Pomegranates is a significant fruit crop grown in India. It originated in Iran and is done in the Mediterranean countries such as Egypt, Spain, Morocco, Afghanistan, and Balochistan. In addition, farmers cultivate it in China, Myanmar, USA and India.
India got the first rank in pomegranate farming in the world. In India, major pomegranates producing states are Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. Pomegranate is considered the favourite table fruit and fresh fruits are used for table purposes. They can also produce juices, jellies, syrups, juice concentrates, squash, pomegranate rub, carbonated cold drinks and processed products such as pomegranate tablets, acids, etc. This fruit is rich in minerals, vitamins, nutrients and proteins. Pomegranate juice is useful for leprosy patients.
How to Start Pomegranate Farming?
You can cultivate the pomegranates through easy and simple processing. However, when you are in the initial stage of farming, you need to know about the various tools which play the main role in agricultural processing. Therefore tractors and implements are prominent in agriculture. Hence, you can choose the Powertrac 445 tractor for better farming and any other such as Eicher 188 or Swaraj 724 XM.
Climate Requirement
Farmers do the pomegranate cultivation in essentially dry and semi-arid weather, where high dry summer quality and cold winter enable fruit production. This plant can withstand to some extent and can be considered drought-tolerant. The favourable temperature for fruit development is 35 to 38 ℃. For pomegranates cultivation, the 500 m areas above sea level are best suitable.
Soil Requirement
You can grow the pomegranate in different soil types, from low fertile to high fertile soil. However, in deep loamy, it provides an excellent yield. Pomegranate plants can tolerate alkalinity and salinity in the soil. Soil comes with a pH range of 6.5 to 7.5 and is ideal for pomegranate farming.
Apart from this, when you prepare the soil, you should be well-known for the more reliable equipment and useful in pomegranate farming. The tractor plays a major role because it should be compatible with all attachments. Therefore, you can choose the Powertrac Euro 47 tractor model or any other renowned model of any popular tractor brand.
Propagation Method
Pomegranate plants can be commercially propagated through air layering, hardwood cutting and tissue culture.
1. Hardwood Cutting Propagation
It is a simple method, but its success rate is low, so this method is not popular among farmers. For cuttings chosen from a one-year-old tree 9 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm) tall, 4-5 buds are better for more roots and survival.
2. Air-Layering Propagation
This is the most common practice by farmers to grow new plants. For the air layering method, select 2 – 3 year old plants and air-layered after IBA (1,500 – 2,500 ppm) treatment for the best rooting.
You can obtain about 150 to 200 rooted cuttings from one plant for pomegranate farming. The rainy season is best suitable for layering. It takes about 30 days for roots. You should separate the layer from the mother plant after 45 days. Expert pomegranate growers identify the time of separation by looking at the roots’ colour; when it begins to turn brown, the layered cuttings are separated. These are then grown in polybags and kept under a shade net or greenhouse for 90 days to harden.
Pit Preparation And Planting
Ninety days old pomegranate seedlings are ready for transplanting in the pits in the main field. Prepare suitable size pits of 60 cm x 60 cm x 60. The ideal planting distance for farmers is 10 to 12 feet (3 to 3.6 m) between plants and 13-15 feet (3.9 to 4.5 m) between rows. During monsoon, you fill the pits with farm manure (10 kg), single superphosphate (500 g), and neem-cake (1 kg). The best time for sowing pomegranates is in the rainy season (July-August), when sufficient soil moisture is available for optimum growth of the plants.
Pomegranate Farming – Fertiliser Management
Farmers grow the pomegranate even in the less fertile soil. Therefore, the recommendation dose of chemical fertilisers should incorporate in the pit for better productivity and quality of fruits. The dose of fertilisers and manure varies according to types of soil genotypes and fertility from region to region. For better development and growth, you should give chemical fertilisers as per the recommendation.
Irrigation Requirement
Pomegranate is a drought-tolerant fruit crop which can sustain underwater scarcity to some extent. However, regular irrigation is also a core factor in reducing fruit splitting, which is the major disorder of fruits.
You should apply the irrigation at 10 to 12 days intervals during winter, whereas during summer, you need 4 to 5 days. Most farmers supplied water by saving water, drip irrigation, and convenient fertiliser. Generally, Ambe Bahar is a suggestion where an irrigation facility is available; otherwise, Mrig Bahar is preferable.
Pruning and Training In Pomegranate
It is a promising technology to control vegetative growth and maintain the size and shape of trees to allow proper light penetration at the tree’s centre, facilitating cultural operation, spraying and fruit harvesting.
Two methods of training systems are adopted in pomegranates.
1) The Single-Stemmed Method –
In this method, only the main shoot remains after removing other twigs of the pomegranate plant.
2) Multi-Stemmed Method-
Farmers maintain the pomegranate bush shape by keeping 3 to 4 shoots at the base using the multi-stem method. Pomegranate farmers commercially adopt this method because one shoot provides the lead rather than the complete loss even after a shoot borer. Pomegranate harvesting starts after 150 to 180 days from flowering to fruit maturity. But it depends on genotype, climatic condition, and growing region.
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