EVALUATION OF POMEGRANATE BAGGING AND FRUIT CRACKING IN SHANDONG, CHINA

Abstract

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is one of the most important deciduous fruit trees in Shandong, China. The cultivated area is 10,000 ha. But fruit-cracking is a severe issue in pomegranate production. A preliminary study of fruit cracking and the relationship to cultivar, tree age, and cultivation practices in the main pomegranate cultivars in the Yicheng, Zaozhuang, Shandong Province in 2009 was performed and analysed statistically. The results showed significant differences in fruit cracking severity between different pomegranate cultivars. The fruit cracking severity of ‘Daqingpitian’, ‘Dahongpitian’, ‘Sanbaitian’ and ‘Xiehuatian’ was 45.9, 32.6, 30.0 and 27.6% respectively and higher than other cultivars. The fruit cracking rate of ‘Gangliu’, ‘Zhuyeqing’, ‘Houpitian’ and ‘Qingpidazi’ were 2.3, 1.9, 1.7 and 1.5% respectively which were good cracking-resistant cultivars. It indicated that pomegranate fruit cracking is related to inheritance. So it is important to screen new cracking-resistant cultivars to improve fruit quality in the pomegranate industry. The fruit cracking rate increased with the tree age. The fruit cracking rate of ‘Daqingpitian’ when bagged was 4.1% compared to 46% in the unbagged control. Therefore, bagging could reduce fruit cracking rate and is an effective cultivation measure to prevent pomegranate fruit-cracking.