Technical Factsheet: Growing Pineapple Profitably

Growing pineapple in Cameroon and elsewhere is in fairly high demand among farmers and investors. Its economic value lets you quickly recoup your investment. Here is a technical factsheet explaining how to succeed at growing pineapple.

How to grow pineapple profitably?

I. Origin

Native to South America, pineapple is mainly grown for its fruit, which when fresh provides vitamins A and B. In Cameroon, it is exported and consumed locally fresh. This fruit has digestive properties.

Pineapple is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Bromeliaceae family, genus Ananas, with several species including comosus. Ananas comosus varieties are grouped into five recognized types: Cayenne, Spanish, Queen, Abacaxi, and Perolera. Smooth Cayenne is the most widespread of all its cultivars.

It is distinguished by:

• Its toothed, sometimes smooth leaves and pale blue flowers;
• Its cylindrical fruit, orange-red when ripe, with pale yellow flesh, high sugar content, and acidity;
• Its large and usually single crown;
• Its susceptibility to wilt

This variety is also recommended for fresh and canned export. A pineapple takes 14 to 15 months to grow from planting to harvest.

II. Favorable growing conditions

Pineapple is grown in 7 of Cameroon's 10 regions, with a strong presence in the Littoral, Southwest, and Centre regions.

Temperature is the main factor affecting pineapple development. The ideal average temperature for growing it is around 25 degrees C. Pineapple has fairly low water needs. To develop well, it needs about 1,200 to 1,500 mm of water well distributed throughout the year. Pineapple copes poorly with shade. Light exposure affects yield, skin color, and flesh quality. 1,500 hours of sunshine is considered the minimum. Soils should be well drained, permeable, rich, and acidic.

III. How to grow pineapple?

Managing a pineapple farm requires field operations that must be carried out carefully.

III.1. Properly preparing the soil

• Destroy all plant cover;
• Plow to loosen the soil;
• Plowing is done at least 1 month after destroying the plant cover. The whole plot should be carefully cleared of stones, stumps, and roots. The beds that will receive the planting rows should also be plowed;
• Bury easily recyclable debris into the soil;
• Treat the soil against ants, nematodes, and symphylans if the previous crop was pineapple;
• Apply a base fertilizer;
• Mulch the soil

Soil preparation should be done well before the start of the rainy season.

Note: When preparing the soil, don't forget to take measures against erosion.

III.2. Preparing the suckers

There are four types of suckers:

• Slips, which develop on the peduncle;
• Suckers, which develop on the stem. They're called ground suckers when they develop in contact with the soil;
• Hapas, which form at the point where the peduncle attaches to the stem;
• The crown, the leafy part on top of the fruit.

Note:

• For good planting, only suckers and hapas are recommended;
• Larger suckers have a shorter cycle than smaller ones;
• The closer together the suckers are planted, the smaller the fruit will be, and the higher the disease risk.

The suckers must first be conditioned before planting. This conditioning involves:

1. Sorting: done based on the weight, not the size, of the suckers. Suckers should be taken from healthy plants. Healthy suckers are separated from any showing visible signs of disease. They are then weighed and sorted by weight (small, medium, and large suckers);
2. Trimming: this operation involves manually removing the old leaves at the base of the sucker to expose the existing roots and allow quick growth. It also exposes pests to the soaking treatment. This operation must be done at most 3 to 4 days before planting;
3. Disinfection or soaking: this involves disinfecting the planting material in a fungicide + insecticide solution to prevent insect attacks (mealybugs) or diseases (Phytophthora). They should then be turned upside down and stored with the top facing up, to let the product drain out through the leaf axils.

III.3. Planting

Planting layout

There are several planting layouts used for pineapple. The most commonly used layout is double rows.

Planting layout: spacing between beds x spacing between rows x spacing within the row: 90 x 40 x 25,

Planting

• Stake out the plant locations across the plot;
• Plant the suckers using a dibber; planting depth should not exceed 8 to 10 cm, to avoid rot and sand getting into the heart of the plants;
• Firm down lightly to ensure good soil contact and prevent the plants from toppling.

Choosing the planting date:

The choice of planting date should be guided by market demand and the type and quality of the planting material.

Harvest dates depend on sucker weight and planting dates

Weed control:

Weed control should be a priority in pineapple growing. It's done both before planting and during the growing cycle.

Weeding is done twice a month until the end of the cycle during the dry season. Manual weeding is done once a quarter during the rainy season if a selective herbicide is used.

Feeding the plants

Pineapple has high nitrogen and potash needs, which increase over time. Fertilization can be done in solid or liquid form.

• Solid form:

This is applied into the axils of the base leaves using a teaspoon, avoiding placing fertilizer in the heart of the plant. Solid fertilizers are applied during the rainy season, in 5 applications.

• Liquid form:

This is applied using a sprayer. Care must be taken with liquid fertilizer dosing, since urea, if misdosed, burns the leaves. Liquid fertilizers are applied during the dry season, in 9 applications.

Pineapple's nutrient needs can be met either through base fertilization supplemented by maintenance fertilization, or through maintenance fertilization alone.