Pomegranate fruit splitting!!

[sparky77]

Hi,

I have a Pomegranate tree that is 5-6 years old. It's been producing a lot of fruit but they keep splitting. I have talked to the people at local garden center and they suggested it may be because of too much water or not enough nutrients. So, I have tried to reduce the amount of water and fertilized with fertilizer for pomegranate. They are still splitting.

I live in southern California in a fairly desert and hot summer area. So my watering may not be the right amount.

At this point, not sure what to do. It hurts to see so much fruit going bad, just when the arils are started to get some color.

Any suggestion and advice will be appreciated.

 

[cpp gardener]

A lot of the splitting is due to environmental conditions you don't have control over, mainly fluctuating high temperatures and dry air. When it gets really hot and dry, the skin hardens and loses the ability to stretch as the arils grow. It happens a lot with citrus too. The best plan is to water deeply and infrequently until the fruit is about the size of a tennis ball and then give it a very deep soak, about twice normal. Then watch the weather and when we have a "cool wave" of temps in the low 90s soak it again. Try to coordinate watering with slightly lower temps (I know, easier said than done in the desert). A thick mulch layer will help moderate soil temps and evaporation.
Even though the fruit looks bad, as long as it doesn't get moldy it is still edible, even if messier to eat.