Ananas comosus is the Botanical name for Pineapple. This is used as fresh fruit and use to make value-added products like jam cordial, chatni, and canning. This Grows well in the low country wet zone & low country intermediate zone. To well grow Ananas comosus needs 500- 3000 mm of annual rainfall and the temperature must be about 24- 32 0C. Well-drained Sandy Loams soil with pH 5 – 6 is most suitable for cultivation.
Land preparation
Basic preparation like other crops. Normally Prepare 20 cm width and 20 cm deep trenches
Planting
Put the suckers in the trenches and add the soil to cover 10 – 15 cm of sucker base,there is two Planting material
Suckers
Tissue culture plants
There are 4 types of Suckers
Sucker Type
Time taken for natural flowering (months)
Root suckers
12-14
Axil suckers
12-14;
Slips
14-16
Crown
18-20
Pineapple crown can be used as plating material for commercial cultivation with foliar fertilizer
Two weeks after planting apply foliar fertilizer up to two months period at two weeks interval
Other fertilizer application and cultural practices are like to root and axil suckers cultivation
Diseases and pests
Some insects are responsible for some Diseases. Some of them are,
Mealy bugs
Crown rot and root rot
Fruit rot
Pineapple wilt
Easy to identify these Diseases by these kinds of Symptoms
Leaves change in color from a healthy green to various shades of red and yellow
The root system is dead and plants can be easily pulled from the ground
Fruit rot begins from the stem
Using this Methods can be to control these Diseases
Do not plant the suckers too deep
Planting in well drain soil
Planting healthy suckers
After harvesting dip the stems in 5% sodium bicarbonate solution
