Pineapple - Cultivation, Climate & Health Benefits - PDF

PINEAPPLE (Ananas comosus) BY: Dr. FAITH IGBEKELE  Introduction  Pineapple is the second harvest of importance after bananas, contributing to over 20 % of the world production of tropical fruits  Nearly 70% of pineapple is consumed as fresh fruit in producing countries. Its origi...

PINEAPPLE (Ananas comosus) BY: Dr. FAITH IGBEKELE  Introduction  Pineapple is the second harvest of importance after bananas, contributing to over 20 % of the world production of tropical fruits  Nearly 70% of pineapple is consumed as fresh fruit in producing countries. Its origin has been traced to Brazil and Paraguay in the Amazonic basin where the fruit was domesticated.  Worldwide production started by 1500 when pineapple was propagated in Europe and the tropical regions of the world.  The most spread variety is Cayena lisa (Smooth Cayenne) which was first introduced in Europe from French Guyana.  Thailand, Philippines, Brazil and China are the main pineapple producers in the world supplying nearly 50 % of the total output.  Other important producers include India, Nigeria, Kenya, Indonesia, México and Costa Rica and these countries provide most of the remaining fruit available (50%)  Pineapple production regions are usually confined to altitudes below 800m above sea level, although Kenya reports production fields located between 1400 and 1800m, and Malaysia orchards as high as 2400 m.  When pineapple is grown at altitudes greater than 1000 m smaller fruit are produced; the pulp has less attractive color and flavor and elevated tartness.  Climatic requirement  Pineapple is a tropical plant and grows best in a moderately warm climate (16° to 33°C) with low, but regular rainfall. It is estimated that Smooth Cayenne requires only 50mm of rainfall per month for optimum growth.  It has some important limitations:  It cannot tolerate frost  It is intolerant of high temperatures (in excess of 40°C), and sunburn damage to plants and fruit can be severe  It has a fragile root system that needs well-drained conditions  Botanical Description  The stem is a stick with a wider upper section and narrower and usually curved lower section. The top of the fruit is covered with phylotaxia leaves; below this level there is a zone of dry leaves and a curved section underground from which many roots protrude.  The main stem extends to the flower butt then in the central axis of the flower buds forming a single mass that ends at the apex of a crown of leaves  Botanical Description  In some pineapple varieties and other wild Ananas the flower butt is well developed. In contrast the butt of commercial clones is short and covered by leaves.  The main stem produces side sprouts that receive different names. The sprouts emerge first at the base of the stem, their leaves are long and narrow, but shorter near the bottom, and are considered as the best material for propagation.  A second type of shorter sprouts is formed from stem spuds and is also used for vegetative reproduction.  Botanical Description  A third type emerges from the butt underneath the fruit; this type has shorter and compact leaves resembling a small pineapple fruit. All of these sprouts have a curved base since they emerge from horizontal spuds and then grow vertically.  The basal side sprouts function in wild species and in plants derived from vegetative propagation, since once the flowers and end fruit have dried out and disappeared, side stems develop, fruit are formed and new side stems are generated; thus, pineapple may be considered as a perennial plant  Climatic requirement  Pineapple has several special characteristics that allow it to survive and thrive under low rainfall conditions:  Leaf shape and orientation that maximises capture of moisture and sunlight most efficiently  The large cups formed where the leaves attach to the stump are effective reservoirs for nutrient solutions and water  The ability to absorb nutrients through axillary roots in the leaf bases, and directly through the leaf surfaces especially the basal white tissue  Low numbers of stomata, and leaves that are insulated to reduce water loss  Water storage tissue that can make up to half the leaf thickness, and is used during periods of low rainfall to help maintain growth  A specialised metabolic system (CAM) for capturing carbon dioxide at night for use during the day that greatly reduces water loss. The pineapple’s adaptation to dry conditions comes not only from evolving in a dry climate but also from its epiphytic ancestry (epiphytes grow above the ground on other plants for support).  Cultural Practices A. Soil preparation.  Maximal production potential for this fruit is reached when it is planted on light to medium texture soils that have no flooding problems, mildly acidic (pH 4.5-5.5). A good seeding bed is obtained by proper cutting, burning and/or blending of harvest by-products, plowing, soil revolving, leveling and drainage.  Mowing. This operation is needed to destroy the residues from the previous crop. In order to properly burn or blend these residues grinding must be as fine as possible.  Burning is recommended only when plagues and pathologies were detected on the previous cycle.  Plowing and harrowing is also recommended and important.  Cultural Practices B. Planting Materials for growing pineapple  Crown/Slip/Sucker  A six to 8 inches pot or container or polythene bag  A sharp knife  Water  Fertile soil  Fertilizers  Insecticides  Pesticides  Herbicides  Plant density. In order to reach crop yields of 100 tons a minimum of 60,000 plants per hectare need to be planted, using the arrangement of 30 cm between plants, 40 cm between lines. If density needs to be increased the distance between plants can be varied and the rest may remain unchanged.  To estimate the density the following formula:  100/distance between plants+ aisle width = a  100/distance between plants = b  D = a * b* 2  Fertilizer application  Growing Pineapples in soil having good organic matter and high fertility is always beneficial in getting more production. Below you can find some general recommendations (when no soil analysis data are available) for the annual pineapple fertilization schedule in a field with 75,000 trees per hectare (30,400 trees per acre).  Nitrogen: 600-900 kg/ha (535-803 lb/acre) applied in up to 6 doses.  Phosphorus (P2O5): 150-300 kg/ha (134-268 lb/acre) during the vegetative stage. These amounts highly depend on the P soil availability.  Potassium (K2O): 600-1000 kg/ha (535-892 lb/acre) depending on the soil’s acidity, 80-75% during the vegetative stage and 20-25% during the fruit set.  Sulphur: 50-100 kg/ha (45-90 lb/acre), 5% in the vegetative stage and 25% in the fruiting stage.  Calcium (CaO): 60-150 kg/ha (54-134 lb/acre), 90% in the vegetative stage and 10% during the fruiting stage.  Magnesium (MgO): 5 kg/ha (4.5 lb/acre), 75% during the vegetative stage and 25% during fruiting.  Zinc: 5 kg/ha (4.5 lb/acre ) during the vegetative stage.  Iron: 8 kg/ha (7 lb/acre) during the vegetative stage. C. Weed Control In pineapple production fields undergrowths and weeds of several types emerge: they could be narrow or wide leaves; the latter being the most aggressive. Weed control begins with ground preparation by breaking soil lumps. Herbicides are used for weed control (Diuron and Atrazine) at a dosage of 2.5 to 3.5 kg/Ha and with the proper humidity better performance is achieved. In case of problems with graminiae, specific compounds are used (Fusilade, Igran 500), combined with manual chim  Pineapple and CAM photosynthesis  The pineapple has a special photosynthetic pathway called CAM (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism).  This is a feature that certain plants including cacti have evolved to conserve moisture.  Most plants must absorb carbon dioxide whilst the sun is shining for photosynthesis to take place and produce starch and sugars; therefore their stomata are open in the warmest, driest part of the 24 hour cycle and much moisture escapes from the plant through the open stomata.  CAM plants, on the other hand, have the unique ability to store carbon dioxide within the plant (as malic acid), this allows them to keep their stomata closed during the day but to open them at night when the atmosphere is cooler and more humid.  When the sun comes out the next day the stomata close but carbon dioxide is released into the plant cells from the stored malic acid allowing photosynthesis to take place..  Life cycle  In our climate pineapple does not have an annual cycle, it is longer than 12 months and flowering and fruit maturity are not tied to seasons.  Two conditions are required for plants to flower naturally (a) they need to have reached sufficient maturity (b) some form of stress needs to occur that causes a check in plant growth. Examples of stress include cool temperatures, drought or physical damage such as hail, insect or disease attack.  Reproduction  Pineapples are normally propagated vegetatively, using crowns, slips, suckers. This means that each plant is a clone (genetically identical copy of its mother). These clones grow true to type and produce predictable and uniform crops.  Pineapples are “self incompatible” so rarely produce seed in a field of only one variety. However, if two varieties are grown close together (Smooth Cayenne and a hybrid for example) and they are in flower at the same time, insects can cause crosspollination. Seedy fruit is not acceptable for either fresh or processing outlets.  Reproduction  Cross-pollination between varieties is practiced by plant breeders to produce new hybrid clones like the “Golds”, the seed is germinated under laboratory conditions.  Chlorflurenol (Maintain®) used for propagating slips, can result in thousands of small, undeveloped seeds in fruit if applied too long after fruit initiation (usually because some natural fruiting occurred before chemical forcing). These seeds will not germinate and the fruit must be discarded.  Flowering  Pineapple is an indeterminate flowering plant which means it has no specific flowering trigger like day/night length, for example. Natural initiation of mature plants (12+ months old) for summer harvest is strong because initiation takes place in winter.  Natural initiation for winter harvest - while present - is much weaker because initiation occurs in warmer months when vegetative growth is strong.  Flowering  Uniform planting material type and size (crowns, slips and suckers mature at different times), a uniform strike and intelligent use and timing of flower induction treatments will result in more uniform fruiting, and allow for controlled ripening.  Suckers: they grow in the underground part of the plant  Slips: they appear at the butt and grouped near the base of the fruit.  Crown: is used as major and faster means of propagating pineapples. Fruiting  The pineapple is technically called a sorosis – “a fusing of many fruit together to form one unit”. Each “eye” (fruitlet) is a complete fruit. Flowering starts at the bottom of the sorosis and continues up as a spiral to the last eye. When the formation of fruitlets stops, the growing point reverts to a vegetative state and the top (crown) is formed.  A good induction will ensure a large number of fruitlets are formed which, with good cultural care, will all fill out to give a well-shaped, high-yielding fruit.  Harvesting  It is done 51 or 52 months after induction based on the external maturity of the fruit for domestic market. The harvest operation is done using special devices to draw the fruit from the field by breaking the fruit that shows proper maturity stage and placing them at the edge of the field where they are manually sorted by size.  The fruit is carried in trucks placing the crowns downwards for cushioning.  Harvest is done using a sharp knife matchete or using a mechanical harvester which may cut the process time to one fourth and produces minimal damage to the fruit by handling.  Fruiting  Because ripening of the fruitlets follows the same pattern as flowering, the bottom portion of pineapples is riper, sweeter and has better flavour than the top. Shorter fruit with little taper (summer plant crop and ratoon fruit) mature more uniformly than larger, tapered autumn to spring plant crop fruit.  Pineapple, like strawberries and citrus fruit, contain no starch reserves so cannot become “sweeter” after harvest like pears, stone fruit, rock melons and bananas. Cultivars  The origin different pineapple cultivars may be attributed to somatic mutations. Since there is not self-pollination and cross- pollination occurs only occasionally, natural hybrids are rare.  Some Pneapple culivars are:  Cayena lisa  Spanish from Singapur  Green Selacia  Queen  Red Spanish  Perola  Perolera