PHENOTYPIC CHARACTERIZATION OF TEN POMEGRANATE CULTIVARS AT KARAJ CONDITION OF IRAN

Pomegranate is an important fruit tree cultivated in Iran from ancient times. Its cultivation is widespread in different parts of Iran. However, its distribution is restricted by the winter sub-zero temperatures. Ten pomegranate cultivars introduced to Karaj about 15 years ago from Saveh, were examined for their performance at Karaj conditions. The largest fruits were produced by the ‘Poost-Sefide-Torsh’ cultivar, while the smallest fruits were for ‘Alake-Shirin’ and ‘Siahe-Shirin’. Differ¬ences between cultivars for fruit cracking as well as their susceptibility to sunburn and other characters were also detected. According to the results, Karaj with a mean annual temperature of 13.6°C was defined to be not suitable for commercial pome¬granate cultivation due to its winters that some years go to lower than -12°C and making severe hazards to pomegranate trees.