Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium requirements in pomegranate

Dr. Arnon Dag and Dr. Uri Yermiyahu
Start: Dec 2015 –  End: Dec 2018

Pomegranate orchard area has increased dramatically in the last decade due to consumers’ increasing awareness of the health properties of its fruit. With this crop’s increased volume and intensification, several knowledge gaps remain unaddressed. A major one is the crop’s nutritional demands. Typical problems with these crops, such as productivity, fruit size, peel-cracking and color, are probably associated with the application of unbalanced nutrition in the orchards. The main objective of the current study is to define the nutritional requirement (K and P) of pomegranates. The study will make use of an experimental setup that was used previously to efficiently determine the nutritional demands of olives. We will test two pomegranate varieties, Wonderful and Emek, which will be grown in 500-L containers filled with perlite. In each variety, we will test three levels of K (20, 100 and 200 ppm) and three levels of P (1, 10 and 20 ppm). We will follow the plants’ reproductive and vegetative growth, their physiological response, nutritional status (as determined by nutrients in leaves), fruit yield and quality.  We anticipate the results of this study to provide a solid understanding of the role of P and K fertilization in pomegranate cultivation under intensive conditions.