Hyrbidization ideas

[pombazaar]

I've been thinking the last few weeks that between all of us on this forum, we have almost all of the common cultivars and even some of the more obscure ones. I think it would be really neat to start a hybridization project here and potentially introduce some new varities. This summer I'm going to load up on rootstock to reduce the time it takes for fruit production. Obviously we're still talking years before we see any substancial results.

I was thinking Uzbek x Poosh Siyahe Yadz as a first run. What sort of hybrids would interest you?

[alanmercieca]

I have a wild variety with black skin, and just like I read onine the pollen of a wild pomegranate is not compatible with a modern pomegranate variety, there is a modern pomegranate right near the wild pomegranate that i received seeds from, and neither gets effected by the other one.

[JoshHolbrook]

Sounds like fun - though it might be a couple years before any of us gets flowers on Uzbek in the US. I expect flowers on my plants in 2021.

[greenfig]

Different features are beneficial for different climates. For me, in z10a, I probably can find anything I like.
The zones 7-9 requirements are not the same.
Is the cold hardiness the main goal? Cold hardy + soft seeded? Cold hardy + soft seeded + sweet?
Cold hardy + soft seeded + sweet + very early?
I just just curious what is your ideal pomegranate fruit?
I believe the trick will be to have late flowering and early ripening variety, the one that is not affected by the late frosts but has enough time to ripen before the hard winter starts.

[JoshHolbrook]

Black fruited and cold hardy would be a high priority for me, if I were going to do a breeding project - although I have some stuff I want to do before I even think about that (Feijoas, Yerba Mate, get some production out of my poms, etc.)

[pombazaar]

Is the cold hardiness the main goal? Cold hardy + soft seeded? Cold hardy + soft seeded + sweet?
Cold hardy + soft seeded + sweet + very early?
I just just curious what is your ideal pomegranate fruit?
I believe the trick will be to have late flowering and early ripening variety, the one that is not affected by the late frosts but has enough time to ripen before the hard winter starts.

For me the perfect pomegranate would be cold hardy, soft seeded, a perfect balance of sweet and tart, average size, early, and black arils

[greenfig]

Sounds like Sumbar viewed through the really dark glasses

[alanmercieca]

I think that the greatest difficulty for a hybridization project would be to decide what the actual goals are, to me the perfect pomegranate would

01) have high disease resistance
02) arils would release from the fruit easily

03) the higher the weight of the juice VS the rest of the fruit the better
04) moderate to low acidity

05) good to great flavor
06) moderate to strong flavor

07) moderate to enormous sized fruit 'some varieties can have fruit bigger than the size of the average adult's head'
08) refreshing juice

09) I don't care so much about seed hardness 'the hard seeded varieties are still great for juicing'.
10) juice would have a nice or great aroma, yet not a must

11) Early fruiting, fast from flower to fruit
12) Not cold sensitive

13) Able to produce in our climate
14) Produces at young age

15) Could still produce after dieback
16) Little to no bitterness

17) Fruit does not split easily
18) Medium to high production

19) Decent production every year
20) Showy flowers, not a must

This year I should get my first crop on at least 4 varieties. Yet I doubt that I will have enough flowers this year to feel okay with sparing pollen for this project this year

[Hillbillyhort]

If you were going to grow out a lot of hybrids on there own roots, just to evaluate them.?
What would be the minimum spacing,?
How close in the row ? For a fair trial.
2ft.?
3ft.
4..?
Ideas ?

[pombazaar]

Yeah that would be the goal. To evaluate them and determine different genetic traits. I personally don't have anything in the ground yet. In my zone most of us grow in containers because our winters get pretty cold. If the goal was to get these in ground using very cold hardy varieties, I would probably space them out 6-8 feet apart or more.