The pomegranate cultivation

The pomegranate is one of the trees that man from ancient times still loved from the beginning both for its very tasty fruits and for its very beautiful image.
Pomegranate is an excellent juicy fruit that is eaten either plain, in salads or in snacks such as yogurt, etc. Especially in recent years pomegranate is considered a superfood, giving the body vitamins, antioxidants, etc.
So let’s see together the ways in which you can grow your own pomegranates.

First of all, let’s start by looking at the most important varieties of pomegranate.

• In Greece, a variety that is particularly used is Ermioni and Wonderful, which are two varieties whose pomegranates have sweet juice.
• Characteristic of the Ermioni variety is that its fruits are large and with quite intense color while it has a wonderful sweet taste.
The Wonderful variety is an American variety with large red fruits with a sweet and sour taste.
Soil pomegranate requirements:
•

• The soil in which the pomegranate is grown should be cool, fertile, deep, and with enough incorporated organic matter before planting to be able to fully yield both qualitatively and quantitatively.
• In terms of conditions, the pomegranate is grown in warm climates with mild winters and without particularly cold winds.

Planting distances:
4 m on the lines and 5 m between the lines.

Pomegranate irrigation:
• The pomegranate tree is a tree that is very demanding on water and requires special attention to watering, especially during the summer months, where watering should be done twice a week.

• Pomegranate has special requirements for nutrients for this and every year we take care to incorporate in the soil fertilizer enhanced with nitrogen, boron and potassium.
• The trees in the productive phase (from the 4th year onwards) need 300–400 grams of Nitrogen, 200 grams of Phosphorus and 200 grams of Potassium per year and in each tree.
• We throw this quantity in 3 or 4 installments (beginning of March, beginning of April, beginning of May, beginning of June). It is recommended to administer, in each dose, all three macronutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium), in the appropriate amount (eg in the first dose in early March we administer 100 grams of Nitrogen and 50 grams of Phosphorus and Potassium).

Harvesting:

• The Pomegranate Harvest takes place from the end of September to November.
• The fruit of the pomegranate is considered ready for harvest when its skin acquires the necessary color and at the same time the juice has the necessary color, the appropriate amount of soluble sugars, 16% -20% and the appropriate acidity, characteristics determined by the marketing unit and The harvest must be done in a timely manner and quickly in 2–3 hands.
• The best harvest times are early in the morning or in the afternoon.
• Do not cut wet pomegranates, after rain or with dew.

• Ripe pomegranates, and only these, are carefully cut with scissors so as not to injure the fruit and are quickly transported for sorting, processing or storage, in boxes without damage and contamination.