Management of slips and its effect on growth and production of 'Pérola' pineapple plants

Abstract

-The lack of good quality planting material has limited the expansion and contributed to yield reduction of the Brazilian pineapple culture. Alternatives of 'Pérola' pineapple slips management were studied aiming at obtaining superior planting material within a shorter time period and making good use of healthy slips of low vigor, that are commonly discarded by growers. Two experiments were carried out at the Experimental Field of Embrapa Cassava & Fruits, Cruz das Almas, Bahia, Brazil, and another one in a commercial plantation in the region of Itaberaba, BA, using blocks or entirely randomized designs with at least four replications. In the first one, the development of slips of different initial sizes (6 to 20 cm long), when grown on mother plants after fruit harvest, was compared with that of slips grown in a nursery after their removal from the mother plants. It became clear that larger slips grow more vigorously and that the removal from the mother plant delays their growth. However, results from the second study showed that those slips grown in nursery had vegetative and agronomic performance similar to that of conventional slips and close to that of plantlets produced from plant stem sections. Independently from the type of planting material used, the larger ones presented a more vigorous growth and produced higher yields. In the third study, it was observed the influence of mineral fertilization, pest control and growth regulator application after fruit harvest on slip development. The treatments applied did not significantly accelerate slip growth. Slips reached 50 cm length and at least 300 g fresh weight within 90 days after fruit harvest, indicating that vigorous plants have enough nutritional storage material for slips development. Index terms: Ananas comosus, propagation, slips, plantlets, cultural practices. MANEJO DE MUDAS NA CEVA E SEU EFEITO SOBRE O CRESCIMENTO E PRODUÇÃO DO ABACAXIZEIRO 'PÉROLA'RESUMO -A escassez de mudas de boa qualidade tem limitado a expansão e contribuído para a redução da produtividade da abacaxicultura brasileira. Alternativas de manejo de mudas do tipo filhote do abacaxi cv. Pérola foram estudadas, visando a obtenção de material de plantio superior, em menor espaço de tempo, e o aproveitamento de mudas sadias de menor vigor que têm sido descartadas pelo produtor. Dois experimentos foram conduzidos no Campo Experimental da Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura e outro em abacaxizal comercial da região de Itaberaba, Bahia, usando-se delineamentos em blocos ou inteiramente casualizados com, pelo menos, quatro repetições. No primeiro, foi comparado o desenvolvimento de mudas do tipo filhote, de vários tamanhos iniciais (6 cm a 20 cm), durante a ceva em plantas pouco vigorosas, com aquele em viveiro, após removidas das plantas. Ficou evidente que mudas maiores crescem com mais vigor e que a sua remoção da planta-mãe atrasa o seu crescimento. No entanto, os resultados obtidos no segundo experimento mostraram que o desempenho vegetativo e agronômico das mudas enviveiradas ...

Growth and production of irrigated vitória pineapple grown in semi-arid conditions

“…Regardless of planting material origin, vegetative and reproductive performance of large slips is higher than that of small slips (REINHARDT et al, 2003), and large slips and suckers have higher yields (OMOTOSO and AKINRINDE, 2007). Thus, the larger leaf area and greater nutritional storage volume of large plantlets result in greater biological production and fresh and dry mass accumulation compared to small slips or plantlets (REINHARDT et al, 2003).…”

Dry Matter Production Response of Non-conventional Pineapple (<i>Ananas comosus </i>L.) Seedling to Nursery Media Preparation

“…There is a wide variety of types of vegetative planting material in which both cultivar and environment affect the availability and quality of material used to plant commercial fields [3]. The more common types of planting material produced naturally by the plants also referred to as conventional planting material, that include: a) Crowns from the top of the fruit; b) Slips from the peduncle; c) Suckers, which originate below the stem peduncle transition zone [4]. Non-conventional planting material could be obtained under field or nursery conditions by human interference applying specific techniques [3] like plantlets obtained by sectioning parts of the plant, which enables the development of lateral buds present along the stem of the mother plant or the small stem of the conventional types of planting material mentioned above [3].…”

Influence of weight and type of planting material on fruit quality and its heterogeneity in pineapple [Ananas comosus (L.) Merrill]

“…At planting, pineapple producers in Benin often mix different types and weights of planting material, depending on their availability. It is well-known that larger or heavier planting material shows more vigorous growth than smaller or lighter planting material (e.g., Norman, 1976 ; Reinhardt et al, 2003 ) and would produce more vigorous plants at flowering induction time than smaller or lighter planting material. Higher plant vigor at flowering induction is associated with higher fruit (defined as infructescence + crown) and infructescence weights, a lower crown weight and crown length and consequently a lower ratio crown: infructescence length (Fassinou Hotegni et al, 2014b ).…”