News Article Response

Issues in Pomegranate Breeding

            Pomegranates were actually first introduced in California by the Spanish missionaries in the mid-1700s. (“Pomegranate”). “Over the past ten years, pomegranate production has increased by more than five times” (“Pomegranate”) as it gained popularity among the public. It is high in nutritional values such as antioxidants and vitamin C and they can “thrive where other fruits cannot” through drought and salt. (Fulton).

With so many benefits, it is surprising that pomegranates are not the most sold fruit in the United States, as observed by John Chater, “a post-doctorate scholar studying pomegranate cultivars at the University of California, Riverside.” (Fulton). Along with his colleagues, John Chater hopes to change the market for pomegranates by introducing a wider range of varieties in color and flavor of pomegranates. As of now, he is studying the tastes of the public and is growing edible pomegranates, including “Parfianka…[and] Golden Globes”. (Fulton).

As far as pomegranates go, I personally love consuming them. They have a unique flavor and are rich in nutrients. But when I am in the grocery store in front of the pomegranate crate, I hesitate about whether to buy them or not because they are a process to eat. With so many individual pieces about the size of a pea and the seed alone accounts for about half of the whole size, eating them becomes a long and dreary process. Thus, John Chater is plausible for the idea of making pomegranates more mainstream; however, breeding it is not a wise choice because it causes the rise of many issues similar to the agricultural crops today and controversies about the ethical and moral concerns of changing pomegranates.

First, many agricultural crops have been domesticated, of which modern corn is the most thoroughly domesticated crop. “Over generations, humans have made…changes in corn’s genetic structure, altering the plant’s shape and taste… [As a result, it became] completely dependent on humans for its existence [which means] were it not planted, tended, and stored by people, it would become extinct in several years’ time.” (Meyer). Second, they are a monocultural crop which can cause serious damages. Corn plants now are produced in massive numbers around the United States, all with similar genetic compositions. If, in the future, a deadly disease develops that the present corn variety are not resistant to, the massive monoculture of corn will all be destroyed since they have similar genes without genetic diversity. Likewise, this could happen to pomegranates as well. If they become popular enough to produce in massive numbers and then is domesticated, there is a high risk that one single disease can wipe out the pomegranates; they have no diversity therefore no possibility that at least one of the pomegranate variety contains a resistant gene of some sort. As a result, pomegranates may no longer exist in the future. This would not be a problem if pomegranates are bred naturally. Natural hybridization promotes genetic diversity whereas artificial hybridization only narrows the genetic traits to what humans desire such as increase nutrition, tolerance to disease and environmental impacts. So instead of artificial hybridization, biologists and agriculturists studying pomegranates should leave the pomegranates up to nature and allow them to breed together themselves.

On the other hand, the issue of cultures and beliefs of pomegranates still exists. There is always the possibility that among the hundreds of cultures and native tribes, pomegranates may be one of their spiritual plants and they may find breeding them as an intrusion to their way of life, causing tension between the researchers and the natives. So the best way to solve all of these problems is to leave the pomegranates as they are now.

            Pomegranates are a great fruit to consume occasionally. The dangers of John Chater’s way of making pomegranates mainstream is too high; they should then be left alone.