Cultivation practices of pine apple

1. Production technology for fruit and plantation crops-
HT-244 (2+1)
PRESENTED BY:
RAKESH KUMAR PATTNAIK
Asst. Prof. Horticulture
MITS INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES
Dt- 03-06-20
LECTURE 10. PINEAPPLE

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Botanical Name: Ananas comosus / Ananas sativus
Family: Bromeliaceae
Origin: Brazil
 The fruit is a good source of Vitamin A and B and is very rich in
Vitamin C and calcium.
 It contains phosphorous and iron.
 The fruit contains a special enzyme called ‘Bromelin’ which digests
protein.
 It provides adequate roughage to prevent constipation.
 preparations of juices, slices, tit bits, squash, jam, mixed jam, candy etc
 Fruit of pineapple is botanically called, ‗Sorosis’.

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Climate:
 Tropical fruit crop
 Optimum temperature ranges from 21-23OC
 An elevation of 1100m
 Optimum rainfall of 150 cm
Soil:
 Sandy loams, laterites and slightly acidic soils with pH 5.5
to 6.00
 The soil should have a depth of at least 60 cm with out hard
pan beneath or water logging.
 Soils should have low calcium content

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Varieties:
 There are many pineapple varieties, which are divided into
three groups, according to Hume and Muller’s (1904)
classification.
 They are Cayenne, Queen and Spanish.
 Some cultivars grown commercially in India are-Giant Kew, Kew, Queen, Mauritius,
Jaldhup and Lakhat, Charlotte Rothschild etc.
 The varieties of Cayenne and Spanish group are dual purpose (fresh fruit and canning)
ones, queen group - fresh fruit purpose (owing to deep eyes).
 Kew is more suitable for canning because of its shallow and broad eyes and it is shy
suckering whereas queen is not suitable for canning because of its prominent eyes irregular
and deep set and it shows high suckering habit.

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A. "Smooth Cayenne" (USA) HAWAII- 4-5 POUND is a spineless pineapple cultivar that boasts sugary, low-fiber flesh and
striped leaves.
 According to Purdue University, "Smooth Cayenne" accounts for 90 percent of the world's canned fruit, despite the cultivar's
susceptibility to disease.
 Varieties of "Smooth Cayenne" include "Hilo," a compact variety that was developed in Hawaii in 1960; "St. Michael,"
an exceptionally sweet variety that lacks the highly acidic, tart flavor of most pineapples; and "Giant Kew,"
B. "Abacaxi“ (2-11 pound) is a spiny, disease-resistant variety that produces tall pineapples marked by white, nearly
translucent flesh that is tender, juicy and rich.
 Though considered one of the most delicious pineapple varieties, the plant, and its many varieties, ship poorly due to their
fragility. "Sugarloaf," a variety with equally tender, rich flesh and a conical or round shape, is derived from "Abacaxi," and
several strains have been developed from "Sugarloaf." "Sugarloaf" strains include "Black Jamaica" and "Montufar," a
juicy, yellow-fruited variety.

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C. "Queen“ Also known as "Common Rough," "Queen" is a compact, dwarf variety that has a better tolerance of cold
and disease than "Smooth Cayenne."
 The plant produces dark yellow, fragrant fruits with a small core.
 It is more commonly used to eat fresh, as it does not can well. "Queen" varieties include South African "Natal
Queen," and "MacGregor," a firm-fleshed fruit that grows from a spreading, broad-leaved and robust plant
D. "Red Spanish“ is a tough variety grown in the West Indies, Mexico, and Venezuela.
 Fruits are light yellow, high in fiber and aromatic.
 The fruit is not nearly as tender as "Abacaxi," so it doesn't suffer as much from shipping and handling.
 Varieties include "Cabezona," a large-fruited variety that must be cut off the plant with a machete due to its large,
strong stem, and "Valera," a small variety that has purple- and green-tinged, narrow leaves and purple-skinned fruits
with white flesh.

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Propagation:
 Pineapple is mainly propagated by vegetative methods. It can
be propagated by shoot suckers, ground suckers, slips,
crown, and stem bits and from splitted crowns.
Suckers: The suckers are preferable for planting, since the plants bear the
first crop earlier than the slips in 14-18 months.
Slips: Plants from the slips give large sized fruits though late in production i.e. 20-22 months for the
first corp. Slips are used for planting commonly in shy suckering varieties like giant Kew and Kew.
Crowns: Crowns are often used as propagating material in Kew variety because of its shy suckering
habit. These are late fruiters and take about 20- 24 months. Stumps: Stumps are the stocks of the
fruits. Stumps are cut into bits known as discs and they are first planted in furrows and are allowed
to sprout.

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Preparation of the land –
 The land should be dug up to a depth of 40-50cm. till a fine tilth is obtained.
 FYM or compost is applied
 After levelling, the land is laid out into trenches alternating with mounds for
planting the suckers
 For double row system of planting, two shallow furrows about 10-15cm depth
are to be opened
 Suckers of uniform size (400-450g) should be selected for planting
Preparation of the planting material-
 Basal scaly leaves of the suckers should be stripped off
 Suckers should be dried for one or two days
 Suckers should be dipped in bordeaux mixture (1%) or dithane Z-78(0.3%)
and difoltan (0.2%) to avoid mealy bugs and heart rot

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Planting methods:
 The popular method of planting pineapple is the double row system.
 The two rows are spaced at 60cm apart and in each row the plants are planted at
45cm apart.
 The double rows are spaced at 1.5 to 2.0 meters. In this method 15,000 to
20,000 suckers can be accommodated per ha.
 When it is desired to have more than two ratoon crops, the above method can be
adopted. Otherwise close spacing may be chosen.
 In this method a spacing of 25 X 60 X 105cm or 25 X 60 X 90cm is adopted.
 This accommodates 49,000 to 53,000 suckers per hectare.
 Planting: Planting may be done normally during the rainy season,
avoiding periods of heavy rainfall. July and August are the best
months.

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Interculture:
 Mulching with dry grasses, straw, saw dust, coir dust, rice husk
etc. will also help to suppress weed growth, conserve moisture,
and maintain the humus status of the soil.
 To achieve good fruit size and uniform cylindrical shape, the
crowns of fruits may be removed with a sharp knife, when they
are 5-10cm long
 In hot weather, the fruits may be covered by wrapping with the
leaves or dry grass or straw or banana leaves or paper covers
for protection from sun scorch.

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 After plants have established apply 35g.of Urea, 13g.of Super
phosphate and 6-8g. of Muriate of potash per plant two to three
times.
 FYM and P2O5 - basal dressing at the time of last ploughing or
digging
 Nitrogen and K2O are to be applied in three split doses i.e. 60th, 150th
and 240th days after planting
 Nitrogen -Ammonium sulphate.
Manuring:
FYM -20-25 tonnes
Nitrogen -350kg/ha
P2O5 -130kg/ha
K2O -40kg/ha

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Irrigations are given for getting better sized fruits.
Therefore 4-5 irrigations in hot months at an interval of 15-20
days will ensure a good crop.
Irrigation:
 Even after 15 to 18 months of growth under ideal management less than 40 to 50% of the
plants normally flowers
 To achieve uniform flowering in pineapple NAA in the form of “Planofix” at 10-20ppm (1ml
planofix in 9 litres of water) or a mixture of 10ppm of Ethephon (Ethrel+2%urea+0.045%
sodium carbonate may be poured (50ml) in the heart of the plants 15-16 months after
planting on a clear sunny day..
Flowering:

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 The plants generally flowers 12 months after planting from February to
April.
 The fruits take about 135 to 165 days to mature and ripen.
 The fruits ripen from June to September depending on the variety in our state.
 When at least 2 or 3 rows of eyes at the base have turned yellow, the fruit is
ready for harvest.
 However, for distant markets the matured fruits are to be harvested.
 Harvesting may be done with a long, sharp knife, cutting the fruit stalk few
centimeters below the base of the fruit
Harvesting:
Yield: The yield per hectare varies from 40-60 tonnes

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 Ratoon cropping is common in pineapple.
 After the harvest of the first crop, all the suckers borne
on the plant should be removed leaving only one sucker
on the mother plant.
 Similarly, all slips should be removed.
 Then the plants are fertilized, irrigated and earthed
up so that the plants have good anchorage for the ratoon
crop.
 The crop is retained like this for four or five years and
then removed.
Ratoon crop:

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