Pomegranate cultivation is discussed, including the plant's taxonomy, botanical description, history of cultivation, ancient and modern uses, constituents, and in vitro anticancer studies. Pomegranate is native to Afghanistan and Iran and has been cultivated in those regions for thousands of years. It is a shrub producing red fruits high in antioxidants that have been shown to have anticancer properties.

1. Pomegranate cultivation
E-mail: abdul_hamid169@yahoo.com

2. Taxonomy
• Kingdom: Plantae
• Phylum: Tracheophyta
• Class: Magnoliopsida
• Order: Myrtales
• Family: Punicaceae
• Genus: Punica
• Species: granata
• ( granatum)

3. Botanical Description
• Short (less than 5 m), spiny shrub
with shiny leaves of 4-6 cm
• Bears red/orange bell shaped
flowers
• Deciduous
• Produces red spherical fruits
approx 10 cm in diameter
– Each fruit contains numerous
seeds covered in fleshy arils
(seed packets) contained in walls
of membranous tissue

4. History
• Cultivated in: India,
Afghanistan,
Southeastern Europe
including the
Mediterranean, Egypt
and other parts of Africa,
Ancient Persia (now the
Modern Middle East)
• One of the oldest herbals
known in traditional
medicine, used for
thousands of years in
areas of the Middle East
and Mediterranean

5. Ancient Uses
o Mentioned in the papyrus Ebers of Egypt in
1550BC
o Greek physicians advised women of
childbearing age to ingest the seeds of
pomegranate to prevent pregnancy
o Giambattista della Porta suggested eating
the seeds to strengthen teeth back in 1588
with his book, Phytognomonica

6. A Traditional Use
• Pomegranates have astringent
properties because of the
alkaloids (pelletierine tannate)
present in the bark of the
stems and roots and have
been used for many years as
an anthelmintic: removing
tapeworms
• The chemicals cause the
tapeworm to loosen its hold
on the intestinal walls and
they can be removed from the
body through purging

7. Modern Uses
• Powerful Antioxidant
• Has strong degree of free
radical scavenging, absorbs
oxygen radicals, lowers LDL
levels in blood
• Shows in vitro anticancer
properties
www.pomwonderful.com/juice.html

8. Medicinal Properties and Uses
• Juice of Leaves and Fruits
– Gastroenterological ailments and Ulcers
– Antiarthersceloris
– Prevent cancers
– Hypertension
– Diabetes
• Rind and Bark of stem and roots
– Anthelmintic
– Antidiarrheal
– Promotes mucous discharge
• Dried Flowers
– Hematuria, hemorrhoids, hemoptysis, dysentery, chronic diarrhea,
and bronchitis

9. Constituents [2][3][13]
• Fruit Rind and Pulp
– Antioxidants
• Polyphenols
• Tannins (Ellagitannins)
• Anthocyanins
– Steroid estrogen estrone (one of the few plants in nature)
• Roots, Bark, Leaves, Young Fruit
– Piperidine alkaloids
• Pelletierine, Isopelletierine (Active)
• N-methylisopelletierine, pseudopelletierine (Inactive)
– Punico tannic acid

10. Polyphenols Present [14]

11. In Vitro Anticancer Studies
• “Polyphenols from fermented juice at concentration ranging
from100 to 1000 mg/ml inhibited aromatase activity by 60–80%
and 17-b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase Type 1 activity by 79%. In
two breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MB-MDA-231 cells,
fermented pomegranate juice polyphenols consistently showed
about twice the anti-proliferative effect as fresh pomegranate
juice polyphenols.”
• “pomegranate fruit extract (PFE) possesses remarkable
antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic properties against human PCa
cells both in vitro and in vivo. Treatment of human PCa PC-3 cells
with an extract of pomegranate fruit (PFE, 10–100 mg/ml; 48 h)
resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of cell growth/cell viability
and induction of apoptosis.”

12. Abdulhamid mohtat Kandahar AfghanistanAbdulhamid mohtat Kandahar Afghanistan
Status of Pomegranate in AfghanistanStatus of Pomegranate in Afghanistan
12

13. Introduction
 Afghanistan can be considered the
country of the pomegranate fruit
because of the excellent quality of the
cultivars that thrive there.
 Afghanistan is a land for 48 leading
world cultivars of pomegranate
commonly growing in Kandahar,
Helmand, Kapisa, Samangan, Farha,
Nenroz, Balkh and Herat Provinces.
 Kandahar Province has historically,
widely been known as main
production area for its high quality and
productivity.

14.  Pomegranate ranks 5th after grapes,
almond, apricot and apple.
 The area has decreased from 5667 ha
(1996) to 2500 ha (2003).
 The average yields are in the range of
about 8.6- 9.6 t/ha.
 Total production is around 24,000 Mt
 Production in the Kandahar Province
is approximately 10,000 metric tons;
and the main cultivar is ‘Kandahari’
14

15.  Pomegranate is among the main
exported fruits of Afghanistan that
is exported to Pakistan, Russia and
Arabic Countries.
 Most of the pomegranate growing
areas in Afghanistan are situated
between 700-1500 m above sea
level, and it can be grown in such
ranges commercially.
15

16. Climatic adaptation
Fortunately, the climatic condition of
Afghanistan is:
suitable for pomegranate growing.
Pomegranate can't withstand areas where
the temperature is below minus 16c to- 20
o
c in winter.
In Afghanistan among 48 cultivars of
pomegranate are:
o 20 cultivars are sweet,
o 17 cultivars are medium sweet
o 11 cultivars are sour.
Among all of them the seedless cultivar is
very famous.
16

17. Climatic adaptation………….
 Generally Afghan pomegranate
has 14-19% sugar content.
17

18. Climatic adaptation ………
 The tree tolerates limy, slightly alkaline, saline,
calcareous, wet and low fertile soils
 Drought resistance
 Trees have a low winter chilling requirement:200 - 400
hours.
18

19. Production
 Pomegranate is among the
main exported fruits of
Afghanistan
 Pomegranate is exported to
Pakistan, Russia and Arabic
Countries
19

20. Cultivar
 As we know the pomegranate originated in
Afghanistan and Iran due to the an existing wild
type and a number of cultivated varieties
growing in several provinces of Afghanistan
 Currently, more than 160 varieties of
pomegranate are available in Ex-situ germplasm
collection in UCDavis, California
20

21. Propagation
 Hardwood cuttings are the easiest
and most satisfactory method of
propagating of pomegranate
 Mature wood/ branches of 1 year old
are cut into pieces 20-25cm long of
wood 1/2 to 1 cm in diameter
 Cuttings must be younger than 6
months and older than 2 years are
unsuitable
 Treat cutting with 500-2000 ppm IBA
21

22. Layout and design
22

23. Orchard layout
23

24. Planting an orchard
 In Afghanistan the planting of pomegranate is
done in late of winter (20 – 25 days) before
sprouting, but it is also possible to plant it in
early winter in plain areas, after shedding of
leaves
 Generally, for pomegranate the planting
distances of 4 -5 m of row and 3 – 4 m for plant
to plant are recommended
 Square and rectangular systems
24

25. Manure and fertilizer
 Manure and fertilizer
 In Afghanistan the farmers apply farm yard
manure in orchards of pomegranate in
autumn
 In general application of 11 kg of well
decomposed farm yard manure and 250 g
urea, 125 g triple super phosphate and 125
g of potassium sulphate are recommended
for a one year saplings each year for 4-5
years
25

26. Manure and fertilizer……….
 Based on other recommendations a 6 year old or
onward aged tree of pomegranate can be
manure with 30-50 kg F.Y.M, 1- 1.5 kg Urea, 0.5
Kg T.S.P or DAP and 0.5 kg (POS).
 Excessive or late application of Nitrogen may
delay fruit maturity and deplete color
 some evidence indicate that excessive nitrogen
application cause increased vegetative growth
and reduced fruit production
26

27. Irrigation
 The pomegranate can with stand
long period of drought compared to
other fruit crops.
 Irrigation, however, must be
applied to obtain higher yield and
quality.
 The orchards of pomegranate need
to be irrigated in Afghanistan to
obtain qualitative and quantities
yield due to the dry and semi dry
climate. 27

28. Irrigation……………
 In general light and regular
irrigations are essential during
fruiting season
 Irrigation at 10-12 days interval is
needed until harvesting
 The farmers irrigated their
pomegranate orchard 6-8
time/year with flood irrigation
 During winter there is no need for
frequent irrigation
28

29. Cold weather and pomegranate
 Cold weather and pomegranate
 The pomegranate trees can withstand frost, it is
injured by temperatures below minus (-11
Celsius) and will died below ( -16-20 Celsius)
29

30. Cold weather and
pomegranate……………………….
 The pomegranate trees are injured by the low
temperature of autumn and winter as well as spring
 Precautions to prevent the bad affects of low
temperature/frost injury
 Retarding of plant growth until autumn by no irrigation
and no application of nitrogenous fertilizers can hasten
growth in the following season
30

31. Cold weather and pomegranate………..
 Maintain regular irrigation specially in late of
summer
 Establish orchards at air drainage places/sites that
can’t accumulate cold air due to the flow of air.
 Painting of tree stems with lime solution.
 Burning of some materials to produce smoke which
can make a layer for forest protection
31

32. Sun Scald
 As we know pomegranate is grown in
sunny, dry and hot areas and the tree
has a habit to bear fruit to outside of the
tree crown which can expose fruit to
sun.
 Sun causes deterioration to fruit
branches and even main stem, the
affected portion shows dark cracking
spot on fruit and blacking /coloring of
exposed stems to sun light
32

33. How to prevent sunscald
 Close plantation will avoid the effect of sun scald by
mutual shading
 Planting of windbreak around orchard, especially to
south side to create shade on trees.
 Joint the plantation of almond trees with omegranate
to reduce the affect of sun, almond has loose and
thinned leaves which allows some penetration of sun
light to pomegranate trees.
33

34. Fruiting
 Fruits are borne terminally on short
spurs arising from mature shoots,
these bear fruits for three or four
years
 Only limited pruning of the bearing
trees are required
 The gradual growth of new shoots
should be encouraged by restricted
cutting back of the bearing shoots
 Suckers and water sprouting must be
removed regularly
34

35. Tree training and pruning
Tree training and pruning
Training is done only to give proper
shape and size to the trees, trees are
trained to single or multiple trunked trees
that are common in Afghanistan
Modified leader system is the best for
Pomegranate
35

36. Tree training and pruning
Multi-stemmed trees:
The natural growth habit of the pomegranate is to
produce many suckers from the base of the tree
5-6 stems/ vigorous suckers should be selected
around the base of the young trees
Allow to grow, selection of 4-5 suckers to be
developed into permanent trunks may take 2-3 or
more years.
36

37. Tree training and pruning……………
 All other remaining suckers should be removed
in summer and during dormant season.
 Many growers prefer the multi trunk system in
case of frost and sun scald to avoid it, usually
only one or two trunks are injured by these
climatic factors
37

38. Single stemmed tree
 By removing all the side shoots, single stem is
left
 This operation begins at the time of planting, the
main stem is pinched at a height of about 80-100
cm that resulted for the formation of well
distributed 4-5 branches on all sides about 50-70
cm from the ground level
38

39. single stemmed tree………..
 Formed branches are allowed to grow in 3
years of planting, which can maintain desired
shape of single stem( modified leader system)
 Mechanical support may be needed for the
first 3-4 years or until trunks are large and
rigid enough to support the developing top
which is not common in Afghanistan.
39

40. Pruning
 Pomegranate trees require a small amount of
pruning each winter to maintain shape, good
bearing surface and healthy position
 Pruning of water shoots, weak crotches, dead
twigs, old spurs
 Shortening of spurs bearing branches from
tips to encourage the new growth
40

41. Fruit cracking
 Fruit cracking is a major problem of pomegranate,
that is common in all pomegranate growing areas
of Afghanistan
 This disorder is reported to be due to mainly two
reasons, one is boron deficiency and another is
moisture stress conditions
 That created due to irregular irrigation or irregular
rain fall in late summer after a long dry period
 Fluctuation in day and night temperatures may
also lead to fruit cracking.
41

42. Fruit cracking
42

43. Precaution and control methods of cracking
 Harvesting of fruit should be taken few days before
of its real maturity; delay in harvest will hasten
cracking of fruit
 Supply of moisture regularly through drip irrigation
to soil especially near to harvesting time, avoids
dryness of soil in this time
 Plant windbreak around pomegranate plantation to
avoid night and day temperature fluctuation.
 Plantation of almond trees in orchard to produce
shade and avoid light intensity.
43

44. Precaution and control methods of cracking…………..
 Application of nitrogen fertilizer at a rate of 600
g of urea / tree reduces cracking.
 Planting of fruit cracking tolerate types or
varieties
 Paper shelled or soft seeded types are tolerant.
 Mulching of soil with straw, sugar cane trash,
paddy husk could conserve moisture in soil for
long time.
 Two times picking will reduce cracking rate
allowing the mature fruit to be picked early
44

46. Harvesting:
 The trees may bear fruits from the fourth year and
continue to do so for about 25-30 years and can live for
200 years
 Color change of fruit: each variety can attain specific color
at its maturity, the fruits are harvested when the fruit skin
turns its color to yellow, pink, red, brown color.
 The fruit juice must pass a minimum color and decrease
its acidity with a maximum sugar content of 18-21 % brix
which can be determined by refractometer
 Pickers should harvest fruit with clippers
46

47. Packaging
 Commonly in Afghanistan
pomegranates are packaged in
wooden boxes, plastic bags, and jute
bags in baskets or even without
packaging all together transported in
trucks
 Afghan traders package pomegranates
in wooden boxes with size of (60 x 40 x
30 cm)
 Recently some NGO’s such as
ROP.CADG and etc. provide a special
packing cartons
47

48. Storage
 Pomegranate keeps well for a
long time and is similar to the
apple in having a long storage
life
 In Afghanistan the controlled
atmospheric and other modern
stores are not available
 Afghan producers use ordinary
rooms as storage for
pomegranate
48

49. Storage……….
Handling and Storing:
Pomegranate should be handled carefully through
all stages of Harvesting, Packing, handling, Storage
and marketing
Proper packaging and handling can reduce injuries
and prevent contamination and damage
49

50. Kabul sarubi
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51. 51

52. 52

63. Description of Commercially Grown Varieties
Ganesh : This variety has pinkish yellow to reddish yellow
rind colour, having light pink arils and soft seeds. Fruit
weighs between 225-250 gms with medium T.S.S.
Ruby: The fruit skin is red in colour and weighs between
225-275 gms. The grains are soft, having high T.S.S.
Arakta: Fruits are dark red in colour with soft seeds and
with high T.S.S.
Bhagwa: The fruit is glossy red in colour with soft seeds
and high T.S.S.

73. MAHA ANAR
• ‘MAHA ANAR’ is the leading apex co-operative marketing society
promoted by leading co-operative societies of Pomegranate Growers in
Maharashtra State (India).
• As this is the apex marketing co-operative society and its role is to guide
the growers for cultivation of Pomegranate (In Maharashtra state are
under pomegranate is around 83,000 hectors out of which more than
40,000 hectors area is covered by MAHA ANAR) towards higher quality
production and marketing of pomegranate in to the international
(EXPORT) market.
• Societies are having there own pre cooling as well as cold storage facility
with sound network of refrigerated trucks for transportation of fresh
pomegranate fruits from field to the cold storage and up to the air port.
MAHA ANAR is exporting Pomegranate from last many years.

74. Thank you