Around 23,400 tons of pomegranates have been harvested from 1,950 hectares of gardens, said Majid Kafizadeh, head of Kashan Agriculture Jihad. “Last year we harvested 20 tons of the fruit per hectare and this year (started March 21) our pomegranate yield declined to 12 tons per hectare,” he said quoted by IRNA. It was not clear why the yield had declined by almost half. The gross value of the harvest is estimated at about $14 million. In Kashan, Isfahan Province, the picking season starts in August just before the fruit is fully mature and continues till the end of November.
