Jordan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Volume 12, No.4 2016 © 2016 DAR Publishers/The University of Jordan. All Rights Reserved. -1169- 1 Horticulture Department, College of Agriculture and Forestry, Duhok Univ., Duhok, Iraq.  sarfarazfatah@yahoo.com 2 Horticulture Department, College of Agriculture, Salahaddin Univ., Erbil, Iraq. * Part of MSc. thesis of the second author Received on 16/3/2015 and Accepted for Publication on 20/3/2016. Postharvest Quality of Two Pomegranate Genotypes as Influenced by Storage Temperature and Period Sarfaraz F. A. Al-Bamarny 1  , Azad Hassan Yonis 2* ABSTRACT The present investigation was carried out during 2011 season to study the effect of storage temperature and period on fruit storage behavior of local 'Sharmny' and 'Hablary' pomegranates. Fruits of both cultivars were stored at 2°C or 6°C with 85-90% RH for three storage periods; 1.5, 3 and 4.5 months. Results showed genotypic differences in total soluble solids (TSS), weight loss and titratable acidity. 'Sharmny' showed significantly higher TSS and lower fruit weight loss, while 'Hablary' recorded a significant increase in titratable acidity. Storing fruits of both cultivars at 6°C significantly reduced fruit chilling injury, titratable acidity but increased fruit weight loss in comparison with fruit stored at 2°C, while both storage temperatures didn't significantly affect the other parameters. Moreover, chemical characteristics of fruits were significantly decreased, while fruit weight loss and physiological disorders increased with prolonging of storage period. Keywords: Pomegranate, cultivar‚ storage temperature, storage period, postharvest quality. INTRODUCTION The pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) belongs to the Punicaceae family and is one of the oldest known edible fruits (Singh, 1997). It is an important fruit crop of many subtropical and tropical regions of the world, grown especially in the moderate climate of the Mediterranean region. Pomegranate is classified as a non-climacteric fruit with no detectable levels of ethylene produced during storage. The fruits are generally harvested fully ripe (Kader et al., 1984). The economic importance of pomegranate fruits appear through the fruit characterized by their tolerance to transport for long distances and could be stored by multiple methods (Al-Jumaili and Al-Dujaili, 1989). In Iraq, pomegranate cultivation is well succeeding for the appropriate environmental conditions with a need to provide protection for the fruits from sunburn in the summer (Al-Jumaili and Abo Elsaad, 1989). During postharvest, pomegranate exhibits important quality loss due to several physiological and enzymatic disorders. The main problems associated with prolonged storage of pomegranate fruit are weight loss, shrinkage, decay development and appearance of skin blemishes, especially scald (Elyatem and Kader, 1984). Storage temperature is the most important environmental factor affecting senescence of fruit, because it regulates the rate of all associated physiological and biochemical processes (Pantastico, 1979). Kader et al., (1984) showed that when 'wonderful' pomegranate stored at temperatures 0, 2.2, 5 and 10°C for 16 weeks, weight loss increased with increasing storage temperature and duration, but total