Pomegranate cultivation:- Pomegranate is an important commercial fruit crop of tropical and sub-tropical regions. Its place of origin is Iran. Pomegranate is a delicious, juicy and sweet fruit full of nutritional properties. Which can be grown successfully in dry climate areas of the country. In our country, it is mainly cultivated in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.
This fruit is also very important from export point of view. Due to the abundant amount of minerals and Vitamin C, its fruits are considered very suitable for patients like heart patients, cancer, diabetes etc. Per 100 grams of pomegranate fruit contains 6 grams of protein, 0.1 percent minerals, 5.1 grams of fiber, 14.5 milligrams of calcium, 70 milligrams of phosphorus and 0.3 grams of iron.
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Understanding its importance, farmers should do its gardening with advanced varieties and scientific techniques, so that maximum production can be obtained from its crop. In this article, complete information about how to cultivate pomegranate using scientific technology has been mentioned for the farmer brothers.
Suitable Climate:
It is an important fruit grown in arid and semi-arid areas. Its cultivation is mainly affected by factors like temperature, light, humidity, rainfall etc. The pomegranate plant can survive even at very low to extreme temperatures (48 degrees Celsius). But for good growth and production, a temperature of 15 to 40 degrees Celsius has been found to be suitable, and areas where the annual rainfall level ranges from 500 to 800 mm are best.
Hot and dry climate is considered good at the time of development and ripening of fruits. Prolonged exposure to high temperatures increases the sweetness of fruits. Whereas humid climate affects the quality of fruits and increases the incidence of fungal diseases.
Selection of land:
Pomegranate can be successfully cultivated in different types of soils, but for its successful production, sandy-loamy soil with proper drainage and rich in organic matter is considered best. The pH value of soil is good between 6.5 to 7.5, but it can be produced even in soils with pH value up to 8.5.
Improved Varieties:
Always be very careful while selecting the varieties as the performance of the varieties depends on the climate of the area, particular season, soil condition etc. While selecting a variety for a particular area, keep in mind its production capacity, ripening period, market demand, storage capacity, resistance to pests and diseases, etc. While purchasing new plants for plantation, also keep in mind that the plant is of the same variety as required and also ensure that the plant is healthy and disease free.
Some of the major varieties grown in our country are Ganesh, Saffron, Mridula, Jyoti, Arakta, Ruby, Jalore Seedless and Jodhpur Red etc. Which is grown successfully in different areas.
Propagation Techniques:
Planting material plays an important role in the production, productivity and quality of fruits. Pomegranate can be easily propagated by seed, stem cutting and bud method. But plants grown from seeds are not the same. Therefore this method is less used in amplification. Generally, vegetative methods (cuttings and air layering) are considered best for preparing new plants. The plants prepared by them are similar in properties to the mother tree.
Stem cutting method:
This is an easy method to prepare new plants. For this, select a branch as thick as a pencil which is about 9 to 12 months old, but keep in mind that it should not be the adjacent branch in which flowers and fruits are formed. Keep the length of the pen 20 to 25 centimeters. Before transplanting, dip the prepared cuttings in a solution of Carbendazim (1 gram per liter of water) in lukewarm water for about 5 minutes.
So that the pests and diseases present on them are destroyed. After this, dip these cuttings in a solution of 2 to 3 grams of indole butyric acid per liter of water for 2 to 3 minutes. Plant the treated cuttings obliquely in sand or coco-pit medium. Rainy time is good for stem cutting method.
Air Layering – It is also known as Guti method. To prepare Guti, select a branch of pencil thickness (10 to 15 cm) which is about one year old. Ring-shaped bark of 2.5 to 3 cm length is taken out from the selected branch. Apply a coating of Ceradex powder or Indole Butyric Acid (IBA) on the upper end of the ring, cover the ring with moist moss grass and wrap it 2 to 3 times with a 15 to 20 cm wide strip of about 400 gauge polythene and tie it on both sides with twine. The ends are tied tightly.
Moss grass absorbs water easily. After about 2 months, when roots are visible from outside in the polythene, then this branch should simply be separated from the tree.
Drawing and Planting:
Planting of plants should always be done in such a way that maximum benefits can be obtained. By choosing the right method, along with reducing the cost of plant care, the resources available in the garden can also be used properly. The square method for planting a garden is the easiest and most convenient; all types of agricultural work can be done easily in it. After drawing, dig pits at the pegged places.
For pomegranate, the size of the pits should be 0.75 x 0.75 x 0.75 meters and the distance between two pits should be 5 x 5 meters (400 plants per hectare) or 4 x 4 (625 plants per hectare) meters. While digging the pit, put the top half of the soil on one side and the remaining half on the other side. After digging, leave the pits open in strong sunlight for 20 to 25 days, which will kill the insects present in the soil.
While digging the pit, the upper half of the soil was kept aside, about 20 to 25 kg of well decomposed cow dung, 1 to 1.5 kg of single super phosphate, 500 g of Neem cake along with 50 to 100 g of MP dust 2 percent. Mix the powder or Quinalphos 1.5 percent powder well and fill it. Fill the pits up to 15 to 20 cm above the ground surface and leave them to settle. After 2 to 3 rains, when the soil settles down, start the planting work.
Planting time:
The exact time of planting plants in the field depends on the climate there. Generally planting is done during the rainy season. But it has been observed that open weather is better for planting than cloudy weather. In dry areas where there is severe shortage of irrigation water, it can be planted in July to August and if water is available, this work can be done in February to March also.
Manure and Fertilizer:
If balanced quantity of manure and fertilizer is given to the plants then definitely good growth and production of the plants as well as good quality fruits can be obtained. Therefore, as far as possible, manure and fertilizers should always be used only after soil testing. The amount of manure and fertilizers required in pomegranate depends on the fertility of the soil, age of the plant and the amount of organic fertilizer given to the crop. Generally, the quantity of manure and fertilizer is given in pomegranate orchards as follows.
Manure and fertilizers are generally applied in pomegranate between the months of February and October. But the time of giving manure and fertilizer depends on the season. Manure and fertilizer should be given in the months of December to January for Ambe Bahar, May to June for Mrig Bahar and September to October for Hast Bahar. Manure and fertilizer should always be applied leaving a space of 20 to 30 centimeters from the main stem of the plants. Micronutrients are also very important in pomegranate, hence if symptoms of their deficiency are seen, spray them also.
Irrigation Management:
Pomegranate plants have the ability to tolerate drought, that is why it can be grown in most arid and semi-arid areas where there is limited availability of water. The right time of irrigation depends on many factors like soil type, amount of organic matter in the soil, weather etc.
The first irrigation should be done immediately after planting the plants and after that irrigation should be done at an interval of 7 to 10 days in summer and at an interval of 15 to 20 days in winter. If there is no rain during the rainy season, irrigation should be done as per requirement. Besides, there should be proper drainage system in water logged areas.
Intercropping crops:
Some income can be earned by growing any suitable crop in the empty space in the rows in the initial years of planting, i.e. before the plants start bearing fruits. Vegetables or pulse crops like peas, cowpea, gram, moong, urad etc. can be grown as intercrops. But it must be kept in mind that such vegetables should not be grown as intercrops which are prone to problems of pests and diseases. Do not grow other crops after the plants start producing.
Give correct shape to plants:
The pomegranate plant is bushy. Therefore, pruning and pruning is very important to give proper shape and structure to the plants. Shortly after planting, many branches start emerging from the ground surface. But only 4 to 5 branches should be kept and the remaining branches should be removed. In some places the single stem method of Sadhai is also prevalent. But the Bahuna method is more beneficial for areas with dry climate.
Because even if one stem dies due to some reason, the other stems continue to produce produce and also after the start of fruit production, new branches (buds) emerging from the ground surface should also be removed from time to time, this is important for the production of fruits. Also affect the quality. Along with dry diseased branches, water-shooting branches should also be removed.
weed control:
In pomegranate cultivation, dig the circular part of the plant 2 to 3 times a year and keep the crop weed free. If it is difficult to remove weeds by hand, herbicides like paraquat or pendimethalin can be used, but spray carefully to protect the plant.
Spring Control:
Pomegranate flowers three times a year, which are called spring. If fruits of all three seasons of the year (spring, rainy and summer) are obtained from the same plant, then along with less production, the quality is also affected. Therefore, it is desirable that fruits be obtained from a plant in only one season, for this the flowers that appear during the remaining two seasons are removed from the plant. Which is called external control.
The timing of harvesting depends on market demand and availability of irrigation water. But it is better to wash hands in areas affected by bacterial blight disease. Taking deer out is suitable for dry areas like states like Rajasthan. To control the bloom, irrigation is stopped 1.5 to 2.0 months in advance. Due to which the plant starts dropping its leaves, and at the last moment of stress of the plant, spraying etherel (2 to 2.5 ml per liter of water) causes all the leaves to fall.
When the plant has shed 80 to 85 percent of its leaves, then do light pruning of the plant, after that hoe the plates and apply light water and keep irrigating from time to time by adding manure and fertilizer in balanced quantity. The time of commencement of flowering and fruit harvesting in pomegranate is as follows:
Pests and Control:
1. Stem borer:
The caterpillars of this insect make holes in the branches. Mainly the stem or main branches are affected.
Control: For prevention, they can be killed by putting wire in the holes. The holes should be filled with cotton soaked in petrol or kerosene oil and the holes should be closed with soil.
2. Bark eater:
It damages the bark of main branches and trunk. Due to which the production capacity of plants reduces.
Control: For prevention, excess plants should be removed from more dense gardens. The affected area should be kept clean and small holes should be poured with kerosene or petrol and closed with cotton.
3.Termites:
In dry areas, there is more infestation of termites in the roots and stems of pomegranate plants. Due to which the plants dry up.
Control: For prevention, 50 grams of methyl parathion powder (5 percent) should be mixed in the filling mixture of each pit at the time of planting. While each irrigation of plants, 5 to 10 drops of ‘Chlorapyrifos’ insecticide should be given in the plates along with water.
4. Mites:
Mites stick near the veins on the upper and lower surface of pomegranate leaves and suck the juice. The leaves affected by this turn upwards and in case of complete infection, the plant becomes leafless and dries up.
Control: As soon as there is a mite infestation, two sprayings of 0.1 percent solution of Exide drug should be done on the plants at an interval of 15 days.
5. Juice suckers:
Insects like mealybug, mealybug, thrips etc. also suck the juice of the soft parts of pomegranate plants. Due to which buds, flowers and small things get spoiled and start falling in the initial stage itself.
Control: To prevent these, 0.05 percent solution of monocrotophos or dimethoate insecticide should be sprayed.
Diseases and prevention:
1. Leaf and fruit spot disease:
Its outbreak mostly occurs in ‘Mrig Bahar’ crop. Due to excess moisture during the rainy season, brown and dark black spots appear on leaves and fruits. Due to which the diseased leaves fall and the market value of the fruits falls. Fruits also start rotting.
Control: For prevention, diseased fruits should be plucked and destroyed. The garden should be cleaned from time to time. A solution of 4 grams of copper oxychloride, 2 grams of mancozeb and zineb per liter of water should be made and sprayed three to four times at an interval of 15 to 20 days.
2. Leaf curl (baruthi):
Due to this disease the leaves shrink and fall. Due to which the photosynthesis process of plants is adversely affected and the growth and fruiting of plants is badly affected. This disease spreads more in the month of September.
Control: For prevention, Omite or Ethyl should be sprayed by dissolving it in 2 ml per liter of water and second spraying should be done at an interval of 15 days.
3. Oily spot disease:
This is the most serious disease of pomegranate. Its effect is on leaves, twigs and fruits. Initially brown oily spots form on the fruits. Later the fruits start cracking and rotting. The entire garden can be destroyed due to the effects of the disease.
Control: For prevention, Captan 0.5 percent or Bactericide 500 ppm should be sprayed.
Pomegranate disorders
Fruiting:
Its main reason is the deficiency of boron element and sudden heavy irrigation or heavy rainfall after the garden remains dry for a long time. Apart from this, excessive change in temperature also causes cracking of fruits.
Control: For prevention, spray 0.1 percent borax and irrigate regularly. Fruit cracking resistant varieties should be selected. This problem can be controlled to a great extent by spraying 250 ppm of gibrolic acid (250 mg per liter of water) in the month of June.
Harvesting of fruits:
Timely harvesting of pomegranate fruits is very important. The ripening time of fruits depends on the variety and season. Depending on the variety in pomegranate, it takes about 130 to 180 days from flowering to ripening of fruits. As soon as the color of the fruit starts changing from green to light yellow-red, it should be understood that the fruit is in a ripe state.
Generally, fruits of Mridula, Jalore Seedless, Arkata varieties become ripe for plucking in 130 to 145 days. Whereas the fruits of saffron variety become ripe for plucking in 170 to 190 days. When ripe fruits are pressed, a cracking sound is heard.
Yield:
The yield of pomegranate fruits depends on the variety grown, climate, soil, plant population, crop management etc. Generally, from a well developed plant, 100 to 125 fruits are obtained per plant. Whose weight ranges from 50 to 90 kg.
Classification of fruits:
On the basis of weight, size and external color, pomegranate fruits are kept in the following categories, such as:
Super Size: This category includes bright red blemish-free fruits weighing more than 750 grams.
King Size: This category has attractive red colored blemish-free fruits weighing 500 to 750 grams.
Queen Size: In this category, bright red colored spot-free fruits whose weight is 400 to 500 grams are found.
Prince Size: Fully ripe red colored fruits of 300 to 400 grams come in this category.
Others: The remaining fruits come under two categories 12.A and 12.B. 12. Under B, fruits weighing 250 to 300 grams have some spots.
Storage: Fruits can be stored in cold storage at 5 degree Celsius temperature for up to 2 months.
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