Varieties
Bhagwa
Also known as Shendria or Sinduri, Astagandha and Kesar. This is a selection from F2 population of the cross Ganesh x Gulesha Red. Fruits are attractive glossy red rind. Arils are blood red in colour. It is soft seeded variety.
Arakta
The fruits are smaller than Ganesh variety having dark red coloured arils with soft seeds.
Mridula
This variety has all the characters of the Ganesh variety except the arils are dark red in colour. The colour of the arils in 'Ambe' bahar and 'Mrig' bahar is dark red in colour while it is pink during the 'Hasta' bahar. The average fruit weight is 250-300 grams.
Dholka
Fruits large, rind yellowish red with pinkish white aril. It is a popular cultivar of Gujarat.
Ganesh
This variety is developed by selection method (selction from Alandi). It is a prolific bearer, fruit are medium sized with yellow, smooth and red tinge. Seeds are soft with pinkish aril. Juice tastes sweet. It is the commercial cultivar of Maharashtra. The average yield ranges from 8-10 kg per tree.
Ruby
This variety is developed at IIHR, Bangalore. The mature fruits resemble cultivar 'Ganesh' with respect to shape and size. However, the rind of this variety is reddish brown with green streaks containing red bold arils. The fruit weighs 270 g with an average yield of 16-18 tonnes/ha
Other pomegranate varieties cultivated in india are:
Alandi or Vadki
The fruit size is medium, blood red or deep pink with sweet acidic taste with hard seeds.
Kandhari
The fruit size is large, deep red rind, blood red or deep pink with sweet acidic taste with hard seeds.
Muskat
The fruits of this variety have red rind with pink coloured arils. The fruit are with average weight of 300-350 grams.
Paper Shelled
The fruit size is medium with pink aril of good quality, seeds are soft.
Spanish Ruby
The fruit size is medium with pink aril of good quality, seeds are soft.