Pomegranate - Tropical and Subtropical Fruits: Postharvest Physiology, Processing and Packaging - page 514

Afghanistan
Pomegranate has the second place in the country's total fruit
production and occupies 7% of the total fruit cultivation
area. The varieties are usually small and produced for the
local markets. A few cultivars have been cited so far as
follows: 'Black Kandahar,' 'Kabul,' 'Red Kandahar,' and
'White Kandahar' (Yilmaz, 2007).

'Alack,' an early-ripening cultivar, and 'Maykhosh,' a late-
ripening cultivar, are used for export (Holland et al., 2009).

Israel
More than 50 accessions, with varied internal appearance,
growth habit, ripening stage, taste, and seed softness, are
found in Israel. Of the eight cultivars that are commercially
grown, the leading one is 'Wonderful.' 'Wonderful' is the
best export cultivar, followed by 'Akko' and 'Shani-Yonay'
(Holland et al., 2009).

China
Chinese cultivars vary from small to very large, from sour to
sweet, and from early to late ripening (Holland et al., 2009).
'Teipitian' and '87-Qing 7' cultivars are probably the most
popular cultivars in China, followed by Qingpiruanzi (Liu
et al., 1997; Sun et al., 2004). Commercial cultivars have
been chosen based on size, juice content, seed softness, and
time of ripening, while some of the ornamental types have
a unique number of petals and petal color (Holland et al.,
2009).

Italy
More than ten cultivars were reported, especially from
Sicily, by Barone et al. (2001) and (Yilmaz, 2007). The
cultivars present are mostly of local origin.

Morocco
About 17 pomegranate accessions have been reported in
Morocco (Oukabli et al., 2004).

Egypt
Pomegranates are grown in upper Egypt, especially in As-
suit Governorate, for fresh consumption and juice (Man-
sour, 1995). About ten Egyptian cultivars, as well as
'Granada' have been documented in the literature (Man-
sour, 1995; Saeed, 2005)

Spain
Nearly 40 Spanish cultivars have been documented. The
cultivars are divided into three groups: sweet, sweet-sour,
and sour. There is high variability among cultivars; 'Mollar
de Elche' is the leading commercial cultivar, followed by
'Roja,' 'Valenciana' and 'Tendral' (Melgarejo et al., 2000).
To improve commercial products, new cultivars are con-
stantly being introduced via breeding studies.

Georgia
Several cultivars were reported in Georgia, such as 'Kyrmyz
Kabukh' and 'Lyaliya,' noted for resistance splitting, and
'Sulunar' and 'Vedzisuri,' cultivars noted for higher juice
content (Vasadze and Trapaidze, 2005).

Tunisia
Many types and forms or cultivars of pomegranate exist in
Tunisia; however, their names are strictly local, originating
from the area of cultivation or from the color of the fruit rind
(Mars and Marrakchi, 1999). Interchange of plant material
between regions was very frequent (Mars, 1995). Nearly
all pomegranates, many of which are of low quality, are
consumed locally. Only a few local cultivars, 'Zehri' and
'Gabsi,' are propagated in commercial nurseries and used
in the new plantations (Mars and Marrakchi, 1999).

India
Although there are more than 30 cultivars cited, 'Ganesh'
is the most well-known cultivar in India. The 'Ganesh' cul-
tivar, evergreen, has soft seeds, red arils, and low acid and
sweet taste. 'Mridula' and 'Bhagwa' cultivars are usually
produced for export. India is the leader in pomegranate
breeding studies (Holland et al., 2009), where some undoc-
umented cutivars may also exist. Turkey

Many types and forms grow over diverse areas. The culti-
vars are usually categorized based on sweetness and seed
type: sour, sour-sweet, and sweet; soft-seeded, interme-
diate, and hard-seeded. 'Fellahyemez,' 'Eksilik,' 'Ernar,'
Hicaznar,' 'Katirbasi,' 'Beynar,' and 'Asinar' are the lead-
ing commercial cultivars in Turkey. 'Hicaznar,' a red culti-
var having a sweet-sour taste and hard seeds, is considered
a high producer and somewhat similar to 'Wonderful' cul-
tivar (Yilmaz, 2007).

Iran
Iran is probably the richest country in terms of geno-
types, specimens, and cultivars of pomegranate. 'Malase-
Yazdi,' 'Malas-e-Saveh,' 'Males-e Torsh,' 'Rabeb-e-
Neyriz,' 'Sishe Kape-Ferdos,' and 'Naderi-e-Budrood' are
the main commercial cultivars in Iran (Varasteh et al.,
2009). Cultivars in Iran are classified as sweet, rootstock,
and ornamental type (Mirdehghan and Rahemi, 2005).