From the
Tropical Fruit News, Rare Fruit Council International Miami RFCI
by Gene Joyner
The Pineapple
Sourced from the Palm Beach
Chapter of Rare Fruit Council Newsletter - July 1995
The pineapple (Ananas comosus)
is a popular world wide fruit familiar to almost everyone and can be
grown easily either as a container plant or in the landscape.
Pineapples are a member of the bromeliad family and are native to
Tropical America.
They come in a number of different varieties,
but most have long thin strap-like leaves bearing spiny tips and
usually small spines along the leaf margin. although some varieties of
pineapple have no spines, most of the ones found in nature do.
Pineapples
reach a height of about three to four feet at maturity with a width of
almost six feet and take from sixteen to thirty months to reach
maturity and produce their delicious fiuit. Most plants flower in our
area during the late winter and spring with the fiuit ripening during
the summer months.
Plants should be protected from cold weather
since they can be injured by temperatures below 32°F and will be
killed at about 27° F.
When growing outdoors grow in full
sun or light shade for best results and make sure the soil is slightly
acid since they do not do well in high alkaline soils. When putting out
in the garden, space the plants twelve to eighteen inches apart and
make sure you leave sufficient aisle for walking between rows if
multiple rows are planted.
Many people like to plant pineapples
on a slight bed to be sure that they receive well drained conditions.
Plants do poorly in soils subject to regular flooding.
Propagation
of pineapples can be from the crown, which is on the top of the fiuit,
suckers which are below the fiuit, or ratoons which are from below
ground at the base of the plant. Generally, most people start
pineapples from the crown of the fiuit, but this is considered one of
the poorest planting pieces and ratoons which come from below ground at
the base of the plant are considered the best propagation material.
Pineapples
are subject to nematodes on sandy soils and improving the soil with
organic matter will help to slow down this problem. Mealybugs are a
major insect problem in some areas and often attack the root of the
plant in addition to the top portions.
Plants in the soil must
be in areas that have warm temperatures for proper growth and often
during the winter months plants stop growing when temperatures reach
55° F. or lower.
Fruits come in many varieties, but all at
maturity are yellow or golden yellow. Don't pick fruit until full
maturity for best quality. The following varieties are grown in Florida
and have proven to be very well adapted: Smooth Cayenne, Red Spanish,
Abakka, Natal Queen, Pernambuco and several others.
Weeds may be
a major problem in pineapple patches because of their spiny leaves, and
at the beginning when plants are first installed a three to four inch
layer of good mulching material should be put around the plants. This
should eliminate weeding for at least one year.
Fertilize pineapples with a general purpose type
fertilizer every four to six weeks to promote rapid growth and
fruiting.
Ripe
Pineapple:
Selecting
a pineapple that will prove sweet and juicy is a skill that requires
practice. Some of us pull a leaf from the crown on top of the fruit,
judging ripeness by how easily the leaf comes away. Others thump the
pineapple and listen to the sound, while others look at the color or at
the state of withered blossoms still adhering to each section of the
fruit. According to Euell Gibbon's in his Beachcomber's Handbook. a
thump is the way to go.
A thump makes a thud-thud-thud sound if
the fruit is ripe and juicy, but a sharp pink-pin-pink if it's green.
It's tricky to pick a ripe one everytime, but, oh, the rewards when you
do!
If you've cut into a pineapple that's not quite ripe, try
cooking it. Poach it some sugar syrup as they do in Mexico, make a
pineapple upside-down cake, or chop it up, add some sugar and spices
and make pineapple jam or pancake syrup or ice cream sauce. That little
bit of cooking can truly save you from wasting an underripe fruit.
Back to
Pineapple Page
|
|