Pomegranate Cultivation in Mediterranean Climate: Plant Adaptation and Fruit Quality of ‘Mollar de Elche’ and ‘Wonderful’ Cultivars

Two pomegranate cultivars, Mollar de Elche, native to Spain, and Wonderful, the most widely cultivated pomegranate variety in the world, were studied in a commercial orchard in Sicily, and their phenological behavior was compared. During the development of the fruit, their dimensional growth was monitored, and after harvest, physicochemical and sensory analyses were carried out to highlight the differences between fruit of the two cultivars. Results showed that Mollar de Elche fruit require less time from flowering to fruit maturity, resulting in an earlier harvest, which was due also to a higher relative growth rate of the fruit’s diameters. On the other hand, physicochemical analyses confirmed that Wonderful is the variety that is most appealing for fresh produce consumers due to its intense coloring. However, Mollar de Elche showed economically desirable characteristics such as a good softness of the seed. Moreover, sensory analysis showed that fruit of the cv. Mollar de Elche was found to have a sweeter taste of both arils and juice.