Nowadays, pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cultivation increased in Mediterranean countries due to the fruit nutritional quality and the ability to withstand soil salinity. Thus, the knowledge of its response mechanisms to environmental stress gains importance. On the other hand, landraces, generally cultivated in harsh environments may represent a source of resistance genes useful for breeding new tolerant cultivars. In this work buds (five month-old) of eleven Azerbaijan, six Iranian

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... te landraces as well as the buds of the cultivar Wonderful were exposed to 48h mild cold stress (-4°C). Oxidative stress parameters, such as lipid peroxidation, hydrogen peroxide, and proline as well as the superoxide dismutase activity were measured in control and stressful buds. Upon cold stress, lipid peroxidation, hydrogen peroxide levels and proline were higher in all the varieties than in the normal buds. However, the levels of the studied biomarkers were lower in the Iranian Saveh and the Azerbaijan Bala Mursal respect to the modern cultivar Wonderful. Higher levels of enzymatic activitiy of superoxide dismutase were detected in all cold stressed buds, especially in those from cultivar "Wonderful" respect to the normal ones. These results may suggest that the landraces Saveh and Bala Mursal were less affected by cold stress. On the other hand, the strong activation of antioxidant enzyme in Wonderful might be pivotal for its survival under stress. This work shows differences in oxidative stress parameters as well as superoxide dismutase activity among pomegranate cultivars upon cold stress.