Reproductive biology and breeding system of pomegranate: A Review

Punica is the sole genus in family Punicaceae and there are only two species in the genus Punica viz: Punica granatum and Punica protopunica. Pomegranate is considered as a monoecious species developing male and perfect flowers (hermaphrodite) and being self and cross pollinated. As the cytological understanding of a species is useful in planning breeding programmes. Success of tree improvement generally depends upon the combination and expression of characters in the new genotypes which holds the key for boosting the productivity and yield of the economic product. In this context, regulation of variation through reproductive system forms the basic approach which is dependent upon the information pertaining to reproductive biology as the biological process. Therefore, the studies on reproductive biology and breeding system are pre-requisite for developing appropriate strategies for tree breeding.