Punica granatum L. Punicaceae Common Names: Pomegranate. Granada (Spanish). (irenade (French). Related Species: Punica proto-punica.

Transcription

1 Punia granatum L. Puniaeae Cmmn Names: Pmegranate. Granada (Spanish). (irenade (Frenh). Related Speies: Punia prt-punia. RGN; The pmegranate is native frm ran t the Himalayas in nrthern ndia and was ultivated and naturalized ver the Mediterranean regin sine anient times. t is widely ultivated thrughut ndia and the drier parts f Sutheast Asia, Malaya, the ast ndies and trpial Afria. Spanish settlers intrdued the tree int Califrnia in n this untry, it is grwn fr its fruits mainly in the drier parts f Califmia and Arizna. PMGRANAT HSTRY The pmegranate, a Persian native, is ne f the ldest fruits knwn t man. riginally thught t be native t China, pmegranates were atually brught t China abut 100 B.C. by Han dynasty representative, Jang Qian, wh als intrdued riander, walnuts, peas, uumbers, alfalfa, grapes and araway seeds t the Far ast. The Rmans alled it the Puni apple. The pmegranate made its way t taly via Carthage (Puni), and therein lays the rt f its Latin name, Punium malum (apple). ts urrent btanial name is Punium granatum with Punium regnizing Carthage as a fal pint fr pmegranate ultivatin and granatum referring t the many seeds r grains in the fruit. Many talian Renaissane fabris basted the pattern f ut pmegranates. Anient Rmans nt nly enjyed the suulent flesh f this fruit, they als tanned and used the rinds as a frm f leather. Perhaps due t the fruit's prinely blssm rwn, it has gained distintin as a ryal fruit. Chauer, Shakespeare and Hmer have all extlled the virtues f the pmegranate in literature. t was the Mrs wh brught the seedy fruit t Spain rund 800 A.D. Granada was named fr the pmegranate, whih beame their natinal emblem. The first pmegranate planted in Britain was by nne ther than King Henry V. The Frenh named their hand-tssed explsive a grenade after the seed-sattering prperties f the pmegranate fruit. n 1791, the speial trps fnmed by the Frenh military t wield these grenades were alled grenadiers. Althugh nt dumented, the deep red lr f the pmegranate pips may have als given rise t the naming f the garnet gemstne. The pmegranate reahed Amerian shres by way f the Spanish nquistadrs. t is grwn in the Amerian West and Suth with sme minr mmerial suess. Thse hme ks luky enugh t have a tree in their yard expund the virtues f this fruit as a asual rp. FLKLR; riginating in Persia, the pmegranate appears in the flklre f anient gypt, where it was used in burial, and in the myth f the Persephne, Demeter, and the yle f the seasns in Greek mythlgy. ADAPTATN: Pmegranates prefer a semi-arid mild-temperate t subtrpial limate and are naturally adapted t regins with l winters and ht summers. A humid limate adversely affets the frmatin f fruit. The tree an be severely injured by temperatures belw 12 F. n the U. S., pmegranates an be grwn utside as far nrth as suthern Utah and Washingtn, D.C. but seldm set fruit in these areas. The tree adapts well t ntainer ulture and will smetimes fruit in a greenhuse. DSCRPTN Grwth Habits; The pmegranate is a neat, runded shrub r small tree that an grw t 20 r 30 ft., but mre typially t 12 t 16 ft. in height. Dwarf varieties are als knwn. t is usually deiduus, but in ertain areas, the leaves will persist n the tree. The trunk is vered by a red-brwn bark that later bemes gray. The branhes are stiff, angular and ften spiny. There is a strng tendeny t suker frm the base. Pmegranates are als lng-lived. There are speimens in urpe that are knwn t be ver 200 years f age. The vigr f a pmegranate delines after abut 15 years, hwever. Fliage: The pmegranate has glssy, leathery leaves that are narrw and lane-shaped. Flwers: The attrative sarlet, white r variegated flwers are ver an inh arss and have 5 t 8 rumpled petals and a red, Page 4/5^ Ammatir News Winter 2004/2005

2 fleshy, tubular alyx that persists n the fruit. The flwers may be slitary r gruped in tws and threes at the ends f the branhes The pmegranate is self-pllinated as well as rss-pllinated by insets. Crss-pllinatin inreases the fruit set. Wind pllinatin is insignifiant. Fruit: The nearly rund, 2-1/2 t 5 in. wide fruit is rwned at the base by the prminent alyx. The tugh, leathery skin r rind is typially yellw verlaid with light r deep pink r rih red. Membranus walls and white, spngy, bitter tissue int mpartments paked with sas filled with sweetly aid, juiy, red, pink r whitish pulp r aril, separate the interir. n eah sa, there is ne angular, sft r hard seed. High temperatures are essential during the fruiting perid t get the best flavr. The pmegranate may begin t bear in 1 year after planting ut, but 2-1/2 t 3 years is mre mmn. Under suitable nditins, the fruit shuld mature sme 5 t 7 mnths after blm. CULTUR Latin: Pmegranates shuld be plaed in the sunniest, warmest part f the yard r rhard fr the best fruit, althugh they will grw and flwer in part shade. The attrative fliage, flwers and fruits f the pmegranate, as well as its smallish size make it an exellent landsaping plant. Sil: The pmegranate des best in well-drained rdinary sil, but als thrives n alareus r aidi lam as well as gravel. rrigatin: ne established, pmegranates an take nsiderable drught, but fr gd fruit prdutin, they must be irrigated. T establish new plants they shuld be watered every 2 t 4 weeks during the dry seasn. The plants are tlerant f mderately saline water and sil nditins. Fertilizing: n the West, the trees are given 2 t 4-une appliatins f ammnium sutfate r ther nitrgen fertilizer the first tw springs. After that, very little fertilizer is needed, althugh the plants respnd t an annual mulh f rtted manure r ther mpst. Pruning: Plants shuld be ut bak when they are abut 2 ft. high. Frm this pint, allw 4 r 5 shts t develp, whih shuld be evenly distributed arund the stem t keep the plant well balaned. These shuld start abut 1 ft. frm the grund, giving a shrt but weil-defined trunk. Any shts that appear abve r belw shuld be remved, as shuld any sukers. Sine the fruits are brne nly at the tips f new grwth, it is remmended that fr the first 3 years the branhes be judiiusly shrtened annually t enurage the maximum number f new shts n all sides, prevent straggly develpment and ahieve a strng well-framed plant. After the 3rd year, nly sukers and dead branhes are remved- Prpagatin: The pmegranate an be raised frm seed but may nt me true. Cuttings rt easily and plants frm them bear fruit after abut 3 years. Twelve t 20 inhes lng uttings shuld be taken in winter frm mature, ne-year ld wd. The leaves shuld be remved and the uttings treated with rting hrmne and inserted abut tw-thirds their length int the sil r int sme ther warm rting medium. Plants an als be air-layered but grafting is seldm suessful. Pests and Diseases: Pmegranates are relatively free f mst pests and diseases Minr prblems are leaf and fruit spt and fliar damage by white files, thrips, meafy bugs and sale insets. Gphers seldm bther the rts but deer will brwse n the fliage. Harvest: The fruits are ripe when they have develped a distintive lr and make a metalli sund when tapped The fruits must be piked befre ver maturity when they tend t rak pen, partiularly when rained n. The pmegranate is equal t the apple in having d lhg strage life. t is best maintaihed at a temperaturb f 32" t 41 F. and an be kdpt fr a perid f 7 mnths within this temt)eratbre range and at 80 t 85% relative humidity withut shrinking r spiling. The fruits imprve in strage, beming juiier and mre flavrful. Deeply sring several times vertially and then bfeaking it apart an eat tt}e fruit ut f hand. The lusters f juie sas are thbh liftfed ut and eaten. The sas als make an attrative garnish when sprinkled n varius dishes. The sas an be remved and put thrugh a basket press r the juie an be extrated by reaming the halved fruits n an rdinary range juie squeezer Anther a^jptah starts with warming the fruit slightly and rlling it betwefen the hands t sften the intfthr. A hle is then ut in the stem end whih is plaed n a glass t let the juie run ut, squeezing the fruit frm time t time t get all the juie. The juie an be used in a variety f ways: as a fresh juie, t make jellies, srbets r ld r ht saues as well as t flavr akes, baked apples, et. Pdmagranate syrup is sld mmerially as grenadine. lizabeth Shneider suggests that hmemade grenadine an be made with 2 ups f seeds/ahls and 2 ups f sugar, biling t redue and straining ut seeds. CMMf^ClAL PTNTAL; The primary mmerial grwing regins f the wrld are the Near ast. ndia and surrunding untries and suthern urpe. n Califmia, mmerial ultivatin is entered in the suthern San Jaquin Valley. t grws well as far nrth as Redding. CA Cnsumer demand n this untry is nt great. Mre pmegranate fruits prbably wind up as deratins in fruit bwls than are nsumed, PMGRANAT SKN AND BDY CAR: New Uses fr the Anient Pmegranate http;//www,uga,edu/fnjit/pmegran.html See Spring issue fr mre infrmatin * * -^t!. - AmmaUMews Winfer 24/25

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