Article from
VSCNews, Vegetable and Specialty Crop News
Source: UF/IFAS
Superfood Success: UF Researcher Studying Pomegranates’ Future in Florida
“We can produce fresh pomegranate fruit, arils and juice in July,
which is at least two months earlier than growers in other states,”
said Deng, a faculty member at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and
Education Center (GCREC).
Locally grown pomegranates are scarce right now in the Sunshine State. The fruit grows on only about 100 acres across the state.
Deng
is studying how to make sure pomegranates can resist or avoid pests and
diseases and not drop fruit on the ground. Those research victories
would mean increased yield for Florida growers. Eventually, he’d like
to make the fruit even tastier.
About 90% of pomegranates grow
in California in the United States. Florida’s wet season and its hot
weather pose challenges to growing the fruit.
“In Florida,
pomegranates can grow well but tend to have a lot of fruit rot from a
number of fungal pathogens,” Deng said. “This results in low yield and
poor fruit quality.”
To avoid severe fruit rot, Deng and his
doctoral student, Alexander Schaller, defoliated the pomegranate plants
at GCREC in December 2020, hoping to harvest ripe fruit soon after the
rainy season begins in Florida, usually in June. To their surprise,
this treatment not only has advanced the harvesting season to July but
helped the plants produce a lot of more fruit.
Last week, Deng
hosted Cindy Weinstein, president of the Florida Pomegranate
Association, who wanted to see the fruit in Deng’s research field.
Pomegranates normally mature in August and September in Florida, said
Weinstein, who owns a farm in Hardee County.
“The sweetness and
maturity of Dr. Deng’s fruit this time of year is fantastic,” she
said. “Having mature pomegranates in June and July would greatly
limit the use of fungicide. Having the fruit off the trees before the
heavy rains of a hurricane season is a plus. Mature pomegranates in
June and July will introduce fruit to the market early and extend the
fresh pomegranate season in the United States. If pomegranates grow
successfully in Florida, they’ll be one more specialty crop that
producers can count on. The more you can choose from the better your
chances of a good yield.”
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