Article from
VSCNews, Vegetable and Specialty Crop News
Source: Ali Sarkhosh, University of Florida
Locally Grown Pomegranate Varieties in Florida Are Promising for the Future
 | Fig. 1 
Aril and juice characteristics of some
pomegranate varieties locally grown in Florida,
fruit harvested in August 2018. a) ‘Vkusnyi’,
b) ‘Crab’, c) ‘Mack Glass’, d) ‘Ever Sweet’. |
Ali Sarkhosh, assistant professor and Extension specialist at the
Horticultural Sciences Department at the University of Florida, is
researching how well pomegranates will grow in Florida’s climate.
The
economic potential for growing pomegranates in Florida is currently
unknown at this time. Research continues on the possibility of finding
pomegranate cultivars that can grow in Florida. Florida’s wet season,
accompanied by hot weather, are factors that will reduce the fruit
quality of late-season fruiting of pomegranate varieties such as
Wonderful. Therefore, the Wonderful variety, which is grown
commercially in California, cannot be the right cultivar for Florida.
Also, harvesting pomegranate in July and August will avoid marketing
competition with California pomegranates.
While varieties with
red skin and aril (seed) color are encouraged to be planted for
commercial production, there are many pomegranate varieties with
different fruit characteristics such aril color, taste, skin color,
etc. that can be considered for the future.
Pomegranate fruit
and juice have been used for thousands of years. Many studies have
shown that pomegranate juice contains higher levels of antioxidants,
even more than red wine and green tea. However, a small percentage of
American citizens have tried pomegranate fruit, as it is not easy to
peel the fruit off.
Today, pomegranate can be purchased at a few
supermarkets not only as whole fruit and juice, but also as packed
arils. An automated aril extraction machine with the capability of
extracting arils of 100 tons of pomegranate fruit per day has been
developed. There is a possibility that different pomegranate varieties
with different aril colors will be packed for the market in the future,
if more studies and sensory tests are done on fruit characteristics of
these varieties.
To evaluate the fruit characteristics of
locally grown varieties, fruits from 13 different pomegranate varieties
were harvested in the first week of August 2018 from an orchard in Dade
City, Florida. More than 20 fruit characteristics were measured,
including fruit weight, aril and juice percentage per fruit, fruit
appearance, sugar, acidity, antioxidant activity, etc. So far, the
results of the study are promising, indicating that varieties that have
difficulty in producing a good shape, size, and appearance of fruit
under Florida’s hot, humid conditions and high pest pressure might be
suitable to be used either for packed arils or for juice. One of the
biggest problems is the diseases that develop during the hot/wet
season, which reduces the quality of the fruit.
At the
University of Florida, with the help of the Florida Pomegranate
Association and growers, pomegranate research is being developed in
different areas. Horticulturists, plant pathologists, physiologists and
breeders are working on varying production issues in Florida to
possibly make pomegranates a viable and economical tree fruit in
Florida.
Acknowledgment: Ali Sarkhosh thanks Joseph Alexander, who harvested and delivered fruit to his lab.
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Bibliography
"Locally Grown Pomegranate Varieties in Florida Are Promising for the Future." Vegetable and Specialty Crop News, 26 Sept. 2018, VSCNews,
vscnews.com/locally-grown-pomegranate-varieties-in-florida-are-promising-for-the-future/.
Accessed 29 Aug. 2019.
Photograph
Sarkhosh, Ali. "Fruit, aril, and juice characteristics of four
pomegranate cultivars grown in Florida; fruit harvested in August 2018." Horticultural Sciences Dept., University of Florida IFAS, AskIFAS, edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg056.
Accessed 29 Aug. 2019.
Published 29 Aug. 2019 LR
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