Pineapple

                Pineapple is a third important tropical fruit after Banana and Citrus.  Fruits are renowned for distinct aroma and taste.  It  is a special fruit as it contains rare nutrients like bromelanain, a rare protein digesting enzymes. Fruits are also rich in minerals like Mg. bromelanain helps in digestion, especially meat. In some counties like Brazil it is common to serve meet with slices of pineapples. The fruits are also rich in  Vitamin C and B12, rich in minerals like magnesium and potassium.  Fruits are consumed as refreshing juices or delicious salads or savoring curries or  in the form of jams. Having impregnated with variety of Phenolic and volatile compounds make it therapuitically important. 

Botanically, pinaple is 'Ananas comosus, and commonly called as Ananas, belongs to family Bromeliaceae. Stems are formed from rosette leaves. Leaves are sword shaped and spiny at the margins. Plants bear multiple fruits, a fusion of 50-100 fruitlets developped from indivudual flowers. Major producer and exporter of pineapple is Costa Rica thanks to presence of volcanic soil which made the country a notable producer of delicious and high quality producer of pineaaples. Other counties follow are Indonasia, The Phillipines and Thiland.

India is 5th largest producer of pinespple and Assam,Meghalay, Maipur, West bengal, Karntaka, Kerala and Goa are leading states.

Cultivation of pineapple:

         Succkers, crowns and slips are diiferent propgatory materials available for cutivation of pineapple. Thee are looking similarand differncuiated mainly by their postion on mother plants. They take different time to start yeilds. Quality and size of the fruits also vary. Suckers are orinated from leaf axil of mother plant at ground level. They took time to reach bearing stage and yeild. Slips are those located just below the fruits. they are smaller in size and with curved base. They are inermediate bearing and yeilding time. Crowns are bunched leaves at the top of the fruits which takes longest time bear fruits. Pineapple can be raised through micropropogation. Here genetically identical propogatory materials are produced at labs, hardened at nurcery and planted in the field. They are usually free from disease, fruits are of uniform size and colour and quick to bear fruits. These are avaible in the nurcery irrespective of the seasons. 

         Suckers or slips of uniform weight has to be taken for propogation. Suckers weighing 400-500 gms and slips weighing 350-450 grams are ideal for selection. Uniform sized shows uniformity in growth and flowering periods. Larger slips and sucker may grow faser and yeild earlier. Thus grading of propagatory materials is very important. The selected propogatory materials are removes of few basal leaves exposing the stem portion and root buds.  Later they are  dried under shade for a week to heal them, so that they may not start decay once planted in soils.  If needed these propogatory materials are are dipped in mild funicidal solutions before planting. 

Spacing and planting:  A double row method of plating is followed in pineapple. A ditance of 30 cm between the plants and 60cm between the rows are followed. A wider space of 90 to 120 cm or still more are left between the two rows for various purposes like digging the trences, free movement and inter cultivation purposes. Propogatory materials are planted in zig-zag manner to avoid enough space for sun rays and avoid competion for space and nutrients among adajacent plants. Sucker are planted at the depth of 10 cm and burrying of heart of suckers are avoided. 

Soil and climatic requirements: Pineapple comes up well in areas of  well distributed annual rainfall of 1000-1500 mm and temperature ranging from 20°C to 30°C. Fruits are mostly cultivated in coastal belts of peninsula and northeastern hills. Interior plains with moderate rainfall and assited irrigation shown sucess in pineapple cultivation.  Sandy or loamy soils are suitable for cultivation. 

Insects pests affecting Pineapple:

Among the insect pests affecting pineapple cultivation, The  Rinoceros beetles, Mealy bugs, scales, Thrips, Fruit Borer are very important.

Rinoceros beetles bore holes at the base of the plant to cause the deformity. The grubs of the beetles feed on roots to obstruct  nutrient and water intake leading to wilting of plant. Keeping the orchard free from debris and decaying matters, use of light traps and mannual collection of grub and adults will aid in management the beetles. 

Mealy bug: Dysmicoccus brevipes, specially called as pineapple mealy bug, a polyphagus pest infests the plants in colony both shoots and undergrounds portions. They suck the sap from there to affect the plant growth. It affect the plant to droop  and wither. Bugs secrete sugary substances to cause sooty mold formation that affects the plants photosynthesis.  Keeping the orchard free from weed, dipping the planting material in mild insecticidal solutions may take care of bugs.

Fruit borer: Strymon megarus is a butterfly and caterpillar of which bores into fruits and causes damage. Here butterflies lays eggs on flowers and caterpillars are hatched during fruiting  stage start feeding on fruits. Caterpillar bores tunnels into fruits and affected fruits shows oozing of gums. They bore deep into the fruits causing galleries and the same may lead to decay of entire fruits.  

Thrips: Holopothrips ananasi is pineapple thrips. Adult lays eggs by incising the leaves. Freshly hatched nymphs and adult suck sap from shoots, leaves and flowers. Affected leaves shows silvey streaks  or patches on their surface. To manage the thrips mulching around the plants to avoid them pupating in soils. Spray with suitable insectides will also useful. 

Diseases affecting Pineapple cultivation:

There are some of the important diseases affecting pineapple cultivation and affects the growth and  yield. Heart rot, root rot, base rots and fruitlet rots are very important fungal diseases where as  Pink disease and Marbling are two important viral diseases.

Heart and root rot : Other wise called as top rot or phytopthera rot. The disease is caused by Phytopthera sps fungai. The pathogens are  are soil borne. Previous seasons debris may become  source of inoculum. This rot affects roots, leaves and stems. Initially heart leaves turns yellow to coppery browns, later spred to younger leaves. In advanced stage heart start getting detached or easily be pulled out from the plant. In severe condition entire plant start becoming decaying with emiting foul smell. In case of root rot, roots start decaying and necrosis, causing yellowing of leaves and wilting of plants. The diasese is well managed by avoiding waterlogging condition by providing proper drinage, collecting and destroying plant debris. 

Base  rot: caused by Chalara paradoxa. Infection start developing at initial stages itself on suckers, slips just after planting. The greyish to black spots start developing on base of the suckers or slips or crowns leading to decay and cavity later on. The condition affect initial establishment of plants. Proper drying and fungicidal dip of propogatory materials takes care of the disease. 

Green eye: Caused by Penicillium and fusarium type of fungus. The disease is otherwise called as fruitlet rot.  Here indivudual fruitlet start decaying internally, leaving the fruits healty outside.  Affected fruits develop cavity inside and show brownish or dark decaying. The diseases is managed by balanced nutrition, leaving less scope for Ca difficiency. Keeping the orchard weed free is also essential.

Corking of fruit: The disease is caused by Penicium funiculosom. The disease is symtomatic off corking of tissues between futilets.   It almost resemble boron difficiency.  Here portion or entire fruits remains deformed.