resulting in premature defoliation
under severe cases.
*The pathogen also infects stem and branches causing girdling
and cracking symptoms.
*Spots on fruits were dark brown irregular slightly raised with
oily appearance, which split open with L-shaped cracks under
severe cases.
*AESA based IPM for Pomogranate By NIPHM
*ICAR-NRCP (Annual Report)

6. Survival and spread:
*Primary source of inoculum is Infected cuttings.
* Secondary source of inoculum spreads through Wind
splashed rains.
Favourable conditions:
*The increase in day temperature (38.6°C) and afternoon
relative humidity of 30.4% along with cloudy weather and
intermittent rainfall favored the disease initiation and
further spread of the disease.
*AESA based IPM for Pomogranate By NIPHM

8. Management:
Cultural control:
*Proper plant & row spacing
*Selection of disease free seedlings for fresh planting
*Use of plenty of organics + micronutrients +
recommended NPK.
Chemical control:
 Before pruning it should be sprayed with 1%
Bordeaux mixture.
 Spray 0.5 g Streptomycin Sulphate +2.5 g Copper oxy
chloride per litre of water.
 Next day or another day spray with 1 g ZnSo4 +1 g
MgSo4 +1 g Boron +1g CaSo4 per lit of water.
*AESA based IPM for Pomogranate By NIPHM
*ICAR-NRCP (Annual Report)

9. Biological control:
Apply Biocontrol agents like B.subtilis, P.floresence
and T.harzianum.
Soak Neem leaves in cow urine and spray in order to
control pests and plant pathogen
Apply 40% of tulsi leaf extract followed by neem
seed oil.
Also, apply an extract of Garlic bulb, Meswak stem at
30% per concentration.
*AESA based IPM for Pomogranate By NIPHM

10. Leaf and Fruit Spot:
Pseudocercospora punicae
Resistant Varieties: IFFCO16,17,18
Disease symptoms:
*Leaf spots are minute, brown with yellow halo.
*Spots are scattered, circular or irregular and become dark
brown with age.
*Spots on lower side are sunken with clusters of spore
bearing structures hence greyish in colour.
*Minute, circular, black spots appear on sepals of the
flower.
*Fruit spots are black, minute and circular on rind.
*When grow old, become large, irregularly circular and
depressed presenting an ugly look to the fruits.
*AESA based IPM for Pomogranate By NIPHM

11. Favourable conditions:
*Optimum temperature is 25-32°C with night
temperatures above 16°C, and a relative humidity of 90-
95%.
Survival and spread:
*Primary spread : Diseased plant debris
* Secondary spread : Wind borne conidia
*AESA based IPM for Pomogranate By NIPHM
*ICAR-NRCP (Annual Report)

13. Management:
Cultural control:
*The diseased fruits and twigs should be pruned and
destroyed.
*10% garlic and onion bulb extracts is effective in
controlling the disease.
Chemical control:
*Apply Propineb 70% WP @ 0.30% or 120g in 80 l of water
as required depending upon size of the tree and plant
protection equipment used
*AESA based IPM for Pomogranate By NIPHM

14. Anthracnose Colletotrichum gloeosporioides
Resistant varieties: Bhagwa, Ganesh, Ruby, Jalore Seedless
Symptoms:
*Small, regular to irregular black spots on leaves, calyx region
and fruits which turn later on as dark brown depressed spots.
*Infected leaves turn yellow and drop off
Survival and spread:
*Primary source of inoculum: Infected leaves
*Secondary source of inoculum: windborne conidia.
Favourable conditions:
*The disease is severe during August-September when there is
high humidity, and the temperature between 20-27ºC.
* AESA based IPM for Pomogranate By NIPHM
* ICAR-NRCP (Annual Report)

16. Management:
Cultural control:
*Select Haste or Ambe bahar (Crop regulation of
Pomogranate)
*Wider plant spacing, yearly pruning of trees.
*Proper disposal of diseased leaves, twigs and fruits.
Chemical control:
*Apply Kitazin 48% EC @ 0.20% or 80ml in 80 l of water as
require depending upon crop stage and plant protection
equipment used
*AESA based IPM for Pomogranate By NIPHM

17. Fusarium wilt : Fusarium oxysporum
Resistant Varieties: G-137, Arakta and Mridula
Disease symptoms:
*Affected plants show yellowing of leaves in some twigs or branches,
followed by drooping and drying of leaves.
*The entire tree dies in few months or a year.
*When affected tree is cut open lengthwise or cross-section dark grayish-
brown discolouration of wood is seen.
Favourable conditions:
*Relatively high soil moisture and soil temperature
Survival and spread
*Primary source of inoculum: Soil, Chlamydospores
*Secondary source of inoculum: Conidia, water
*Disease is more in heavy soil and increases with soil moisture.
*AESA based IPM for Pomogranate By NIPHM
*ICAR-NRCP (Annual Report)

19. Management:
Cultural control:
*Select Haste or Ambe bahar
*Wider plant spacing, yearly pruning of trees.
* Proper disposal of diseased leaves, twigs and fruits.
*Do not allow water to stagnate, try to create drainage
facility.
*Do not irrigate for 2-3 days after drenching.
*AESA based IPM for Pomogranate By NIPHM

20. Chemical control:
*At initial stage drench 2ml Propiconazole + 4ml
Chloropyriphos per litre water solution, drench 8-10 lit of
solution per tree.
*If any plant already wilted, drench chemical as per above
mentioned, then remove entire plant along with roots and
burn it.
*Drench with Formaldehyde @ 25 ml/l. (Drenching should be
done within a day after watering or rain. Small plants might
need a couple of cups while large trees could need more
than a gallon to completely drench the soil. Pour a steady
stream around the base of the plant, soaking the soil down
to atleast 2 inches with the drench mixture. Move mulch
away from the plant to expose the top of the roots before
drenching the soil, then return the mulch to help hold the
moisture in place.)

21. Post-harvest diseases:
Gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea
*Flower parts are infected at bloom time
*Infections remain quiescent until fruit ripening
*The fruit crown that is covering the blossom parts
prevents highly effective use of preharvest treatments
and postharvest sprays.
Symptoms: Most common symptoms are grey-brown
lesions. The lesions occur on leaves, stems, fruits and
flowers. On flowers, usually small round specks occur first,
called 'pocks'. These may or may not grow into larger grey-
brown lesions.

22. Aspergillus decay (Black heart rot) caused by
Aspergillus niger
*Infection begins in the orchard especially following rain
during flowering and early fruit development.
*The fungus may grow within the fruit without external
symptoms.
*Infected fruit generally is of lighter weight and off-color.
*Insect damage sometimes associated with Aspergillus decay.
Symptoms: Inside the fruit there is black powdery sporulation
and a brownish decay of the arils. Black sporulation may also
show on the rind and on the cracks of the fruit.

23. Alternaria rot (Black heart rot) caused by Alternaria sp.
*Infection begins in the orchard especially following rain
during flowering and early fruit development.
*The fungus can grow within the fruit without external
symptoms.
*Infected fruit generally is of lighter weight and off-color.
*Insect damage associated with Alternaria rot.
*Estimated losses usually less than 1% but can be up to 6%.
Symptoms: Alternaria rot is characterized by circular, dry,
firm, shallow lesions covered with dark, olive green to black
surface mycleial growth. The infected tissue is brown, like
that caused by brown rot.

24. *
Management in the field :
*No pre-harvest fungicide treatments are available or
effective for preventing all diseases.
*Clean Culture: Removal of dead branches and mummified
fruit from orchard
*Training of pickers and graders to exclude internal decays of
fruit during harvest and packing (e.g., shaking of branches
by hand prior to harvest to remove potentially diseased
fruit)

25. *
Management in the packinghouse :
*Optimum storage to prevent decay
*Sanitation – Chlorine washes
•Concentration: 200 ppm
•Exposure Time: 45 sec
•Rinse with Water
*Fruit sorting and grading -
*Remove all off-colored fruit
*Remove fruit with injuries and cracks

26. *
Fruit sanitation:
Physical:
*Pomogranate is dipped into hot water at 45^C for 4 mins,
chilling injury symptoms were significantly reduced.
Chemical:
*After bin dumping fruit are being washed with chlorine
solution.
*No phytotoxicity on fruit at rates up to 200 ppm chlorine
for 1 min exposure.
*Fruit dip in fludioxonil 5mg/l will control gray mould.

27. INTEGRATED DISEASE MANAGEMENT IN POMOGRANATE:
Nursery Raising and Preparation of Planting Material:
*Approved/certified nurseries must obtain standard planting
material (air layers /hard wood cuttings/tissue culture saplings)
from the respective progeny orchards.
*To prepare approximately 100kg of potting material mix 50 kg soil
and 50 kg compost along with consortium having 1 kg each of T.
harzianum, Azospirillum and 5 kg of neem cake. Planting should
be done after 8 days of mixing the above ingredients.
*Apply Bordeaux paste (10%) to the cut ends of the mother plant
and air layered cuttings.
*IDM of Pomogranate NRCP Solanpur

28. *Treat the roots of air layered cuttings with copper oxychloride (COC) @3g/l to
protect against soil borne diseases at the seedling stage and plant them in the
standard size polyethylene bags filled with above potting mixture.
*Place planting material under 50% shade net. Monthly sprays of streptocycline
(0.5 g/l) + COC (2.5 g/l) altered with bronopol(0.5 g/l) + COC (2.5 g/l) in
bacterial blight affected areas and only COC in disease free areas should be
taken on priority.
*If fungal leaf spots appear use the combi-product like 'Companion' having
mancozeb 63%WP+carbendazim 12%WP @ 2g/l or chlorothalonil 75WP
(2.0g/l). Repeat at 15 days interval if required.
*IDM of Pomogranate NRCP Solanpur

29. Planting and Care of New Orchard:
*Select site having light-medium soil for establishing the orchard.
*Make pits 1m deep at row to row spacing of 4.5m and plant to plant
spacing of 3.0 m.
*Pits should be dug at least a month prior to planting and kept open to
disinfect the pits by intense solar radiation during the day.
*Just before filling pits drench the bottom and sides of the pit with 4-5
litres of 0.4% (4ml/l) chlorpyriphos 20EC solution.
*Dust the pits with bleaching powder (a.i.33% Cl) @ 100g/pit before
filling.
*In each pit mix the following in the top soil (30-50 cm): FYM,
Vermicompost, Neem cake and Bio-innoculants.
*Before taking the planting material to the main field spray the plants
with COC (2.5g/l) + Streptocycline (0.25g/l).
*IDM of Pomogranate NRCP Solanpur

30. Care of a pre-bearing orchard (up to first two years of planting):
*One month after planting spray with streptocycline (0.5g/l) + COC
(2.5g/l) in epidemic areas and only COC in disease free areas. Take
alternate sprays of Bordeaux mixture (1%). Alternately, COC +
streptocycline sprays have to be replaced with 2-bromo-2- nitropropane-1,
3-diol (bronopol) @ 0.5g/l + captan @ 3g/l.
*Spray interval should be one month in disease free orchards. In orchards
where blight incidence is observed spray schedule should be15 days
during dry periods and 7-10 days during rainy days.
*In orchards having blight, one spray of streptocycline (0.5g/l) + COC (2.5
g/l) after the rains stop is mandatory.
*IDM of Pomogranate NRCP Solanpur

31. *If fungal leaf spots appear spray the combi-product like Companion having
mancozeb 63%WP+carbendazim 12%WP @ 2g/l or chlorothalonil 75WP
(2.0g/l) or hexaconazole 5EC @ 1ml/l. Repeat the same at 15 days interval
if required.
*Monitor regularly for blight symptoms. In case of observance of foliar
symptoms, recommended sprays have to be commenced. If blight
symptoms are observed on stems, prune and remove infected twigs as and
when the symptom is noticed.
*Any severely infected plant has to be removed, burnt and replaced with
new disease free plant
*IDM of Pomogranate NRCP Solanpur

32. Care of an Established Orchard:
*Established Orchard (After Second Year)
In bacterial blight prone areas only hasta bahar or late hasta bahar crop must be
regulated. In bacterial blight free areas, growers may take bahar convenient to
them. (Bahar is the crop regulation of Pomogranate).
(a) Rest Period
1. A rest period of four months is recommended for better plant health, vigour
and reduction of pathogen inoculum load if any.
2. As the rest period falls during rainy season (for /late crop) sprays at 15
days interval of Bordeaux mixture 1% alternated with sprays of
streptocycline (0.5g/l) + COC (2.5g/l) or 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol
(bronopol) @ 0.5g/l + captan @ 3g/l in epidemic areas need to be
practiced.
3. No manures and inorganic fertilizers are recommended. Minimum
irrigation is preferable.
4. Remove the water shoots regularly.

33. (b) Pruning and regulation (After Second Year)
*In orchards where severe bacterial blight infection is noticed, go for heavy
pruning immediately after harvest and remove as far as possible all stems with
fresh blight infection.
*Prune about 2” below the infected area. Cankers, if any should be scooped out,
till normal wood appears and then pasted/painted.Apply Bordeaux paste
(10%) to the cut ends after pruning and to scooped cankers. Oil based pastes
[COC paint made by mixing 500g COC + 1 l linseed oil or Chaubatia paste
prepared by mixing 1kg red lead(non setting grade) + 1kg copper carbonate +
1.25 l linseed oil] are preferred for pasting during rainy seasons.
*Any severely infected plant must be uprooted burnt and replaced with new
disease free plant or cut from base 2-3 inches above ground level. New well
growing sprouts have to be trained for new disease free plant.
*In disease free orchards, practice need based pruning after rest period.
*Spray Bordeaux mixture (1%) immediately after pruning.
*IDM of Pomogranate NRCP Solanpur

34. At the time of harvest:
*Pomegranates are easy to harvest and require minimal ladder work (assuming
proper pruning and training of the tree). Fruit are harvested by clipping them with
shears. Cut as close to the fruit as possible to prevent a sharp point of wood from
piercing and rubbing against other fruit in the bin.
*Either way, fruit should be handled with care in order to minimize scuffing or
cracking (a strong bump may cause the fruit to split open).
*IDM of Pomogranate NRCP Solanpur

35. *
Management in the field :
*No pre-harvest fungicide treatments are available or
effective for preventing all diseases.
*Clean Culture: Removal of dead branches and mummified
fruit from orchard
*Training of pickers and graders to exclude internal decays
of fruit during harvest and packing (e.g., shaking of
branches by hand prior to harvest to remove potentially
diseased fruit)

36. Post Harvest Storage:
*Fruit destined for the fresh market should be washed with chlorine, rinsed
with water and sorted by culls, cracks, defects, colour, size and weight.
* A storage wax can also be applied to promote the visual quality of the fruit
and increase its storage life by reducing moisture loss.
*Storage: Fruits can be stored at 5°C with 90-95% relative humidity for 2
months. In case of storage beyond two months, temperature should be
maintained at 10°C to avoid chilling injury. Pomegranates are very
susceptible to water loss resulting in shriveling of the skins. Storing fruit in
plastic liners and waxing can reduce water loss, especially under conditions
of lower relative humidity.
*IDM of Pomogranate NRCP Solanpur

37. *
Fruit sanitation:
Physical:
*Pomogranate is dipped into hot water at 45^C for 4 mins,
chilling injury symptoms were significantly reduced.
Chemical:
*After bin dumping fruit are being washed with chlorine
solution.
*No phytotoxicity on fruit at rates up to 200 ppm chlorine
for 1 min exposure.
*Fruit dip in fludioxonil 5mg/l will control gray mould.

38. Reference:
*AESA based IPM- Pomoranate, NIPHM&DPPQS.
*Agritech Portal
*Research gate (Alternate technologies to control
postharvest diseases of Pomogranate)
*Integrated Disease and Insect Pest Management in
Pomegranate, NRC on Pomogranate, Solapur.