POMEGRANATE VARIETY RESEARCH RESULTS
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Punica granatum
FAMILY: Punicaceae
Cuttings of the leading pomegranate varieties were obtained from Dr F R Hobman, Loxton Research Centre, South Australia and planted at Medina Research Centre [on the coastal plain just south of Perth from 1991 to 1994.
These have grown well and have required minimal management and pruning. The trees have shown slight twisting of new shoots which is believed to be due to aphid feeding. The earliest plantings have fruited well for the past three years.
Quality was poorer in 1996, possibly due to high temperatures in February and rotting due to fruit fly stings, although there was minimal development of fruit fly larvae.
Fruit quality was as follows:
| Variety | External appearance | Internal appearance/juiciness, acidity | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gulosha Rosavaya | Large, good external appearance. Light pink skin. | Large large, deep red grains. Juicy. | Best variety for combination of sweetness and acidity and external appearance. |
| Wonderful | Medium size. Claret red skin. | More acidic than Gulosha Rosavaya. Deep red grains. | Next best variety to Gulosha Rosavaya but is smaller and more acidic. |
| Victorian Giant | Large, not very attractive skin. | Grain is not highly coloured. not juicy, mild flavour. | Poor variety. |
| Berri | Skin is not attractive. | Not juicy, too sweet, bland flavour. | Poor variety. |
| Veles | Squarish shape, pink red skin. | Juicy. rich flavour but too acidic. | May be suitable for processing. |
| Griffith | Claret red skin. | Deep red grains, rich flavour, but slightly too acidic. | Fairly good variety. |
A number of varieties have not yet commenced harvesting and these include Elche, Golosha Azerbaijani, Wright, Waikerie, Indian and Seedless.
Cuttings of these varieties may be collected in July by people interested in these crops especially for commercial production.
Results with these varieties at Loxton Research Centre from 1990 to 1993 were as follows:
| Cultivar | Saleable Yield, kg/tree | Juice Colour | Skin Colour | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 1992 | 1991 | 1990 | |||
| Gulosha Azerbaijani | 11.2 | 66.5 | 31 | 57 | Bright red | Creamy red |
| Gulosha Rosavaya | 20.2 | 52,4 | 31 | 36 | Light red | Creamy red |
| Veles | 27.1 | 27.2 | 18 | 22 | Bright red | Creamy red |
| Griffith | 7.5 | 31.6 | 37 | 50 | Crimson | Crimson to red |
| Wonderful* | 32.6 | 31.5 | 10 | 3 | Crimson | Creamy pink |
| Berri | 53.3 | 38.3 | 42 | 59 | Red | Green. Light |
| Waikerie | 18.4 | 42.9 | 10 | 53 | Light pink | Creamy with pink streaks |
| Wright | 3.7 | 8.6 | 1 | 25 | Pink to colourless | Brownish cream |
| Victorian Giant | 33.5 | 23.6 | 22 | 60 | Pink | Creamy with pink blushes |
| Indian | 0.1 | 1.9 | 4 | 8 | Dark pink to red | Streaky red |
| *young trees. Note Brix0 and pH, 16.0 and 3.0 to 4.0 respectively, varied little between cultivars. Acid varied widely. | ||||||
DATE: July 1996
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