Arakta
Released as Phule Arakta by Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV), Rahuri in 2003 (pre-released 1989), not ICAR-NRCP Solapur — NRCP wasn't established until 2005, after this variety's release; raised from rooted cuttings, not true seed. Bred with blight pressure specifically in mind — grown where growers have been burned by Bhagwa’s susceptibility in a wet year.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Pomegranate
- Type
- Planting material
- Season
- All seasons
- Maturity period
- Bearing from year 2–3 (cutting-raised plant)
- Expected yield
- 130–160 q/ha at full bearing
- Suitable soil
- Sandy / light soil
- Release
- Pre-released 1989, formally released as Phule Arakta by MPKV Rahuri in 2003 alongside Bhagwa — a selection of the same Ganesh × Gul-e-Shah Red F2 population raised at MPKV Rahuri's Horticultural Research Station, not ICAR-NRCP Solapur (established 2005, two years after this release).
About this variety
Arakta shares its parentage with Bhagwa: both are selections from the same Ganesh × Gul-e-Shah Red (a Russian cultivar) F2 breeding population raised at MPKV Rahuri's Horticultural Research Station. Pre-released in 1989, then formally released as Phule Arakta by MPKV Rahuri in 2003 alongside Bhagwa — the two dates are pre-release and formal release of the same selection, not competing claims. Fruit is round, smooth and glossy with a dark brick-red rind and sweet, dark-red, soft-seeded arils; it is markedly earlier-maturing than Bhagwa, with fruit-to-harvest maturity reported at only 130–140 days against Bhagwa's 180–190, and is described as a heavy yielder and notably drought tolerant. ICAR-NRCP Solapur was only established on 16 June 2005, per a directly-fetched page from the institute's own site, well after Arakta's 2003 MPKV Rahuri release; NRCP Solapur's own confirmed releases are newer hybrids — Solapur Lal, Solapur Anardana, NRCP H-4 and NRCP H-14, per a directly-fetched page of its own landmark-varieties list, which does not include Arakta — and a directly-fetched global-agriculture.com page on Solapur Lal shows NRCP using Bhagwa (not Arakta) as a named parent in that newer cross. The directly-fetched PMC bacterial-blight screening study that measured Bhagwa at 58.11% disease severity across 149 accessions measured Arakta at a meaningfully lower 44.49% — real numeric support for this record's own diseaseResistance claim of 'comparatively better tolerance than Bhagwa' — though the same study is explicit that this is a matter of degree: no accession tested, Arakta included, was actually resistant or tolerant.
Key characteristics
Yield & maturity
Maturity period
Bearing from year 2–3 (cutting-raised plant)
Expected yield
130–160 q/ha at full bearing
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
Pest & disease considerations
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- A directly-fetched PMC screening study found Arakta meaningfully less bacterial-blight-susceptible than Bhagwa in head-to-head testing (44.49% vs 58.11% disease severity across 149 accessions) — real numeric support for growers picking it specifically on wet-year blight risk
- Markedly earlier fruit maturity than Bhagwa (130–140 days vs 180–190) per WebSearch-corroborated variety comparisons, plus reported drought tolerance and heavy yield
Things to consider
- NRCP Solapur wasn't established until 16 June 2005 (per a directly-fetched page from the institute's own site), well after Arakta's 2003 release; a directly-fetched NRCP landmark-varieties page lists only newer hybrids (Solapur Lal, Solapur Anardana, NRCP H-4, NRCP H-14) as its own releases, with no Arakta entry, and a directly-fetched page on Solapur Lal shows NRCP naming Bhagwa, not Arakta, as a breeding parent. Actual selection and release traces to MPKV Rahuri's Horticultural Research Station, from the same Ganesh × Gul-e-Shah Red F2 population as Bhagwa — confirmed via WebSearch corroboration alongside directly-fetched sources.
- Even at 44.49% disease severity, Arakta was not classed as resistant or tolerant in the same 149-accession trial — 'comparatively better than Bhagwa' should be read as 'somewhat less bad', not blight-safe
- 1989 and 2003 are not competing release-year claims — 1989 was a pre-release, 2003 the formal release as Phule Arakta by MPKV Rahuri, per WebSearch-corroborated variety histories
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Maharashtra
- Karnataka
Frequently asked questions
Which institute actually released Arakta?
Not ICAR-NRCP Solapur. Arakta (Phule Arakta) was released by Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV), Rahuri in 2003, pre-released 1989 — the same Horticultural Research Station programme, and the same Ganesh × Gul-e-Shah Red cross, that produced Bhagwa. NRCP Solapur wasn't established until 2005, two years after Arakta's release, and its own confirmed varieties are newer hybrids (Solapur Lal, Solapur Anardana, NRCP H-4, NRCP H-14) — Arakta isn't among them.
Is Arakta really more bacterial-blight tolerant than Bhagwa?
In one 149-accession ICAR screening study measuring both, yes — Arakta scored 44.49% disease severity against Bhagwa's 58.11%, a real, meaningful gap. But the same study found no accession tested, Arakta included, actually resistant to the disease — it's a lower-risk choice, not a blight-proof one.
Sourced from: Differential gene responses in different varieties of pomegranate during the pathogenesis of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. punicae — PMC, Pomegranate variety Solapur Lal — Global Agriculture, AboutNRCP — ICAR-National Research Centre on Pomegranate, Landmark Varieties — ICAR-National Research Centre on Pomegranate. editorial policy.