Pomegranates in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is well known for its high quality pomegranates. Pomegranates originated in Afghanistan and Iran, and is a popular home orchard crop because it is low input and high output. It is also adaptable to poor soil, limited irrigation, pests, and minimal pruning.

It’s a seasonal winter fruit available from mid-December to mid-March.

Afghanistan exports pomegranates to nearby countries, such as Pakistan, Russia, and throughout the Middle East.

Afghans tell me that fully ripe pomegranates should make a metallic sound when tapped. Also they should be picked from the tree, and not pulled from the tree. Now I know!

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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