The effect of conventional and organic fertilization on yield and fruit quality of pomegranate (Punica granatum L. 'Hicaznar')

In this study, conventional and organic production systems for 'Hicaznar' pomegranate, which is widely cultivated with a good export potential in Turkey, were compared. This study was conducted in the West Mediterranean Agricultural Research Institute in 2004 and 2008 by allowing a distance between conventional and organic parcels with three replications and each replication consisted of four trees. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers on quality and the response of 'Hicaznar' to diseases and insects. Fertilizer programs for conventional and organic production were optimized and applied after analysing leaves and soil characteristics for each parcel. Green manure crop, green manure crop supplemented with organic fertilizer and green manure crop supplemented with turf have been used in organic pomegranate production. Effects of different treatments on quality attributes of fruit and average yield tree^‑1 were determined. According to our results, the highest yield rate and quality were obtained with conventional and green manure crop plus organic fertilizer applications, respectively.