Determination of blooming, pollen and fruit set characteristics on some pomegranate cultivars

Pomegranate is a fruit which has been growing in importance recently. Especially its export to Europe and Asia countries has been significant. This market is especially interested in soft-seeded, red-skin, sweet, and coloured fruits. The plant materials of the study are comprised of Tezeren 35, Dr. Ercan 35, Efenar 35, and Kamilbey 35 cultivars improved by Aegean Agricultural Research Institute for this goal. In field conditions, including all sorts of -three at a time-, works on open pollination, self-pollination, and controlled pollination are carried out. In laboratory conditions, anther numbers, pollen germination power, pollen vitality, and pollen numbers were determined. In the used cultivars, the rate of fruit set on the condition of self-pollination was found lower than the rate of open pollination. The lowest rate of fruit set was determined in the self-pollination and open pollination, in Tezeren 35 with 25,2% and 60,1%, respectively. While the highest rate of fruit set was determined in self-pollination in Efenar 35 with 63,4%, the highest of that was in open-pollination in Dr. Ercan 35 with 85,0%. In the work on controlled pollination, the highest fruit set was determined in the combination of Kamilbey 35 X Dr. Ercan 35 with 49,7%; the lowest rate of that was determined in the combination of Efenar 35 X Dr. Ercan 35. In the work of determination of pollen germination power, Kamilbey 35, in the first blooming period showed highest germination power in B type flower with 71,7%; and Kamilbey 35, in the end of blooming, it had the lowest germination power in the type B flower with 14,9%. As a result, the cultivars used need pollinator cultivars for higher yield. Key Words: Punica granatum, pollination, fruit set, pollen number, pollen germination power, pollen vitality