Fruit scientific research in New China in the past 70 years:Pomegranate

Abstract: Pomegranate(Punica granatum L., Lythraceae), one of the important deciduous fruit crops worldwide, is valued for its medicinal and economic values. At the recent seven decades, the development of pomegranate has undergone earth-shaking changes. According to incomplete statistics, in the early 1980 s, China's pomegranate cultivation area was 3 333 hm2, in the mid-1980 s, it increased to 4200 hm2, and by 2013, the cultivation area has up to 120 000 hm2. The production of pomegranate was less than 5 000 t in the early 1980 s, and increased to 25 000 t in the early 1990 s, pomegranate production in 2013 has reached 1.2 million tons. The number of pomegranate varieties increased from 135 in 1988 to more than 350 in 2018. Pomegranate research is relatively backward compared to apples, citrus,pears and other fruit trees, but it has been rapidly improved at the recent seven decades. Here, the development of Chinese pomegranate research in the past 70 years were summarized, including resource identification, genetic breeding, cultivation of soil fertility, pest control, storage processing and mechanized management. Expecting to provide a reference for peer researchers.