UF/IFAS Professor Leads Effort to Establish Pomegranates in Florida

GROWING UP IN IRAN, Ali Sarkhosh worked on the family’s pomegranate farm, which has thrived for four generations.

- BRAD BUCK & DR. ALI SARKHOSH

Later, at the University of Tehran, Sarkhosh wrote both his master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation on pomegranate genetic diversity and breeding. He then worked as a pomegranate expert in Australia for four years. Down Under, he was responsible for managing aspects of 600 acres of pomegranate production.

So, it seems like a crown jewel that he would serve as lead editor of a new book on pomegranates. Sarhhosh, now a UF/IFAS assistant professor of horticultural sciences, leads the UF/IFAS effort to make pomegranates an economically viable crop in Florida. The fruit’s bold, sweet – sometimes tart – flavor makes it a consumer favorite.

Sarkhosh worked with two co-editors to publish the book, “The Pomegranate: Botany, Production and Uses.” The book is available for purchase through the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International. Hundreds of authors contributed to its contents, which are gleaned from several major scientific journal databases.

Though aimed at researchers and pomegranate producers, the book is also a good read for gardeners and anyone interested in fruit, he says.