THE PINEAPLE FARM-LARGE SCALE FARMING

#INTRODUCTION 

Pineapples are extraordinary fruit. Not only are they delicious, however they'r. e also very simple to grow.

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Pineapples are a type of bromeliad, which makes them a cousin to Spanish moss and the colorful bromeliads commonly grown as houseplants. Like other types of bromeliads, pineapples are able to absorb some water and nutrients through their leaves in addition to their roots.

Pineapple is a good source of vitamin A and B and rich in vitamin c. And minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron....it is also a souure of bromelaine, a digestive enzyme

Also in addition to just eating, pineapple can also be canned and processed in different forms.

###Suitable soil for growing pineapples
Pineapples need well-drained soil because they can not withstand a waterlogged growing medium. For this reason, the most effective soil for growing pineapples could be a sandy soil, because sand permits for speedyleaching, or water movement, through the soil. whereas pineapples dislike waterlogged soil, they're drought-tolerant, but need even moisture for proper fruit development. Pineapples generally require about 1 inch of water per week, through rain or supplemental watering.

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Best Climate for Pineapple Plantation

As mentioned before, a humid climate with ample rainfall is ideal for pineapple plantation. This type of climate is found in coastal regions. The optimal temperature must be between 22 and 32⁰C. While the leaves grow best at 32⁰C, roots grow best at 29⁰C. Pineapple crops do not grow at temperatures below 20⁰C and above 36⁰C. There must be a difference of 4⁰C between day and night temperatures. However, a high temperature at night is not desirable for pineapples. Though ample rainfall is well-suited for pineapples, it grows best at 100-150 cm rainfall.

Life Cycle
Commercial varieties of pineapple don't produce seeds and must be propagated from suckers or stem cuttings of the mother plants or from the crown of a pineapple fruit. Once rooted and planted, suckers will flower and produce fruit in 12 months. Rooted crowns will take 18 months to form fruit. For Hawaiian pineapples, the main fruiting season is from April to May. Pineapples grown in the Caribbean have two fruiting seasons, December through February and August through September.

Water for Pineapple Farming
Pineapples are normally cultivated in coastal areas and places where rainfall is abundant.
Water is not usually needed ,But if cultivate on commercial scale supplementary irrigation helps in producing good sized fruits. In addition, irrigation helps in off-season planting. It also ensures all year round pineapple production.

What is needed for planting pineapples
Pineapples are propagated from crown, slip and suckers. If planted when 5-6 months old, the suckers and slips produce flowers after 12 months. Crowns bear flowers only after 19-20 months.

Planting season

The ideal time of planting is 12-15 months before the peak flowering season under natural conditions, which varies from December to March in different regions. Time of planting also varies from place to place depending upon the time of onset of the monsoon and the intensity of its precipitation. In Assam, planting should be done during August-October, while in Kerala and Karnataka; the best time of planting is April-June. Planting is usually avoided during the period of heavy rains. The ideal time for planting in northern part of West Bengal is October-November and June-July for other parts. Delaying in planting as late as September, delays crop at least by 7-9 months. The peak flowering period is from January to March.

Mulching
Dry leaves or straw is used as a mulching material. Mulching with black polythene and saw dust has been found to be effective. The maturing fruits may be covered with rice straw or pineapple leaves in order to reduce both sun burn and damage caused by the birds.

Harvesting  and Yield

Pineapple plants flower 12-15 months after planting and the fruits become ready 15-18 months after planting depending upon the variety, time of planting, type and size of plant material used and prevailing temperature during the fruit development. Under natural conditions, pineapple comes to harvest during May-August. The fruit usually ripens about 5 months after flowering. Irregular flowering results in the harvesting spread over a long period. In order to get uniform flowering (over 80%) in the main season, Ethrel (@ 100 ppm.) solution is applied to plants one month before flowering.

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The fruits are harvested for canning purpose when there is a slight change at the base of developing fruits. The fruits used for table purpose are retained till they develop golden yellow colour.

The plant crop after harvest can be retained as ratoon crop for three to four years depending upon the soil condition. Ratooning in high density planting reveals that the average fruit weight in the first and second ratoon is 88% and 79% respectively of the plant crop. The plant stand is also reduced gradually resulting in the reduction of fruit yield by 49 and 46% (approx.) in first and second ratoon crops respectively.

The average yield is 50-80 tonnes/ha. depending upon spacing .

Storing Pineapple

After harvest, fruits with crown can be stored upto 15 days without damage. However, those that are transported must be refrigerated during transportation so as to slow down the ripening process. They can be stored at 10-130 C for 20 days. The optimal storage temperature is 7.2⁰C with 80-90% relative humidity.

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####Finally
The cultivation of pineapple is a viable farming business as it gives good return with minimal care. A successful pineapple farm requires good farm management and farming techniques.