Pomegranate ? Varieties, packing and nutrition

The establishment of a massive marketing system in the 2000s for the pomegranate by POM Wonderful, the company also responsible for creating the variety, is in the basis of the market boom of this ancient fruit. ?Marketing actions such as in-store promotions, inserts promoting the health benefits of the fruits, Internet, ? helped to introduce the pomegranate in the international market. Main international suppliers are Israel, Turkey, USA, Spain, Per?, Chile, India, Iran and Marocco. Carolina Dawson, from CIRAD, author of the article ?Pomegranate market ? Upscaling from its traditional production?, Fruitrop January/February 2016, explains that the production boom has not yet finished. The good reputation of the fruit, with its great nutritional virtues, as well as ease of cultivation -the tree is tolerant to drought and saline soils- generates a lot of interest. She asks herself if a similar selling dynamic is feasible in Europe, and may be that again is POM Wonderful who shows the way through the pomegranate based juices. VarietiesWonderful has become the world market reference, in spite of its fairly acid taste, with different clones with differences in ripening time, size and acidity (lower), basically. Other varieties grown in Israel are Shani, Emek, Hershkovich and Kamal. In Turkey, Hicaz. Morocco, Safri, Kharazi, Laaroussi. India, Ganesh, Arakta, Bhagwa and Ruby. In Spain, the Mollar the Elche, protected by controlled designation of origin, is pale yellow in color and has a sweeter taste than wonderful. In Spain, Valenciana is another cultivated variety, and during the very last years, new varieties are available, with the attractive color of Wonderful and the great test of Mollar de Elche (see Caliplant nursery information below). PackingPomegranates are graded by the number of fruits per box, which can vary from 8 to 20 pieces. There are no standards in force on pomegranate packing. However, the most frequent packaging is the 4 to 5 kg tray box. The fruits are placed in a layer, with the ring of sepals upward, and the internal packing varies depending on the shipping companies. They may be simply be placed in the box, but many shipping companies attempt to generate added value by placing them in a bed of wood shavings or wrapping them individually. The boxes are sometimes fitted with a light lid with a cut-out window, or a translucent plastic complex window. In this case the fruits, generally 24 pieces, are arranged in two superimposed layers, separated by wood shavings. NutritionContaining high quantities of vitamin C and potassium, this ?super fruit? is mainly reputed for its high concentration of antioxidants, polyphenols (punicalagin). Pomegranate juice has been attributed an antioxidant capacity three times greater than red wine or green tea. Historically used to treat gastro-intestinal diseases and parasite infections, polyphenol-rich pomegranate extract reportedly possesses a high anti-inflammatory capacity, which could help protect against various diseases, including cardio-vascular diseases and cancer. Pictures show Purple Queen variety and the cover page of Fruitrop January / February 2016 SourcesFruitrop, Carolina Dawson, CIRAD, carolina.dawson@cirad.fr, is the main source, complemented with the information about the new varieties by Caliplant. Caliplant nursery counts on own pomegranate varieties that join the good flavour of the Mollar the Elche with the super aspect of the POM Wonderful: Purple Queen, Mely, Mollar Roja (MR 100), and Kingdom. More information