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The pineapple is the leading edible member of the family Bromeliaceae which embraces about

2,000 species, mostly epiphytic and many strikingly ornamental. Now known botanically as Ananas comosus Merr. (syns. A. sativus chult. f., Ananassa sativa !indl., Bromelia ananas !., B. comosa !.", the fruit has ac#uired few $ernacular names. %t is widely called pina by panish&speaking people, abacaxi in the 'ortuguese tongue, ananas by the utch and )rench and the

people of former )rench and utch colonies* nanas in southern +sia and the ast %ndes. %n-hina, it is po-lo-mah; sometimes in amaica, sweet pine* in /uatemala often merely pine .

Description

The pineapple plant is a terrestrial herb 2 1 2 to 3 ft (.43&1.3 m" high with a spread of 5 to 6 ft(.7&1.2 m"* a $ery short, stout stem and a rosette of wa8y, straplike lea$es, long&pointed, 20 to 42

in (30&190cm" 1ong* usually needle tipped and generally bearing sharp, upcur$ed spines on themargins. The lea$es may be all green or $ariously striped with red, yellow or i$ory down themiddle or near the margins. +t blooming time, the stem elongates and enlarges near the ape8 and

puts forth a head of small purple or red flowers, each accompanied by a single red, yellowish orgreen bract. The stem continues to grow and ac#uires at its ape8 a compact tuft of stiff, shortlea$es called the crown or top . :ccasionally a plant may bear 2 or 5 heads, or as many as 12fused together, instead of the normal one.

+s indi$idual fruits de$elop from the flowers they ;oin together forming a cone shaped,compound, ;uicy, fleshy fruit to 12 in (50 cm" or more in height, with the stem ser$ing as thefibrous but fairly succulent core. The tough, wa8y rind, made up of he8agonal units, may be

dark&green, yellow, orange&yellow or reddish when the fruit is ripe. The flesh ranges from nearlywhite to yellow. %f the flowers are pollinated, small, hard seeds may be present, but generally onefinds only traces of unde$eloped seeds. ince hummingbirds are the principal pollinators, these

birds are prohibited in

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n international trade, the numerous pineapple culti$ars are grouped in four main classes> ? mooth-ayenne?, ?@ed panish?, ?Aueen?, and ?+baca8i?, despite much $ariation in the types within eachclass.

'Smooth Cayenne' or ?-ayenne?, ?-ayena !isa? in panish (often known in %ndia, ri !anka,Malaysia and Thailand as ? arawak? or ? ew?" was selected and culti$ated by %ndians inCeneDuela long ago and introduced from -ayenne ()rench /uyana" in 1920. )rom there itreached the @oyal Botanical /ardens, ew, ngland, where it was impro$ed and distributed toamaica and Aueensland, +ustralia. Because of the plants near freedom from spines e8cept forthe needle at the leaftip and the siDe&6 to 10 lbs (1.9 6.3 kg"&cylindrical form, shallow eyes,orange rind, yellow flesh, low fiber, ;uiciness and rich mildly acid fla$or, it has become ofgreatest importance worldwide e$en though it is sub;ect to disease and does not ship well.Mainly, it is priDed for canning, ha$ing sufficient fiber for firm slices and cubes as well ase8cellent fla$or.

%t was the introduction of this culti$ar into the 'hilippines from

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that large crowns gi$e highest yield and more slips, followed by small crowns, big slips, smallslips, large and small suckers in descending order.

Pineapple is usually commercially propagated vegetatively using ratoon suckers,crowns, slips and side suckers. It important that these vegetative materials bekept separate, as mass, growth rate, harvest dates and other factors differbetween the types. For example the crown produce fruits in 18 !" months, slips in1# !$, side suckers in 18 !$ months, and ratoon suckers in 1$ 1" months %&akasoneand Paull, 1''8(.

)( *atoon sucker*atoon sucker + are shoots produced from the ground level.B) ide shoots or suckeride shoots or sucker are shoots produced above the ground level.-( asal suckers or slipsasal suckers or slips are located at the base of the fruit.

Ratoon suckers:Ratoon suckers: within the weight range of "$$ #$$g are within suitable range foruse, slips should be of /#$ "#$g %Ficciagroindia, !$$0(.

Suckers and slipsSuckers and slips needed to be cured in the shade for 8 1$ days before plantingto avoid rotting and decay, which would happen if otherwise planted directly in thesoil. efore planting suckers are graded into large, medium and small si ing to avoidcompetition between plants of differing si es. 2he lower leaves are furtherremoved to help facilitate the formation of roots %Ficciagroindia, !$$0(.