Can you eat the seeds of soft-seeded pomegranates? A detailed guide to planting and management

The pomegranate is a very attractive and delicious fruit. Its flesh is red like agate, sweet and tart, and very tempting. But many people find eating pomegranates troublesome because they have to spit out the seeds one by one. In recent years, a type of soft-seeded pomegranate that has appeared on the market has become very popular. So, can you eat the seeds of soft-seeded pomegranates? What are its planting and management methods?

1. Can you eat the seeds of soft-seeded pomegranates?

Yes, they can be eaten. As a variety introduced from abroad, the soft-seeded pomegranate not only has bright red fruit, but is also juicy, full-fleshed and nutrient-rich, and its seeds are soft and chewable. In addition, it comes to market earlier than ordinary pomegranates. Ordinary pomegranates generally mature from September to October, while soft-seeded pomegranates mature from August to September. 

2. What are the planting and management methods for soft-seeded pomegranates?

1. Orchard establishment

Before planting, prepare the land, apply 5000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure per mu, and rake it fine and level. Dig planting holes at a spacing of 2.5 m × 3 m in a triangular arrangement. The planting holes should be 80 cm long, 80 cm wide and 80 cm deep. Select high-quality, strong seedlings with intact root systems, place them in the planting holes, spread out the roots, firm the soil after planting, water, and seal the tree basin.

2. Soil management

In the year of planting, intercrop low-growing food crops and medicinal plants between the rows, such as medicinal chrysanthemum and peanuts. After the 2nd year, no more intercropping is done, and the soil is kept loose and fertile. Apply organic fertilizer together with weeding to maintain a high soil organic matter content and good fertilizer retention and aeration.

3. Fertilization

After the seedlings are planted, the 1st topdressing is applied when new shoots are 15 cm long, with 100-200 g of urea per plant, followed by watering 48 hours later. For the 2nd fertilization, when new shoots are about 30 cm long, apply a nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium compound fertilizer at 300-400 g per plant, placed in a trench 30 cm from the main trunk of the seedling. Foliar topdressing is carried out together with spraying. Before mid-July, spray a 300-fold urea solution; after mid-July, additionally spray a 300-fold monopotassium phosphate solution to promote shoot growth and flower formation.

4. Watering

Pomegranate trees have strong drought tolerance. However, during the vigorous summer growth period, the soil should be kept moist, neither too dry nor too wet. Water slightly less during the flowering and fruit-setting periods, because too much water easily causes fruit drop.

5. Training and pruning

Use a single-trunk training system, leaving only one main trunk, removing sprouts below the main branches, retaining the divided branches on the main trunk, and bending vigorous branches to open the angle rather than removing them if possible. Remove diseased branches, insect-damaged branches, autumn shoots and dead branches. Build the tree framework so that primary and secondary branches are distinct, evenly distributed, with few but well-chosen large branches and many small, close-growing branches.

Be careful not to prune with leaves on, to prevent wasting nutrients; large branches should not be too dense, to prevent the inner canopy from becoming bare, nor too sparse, to prevent reducing yield; large branches should curve as they extend, to slow outward movement and prevent a weak framework from straight-line extension; branches should not be short-pruned in rows, to prevent excessively dense branching; large branches should not overlap vertically, to prevent affecting light; main and secondary branches should not advance side by side, so that primary and secondary are not distinguished; saw cuts on large branches should be as small as possible to prevent bark tearing.

6. Pest and disease control

First, in late autumn, scrape off cracked and peeling bark, whitewash the trunks, clean the orchard, remove dead branches, fallen leaves and weeds from the orchard, and carry out 1 disinfection treatment in the orchard.

Second, in winter, manually remove diseased dried fruits and insect cocoons and insect bags, bury them deeply or burn them, and deeply plow the empty land in the orchard, using freezing, sunlight and bird pecking to eliminate overwintering pests.

Third, in combination with winter pruning, cut off affected branches and burn them in a concentrated manner.

Fourth, wrap straw rope several times around the base of the trunk to lure emerging larvae inside to pupate, check regularly and kill them, or cover the ground within 1 m around the stem with agricultural film to smother overwintering larvae under the film.

Fifth, use the death-feigning behavior of pests for manual capture and killing, and for trunk-boring pests, inject fumigants into the damaged holes and seal the openings with mud to poison them.

When manual control cannot manage pests and diseases in the orchard, chemical control should be adopted promptly to meet the requirements of pollution-free green production. Low-toxicity, low-residue, high-efficiency broad-spectrum insecticides should be used before the fruit colors, and the use of all kinds of insecticides is prohibited after the fruit colors.