It’s Pomegranate season and my Parfianka has produced a bumper crop this year. The poms are getting closer to ripening. They’re enjoying the mild heatwave we’re currently going through here in the bay area (Z9b - no rain from March-Nov, moderate humidty only).
This is the very first year I am noticing a white very smooth mildew type substance forming only on the tip (Calyx) of some of the pomegrantes. Only in one of the poms, I also notice some Grey mold forming inside this tip (stamen cluster).
Has anyone experienced this problem with Pom fruit? What causes these in your experience and what can be done to prevent it? My tree is in fantastic shape and receives regular (weekly) water (soil feeding only). Thanks.
I grow many pomegranate varieties but I’ve never seen the whitish mildew thing like that on your photos. As a side note, in my experience, Parfianka is more susceptible to fungal problems than most other varieties.
I am guessing that it’s “heart rot” based upon the appearance, yet it’s odd to see “heart rot” this time of year, I am guessing that the disease is infecting the fruit much slower than normal, that could explain why it does not look totally like “heart rot”.
@Stan, Good to know, thanks. For the most part, my Parfianka has not seen any more fungal problems compared to other varieties (e.g. Wonderful) in our area. I plan to create a new thread discussing specifically Pom diseases and prevention to benefit the greater community.
@alanmercieca, that does not sound too good. I hope that’s not the case here. I’ve never seen that issue so far. If that’s what actually happens to my above-described poms, I will report it here once I pick those (probably in another week).
@Vault22dweller, yeah, I researched those links before posting it here. Thanks for the links anyway.
It definitely shows Grey mold on one Pom (as seen in the last 2 pictures), but on none of the others so far with white mildew like substance. However, I don’t see online anywhere describing the problem of white mildew like substance on/near the tip of the pom.
Two things I have noted since it started showing up on poms about 1.5 months ago:
It does not seem to spread on the fruit.
In fact, it seems to have disappeared some of it from some fruit tip over the period of a few weeks. I have a theory about it (nutrition) which I will discuss in a separate thread.
I am a bit surprised that no one (luckily) has come across this issue before.
I have seen something like a white residue that seems to occur in coincidence with leaf-footed bug activity, but it doesn’t really look like that, and it’s usually on the top of the fruit.
