Ruud Kleinpaste: Troubleshooting pomegranates

About this episode

Ruud Kleinpaste discusses common issues faced by pomegranate growers in New Zealand and how to address them.

It seems pomegranates are now planted all over New Zealand. Some people encounter some troubles when these fruits ripen around this time of year. Here are some things that might be the causes of those troubles and how to prevent them: Cold and wet summers, resulting in a pretty mediocre ripening of the fruit from late summer till now-ish. The fruit can split or rot inside. A hot, sunny site with good drainage might reduce such troubles. Splitting of fruit is often caused by irregular watering or huge rainfalls followed by long, dry conditions. Regular watering might reduce those fruit-splitting troubles. Splitting fruit can also be the result of some fungal diseases (such as Anthracnose) when the fruit becomes quite black in colour. Botrytis is a grey mould that can start causing mishaps too – keep the foliage dry as much as you can. Temperatures of the site may also change the development of that fruit. If it’s often too cold, the fruit may not ripen in a nice, sweet way. A lovely intense warm area often ends up with sweet fruit. Plant them in a warm sheltered spot; prune them in winter, so that the next generation of foliage will thrive with good airflow. Be aware that it…

People in this episode

Host: Jack Tame

Guest: Ruud Kleinpaste

Topics covered

• gardening
• pomegranates
• fruit ripening
• plant care
• disease prevention

Keywords

• pomegranates
• gardening tips
• fruit splitting
• disease
• plant care

Mentioned in this episode

Products: pomegranates

Books & works: Anthracnose, Botrytis

Places: New Zealand

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