Pollen Source Influences Fruit Quality, Aril Properties, and Seed Characteristics in Pomegranate

Abstract

ABSTRACTA study was conducted to determine the effect of pollen source on fruit, aril, and seed characteristics in pomegranate. The cultivar Malas Yazdi was pollinated with three pollen sources including: Rabab Neyriz (a commercial cultivar), Malas Pishva Varamin (selected superior local cultivar), and Poost Sefid Dezful (non-commercial cultivar). The results showed that the rate of fruit set from different pollen sources varied from 13% to 46%. Pollen source also had significant effects on other fruit properties, such as fruit weight, fruit shape, fruit length and diameter, fruit peel color, fruit peel thickness, and edible portion of the fruit. Aril characteristics including number of arils per fruit, aril length and diameter, aril weight, and aril color were also significantly affected by pollen source as well as seed physical properties, including seed weight, seed length and diameter, seed hardness, and seed toughness. However ‘Malas Pishva Varamin’ as a pollinizer showed the lowest rate of fruit set, but performed better in terms of fruit quality and seed characteristic than ‘Rabab Neyriz’ and ‘Poost Sefid Dezful’. This is the first observation of xenia effect in pomegranate breeding and could serve as a new area of research for pomegranate production. These findings suggest that selection of suitable pollinizer could be a new area of research for pomegranate production.