AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION CENTRE www.arccjournals.com/www.ijarjournal.com *Corresponding author’s e-mail: yssaitwal3@gmail.com. Indian J. Agric. Res., 50 (1) 2016: 80-83 Print ISSN:0367-8245 / Online ISSN:0976-058X Morphological, biochemical and qualitative changes associated with growth and development of pomegranate fruit ( Punica granatum L.) V. S. Supe and Y. S. Saitwal* All India Co-Ordinated Research Project on Arid Zone Fruit, Department of Horticulture, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri. 413 722. India. Received: 29-10-14 Accepted:13-02-15 DOI:10.18805/ijare.v0iOF.7106 ABSTRACT Morphological, biochemical and qualitative changes occurred during growth and development of three pomegranate cultivars were studied at AICRP on Arid Zone Fruits, Department of Horticulture, MPKV, Rahuri. Various changes were determined at 30 days intervals from anthesis till harvest. The pomegranate fruit in all cultivars showed single sigmoid pattern of growth. The size, weight and volume of the fruit of each cultivar increased while the specific gravity increased earlier and then decreased after 90 days in Cv. Bhagwa and after 120 days in Cv. Mridula and Sel-4 to less than one. The elongated oval shape of fruit at the early stage changed to round with prominent suppressions on sides at maturity stage. From those studies, it was revealed that the pomegranate fruits showed colour changes from initial green to orange red and high red at maturity stage and it can be harvested within 150 to180 days. Among biochemical changes the total soluble solids and TSS: acid ratio increased while the acidity decreased with the advancement in the age of fruit. The total anthocyanin content in arils of pomegranate fruit increased with the advancement in the age of fruit. For qualitative changes, it was found that the percentage of arils and the juice content of arils increased, while the percentage of rind, rind thickness and seed content decreased gradually with the advancement in the age of fruit in each cultivar under study. The percentage of juice content was higher in Mridula at all the stages of maturity than Bhagwa and Sel-4. Seed hardness increased as the fruit matured. Incidence of internal breakdown of arils was noticed earlier in Bhagwa. Key words: Biochemical changes, Growth and development, Morphological changes, Pomegranate, Qualitative changes. INTRODUCTION Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is thought to be indigenous to the region of Iran where it was first cultivated in about 2000 B.C., but it spread to the Mediterranean countries at a very early date. Pomegranate is an important commercial fruit in India which is mainly grown in the Maharashtra, Gujrat, Karnataka, Rajasthan etc. Pomegranate can be taken in all the three bahars viz., ambia, mrig and hasta. Fruit growth is typically described as a single or double sigmoid curve reflecting changes in organ fresh weight. Other measures of growth (e.g. length, diameter) may give quite different growth curves (Commbe, 1976). In the epidermis of pomegranate seeds, the cells are relatively very elongated in a radial direction and are rod- shaped and form edible parts termed arils. In recent times, the export of pomegranate from Maharashtra for world market has increased. Every year cracking, bruising, sunscald and variation in fruit size at harvest time render some fruits unmarketable. Therefore, some growers prefer to harvest large fruits sooner and allow others to grow more to obtain a bigger size. In order to maximize yield and get equal size of fruits, it is necessary to know the changes attributed during growth and development of pomegranate fruit. Since fruit growth and development knowledge is pre-requisite for any attempts to regulate cropping and maturity which is helpful in production of quality fruits. The studies regarding the growth and development of fruits of Bhagwa, Sel-4 and Mridula have not been studied earlier; therefore, it was felt necessary to study the various morphological, biochemical and qualitative changes in the fruits of Bhagwa, Sel-4 and Mridula. In view of the potential importance of this fruit, present study was conducted to study in detail its growth and development. MATERIALS AND METHODS The two cultivars viz., newly recommended variety Bhagwa and promising Selection-4 were selected for the present studies along with cultivar Mridula. The trees were spaced 4.5 X 3 m between rows and plants, respectively and