Pineapple

Showing 10 of 10 practices.

1. • Core practice
   • Establishment
   • Stage: Land & planting material

   Select, grade and cure planting material

   Uniform, healthy suckers, slips or crowns give an even crop that can be forced at one time. Curing helps prevent butt rot.

   Technical detail

   • Kerala: suckers of 0.5 to 1 kg, shade dried about 7 days, lower leaves removed and cured another 7 days.
   • Guam: grade slips by size and cure butt-up in a dry, airy place for a week or more.
   • Time to harvest depends on material: about 12 months from root suckers, 18 from stem suckers and 24 from crowns (BPTP Riau).

   Regions

   India (Kerala) · Pacific · Indonesia

   Confidence

   High confidence: several institutional sources agree

   Sources

   • [3] Kerala Agricultural University, Information Gateway on Agriculture, undated (opens in a new tab)
   • [1] R. Bevacqua, J. Tuquero, J. Bamba; University of Guam CNAS Extension, 2015 (opens in a new tab)
   • [4] BPTP Balitbangtan Riau, Kementerian Pertanian RI, 2021 (opens in a new tab)

2. • Core practice
   • Soil & nutrition
   • Stage: Land & planting material

   Prepare peat without fire and drain it gently

   Burning and heavy machinery damage peat. Drain slowly and only as deep as needed, because over-drained peat shrinks and dries irreversibly.

   Technical detail

   • CIFOR guide (Riau): clear by hand cutting rather than fire or heavy machines.
   • MARDI: rapid or deep initial drainage causes marked shrinkage and subsidence, and over-drying cannot be reversed.
   • A 2022 Malaysian study found peat under pineapple more decomposed than natural peat.

   Regions

   Indonesia (Riau) · Malaysia (Johor)

   Confidence

   High confidence: several institutional sources agree

   Sources

   • [5] D. Puspitaloka, S. Hadi, H. Purnomo; CIFOR and Badan Restorasi Gambut, 2019 (opens in a new tab)
   • [2] Mohd. Zahari Abu Bakar, Abd. Wahab Nafis, Ting C.C., Abd. Rahim Mohamed (MARDI); JIRCAS TARS 15, c. 1980s (opens in a new tab)
   • [6] I.A. Azmi and N.Q.B. Kassim, IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1059, 2022 (opens in a new tab)

3. • Core practice
   • Establishment
   • Stage: Land & planting material

   Plant on raised beds in double rows

   Raised beds reduce erosion and root and heart rots. Double rows fit more plants while leaving paths for work.

   Technical detail

   • Guam: contoured raised beds, often with black plastic mulch; double rows are the preferred layout.
   • Kerala: trenches about 90 cm wide, double rows 70 x 30 cm, about 40,400 plants/ha, planted 7.5 to 10 cm deep.
   • Riau peat project: 70 cm between plants and 100 cm between rows.

   Regions

   Pacific · India (Kerala) · Indonesia (Riau)

   Confidence

   High confidence: several institutional sources agree

   Sources

   • [1] R. Bevacqua, J. Tuquero, J. Bamba; University of Guam CNAS Extension, 2015 (opens in a new tab)
   • [3] Kerala Agricultural University, Information Gateway on Agriculture, undated (opens in a new tab)
   • [5] D. Puspitaloka, S. Hadi, H. Purnomo; CIFOR and Badan Restorasi Gambut, 2019 (opens in a new tab)

4. • Core practice
   • Pests & disease
   • Stage: Land & planting material

   Start with wilt-free planting material

   Mealybug wilt spreads through planting material. Take material only from healthy fields or use treated or tissue-culture plants.

   Technical detail

   • Pacific Pests: use tissue culture or hot water at 50°C for 30 minutes, or take material from fields with under 10% wilt.
   • Do not take suckers next to diseased plants. Avoid replanting where wilt occurred.
   • Crowns or slips can be dipped in horticultural oil before planting.

   Regions

   Pacific · Widely applicable

   Confidence

   Medium confidence: one institutional guide

   Source

   • [7] Pacific Pests, Pathogens & Weeds; G. Jackson, 2020 (opens in a new tab)

5. • Conventional
   • Soil & nutrition
   • Stage: Vegetative growth

   Basal manure and split fertilizer, with copper on peat

   Pineapple needs regular nitrogen and potassium. On peat, copper and zinc are often short.

   Technical detail

   • Kerala: 25 t/ha compost or manure basal, all phosphorus at planting, and N and K split through the crop.
   • CIFOR peat guide: about 10 t manure per hectare, then urea with copper sulfate at 2 to 3 months and again at 5 to 6 months.
   • MARDI reports zinc and copper deficiency in pineapple on Malaysian peat. Guam stops feeding at flowering. These are rates from single guides; adjust to a soil test.

   Regions

   Indonesia (Riau) · Malaysia · India (Kerala)

   Confidence

   High confidence: several institutional sources agree

   Sources

   • [3] Kerala Agricultural University, Information Gateway on Agriculture, undated (opens in a new tab)
   • [5] D. Puspitaloka, S. Hadi, H. Purnomo; CIFOR and Badan Restorasi Gambut, 2019 (opens in a new tab)
   • [2] Mohd. Zahari Abu Bakar, Abd. Wahab Nafis, Ting C.C., Abd. Rahim Mohamed (MARDI); JIRCAS TARS 15, c. 1980s (opens in a new tab)
   • [1] R. Bevacqua, J. Tuquero, J. Bamba; University of Guam CNAS Extension, 2015 (opens in a new tab)

6. • Biological & regenerative
   • Crop care
   • Stage: Vegetative growth

   Grow pineapple with trees on restored peat

   In Riau, pineapple is grown between timber trees as part of peat restoration. This keeps cover on the land while trees establish.

   Technical detail

   • CIFOR and the Peat Restoration Agency trial in Bengkalis planted pineapple alongside tree planting.
   • The guide notes the practice comes from one project and may need adjusting elsewhere.

   Regions

   Indonesia (Riau)

   Confidence

   Emerging evidence: early or small-scale evidence

   Source

   • [5] D. Puspitaloka, S. Hadi, H. Purnomo; CIFOR and Badan Restorasi Gambut, 2019 (opens in a new tab)

7. • Biological & regenerative
   • Pests & disease
   • Stage: Vegetative growth

   Control ants so natural enemies can work on mealybugs

   Ants protect mealybugs and move them between plants. Breaking ant nests and keeping borders clean lets ladybirds and parasitic wasps reduce mealybugs.

   Technical detail

   • Pacific Pests: cultivate to destroy big-headed ant nests and keep field borders weed-free.
   • Remove and burn wilting plants as soon as they appear.
   • Ant baits or insecticides are a later step, used only if wilt passes about 3% of plants and products are registered locally.

   Regions

   Pacific · Widely applicable

   Confidence

   Medium confidence: one institutional guide

   Source

   • [7] Pacific Pests, Pathogens & Weeds; G. Jackson, 2020 (opens in a new tab)

8. • Core practice
   • Pests & disease
   • Stage: Vegetative growth

   Prevent Phytophthora heart rot with drainage and acidity

   Heart rot rots the central stem and gives a foul smell. Good drainage, healthy planting material and keeping soil out of the plant heart are the main defences.

   Technical detail

   • Guam: plant in acid soil (pH 5.0 to 6.9) on well-drained raised beds, and keep soil out of the plant heart.
   • TNAU and Kerala list fungicide sprays such as fosetyl-Al for affected fields; use only locally registered products.

   Regions

   Widely applicable

   Confidence

   High confidence: several institutional sources agree

   Sources

   • [1] R. Bevacqua, J. Tuquero, J. Bamba; University of Guam CNAS Extension, 2015 (opens in a new tab)
   • [8] TNAU Agritech Portal, undated (opens in a new tab)

9. • Conventional
   • Crop care
   • Stage: Flower induction

   Force flowering for an even harvest

   Ethephon or calcium carbide in the plant heart makes plants flower together, so fruit can be harvested at one time.

   Technical detail

   • Kerala: 50 ml of 25 ppm ethephon with 2% urea and 0.04% calcium carbonate into the heart of 10 to 12 month old plants, in dry weather.
   • Guam: about half a teaspoon of calcium carbide in the heart; wrong dosing of advanced agents can give distorted fruit.
   • Adjust doses to the product's active ingredient and the local label.

   Regions

   India (Kerala) · Pacific

   Confidence

   High confidence: several institutional sources agree

   Sources

   • [3] Kerala Agricultural University, Information Gateway on Agriculture, undated (opens in a new tab)
   • [1] R. Bevacqua, J. Tuquero, J. Bamba; University of Guam CNAS Extension, 2015 (opens in a new tab)

10. • Core practice
    • Harvest
    • Stage: Harvest & ratoon

    Harvest by eye colour and cut the stalk cleanly

    Pick when the base turns yellow and the eyes flatten. Cut rather than break the stalk, and handle fruit gently.

    Technical detail

    • BPTP Riau: harvest in the morning with a sharp knife; a 0 to 7 colour index guides use, with 3 to 6 suited to canning or local fresh sale.
    • Guam: for market, pick when the lower half to two thirds is yellow.
    • Guam: the first ratoon crop comes 12 to 14 months after the plant crop. The CIFOR peat guide keeps at most 2 suckers per clump.

    Regions

    Indonesia (Riau) · Pacific

    Confidence

    High confidence: several institutional sources agree

    Sources

    • [4] BPTP Balitbangtan Riau, Kementerian Pertanian RI, 2021 (opens in a new tab)
    • [1] R. Bevacqua, J. Tuquero, J. Bamba; University of Guam CNAS Extension, 2015 (opens in a new tab)
    • [5] D. Puspitaloka, S. Hadi, H. Purnomo; CIFOR and Badan Restorasi Gambut, 2019 (opens in a new tab)