agriculture review
by aditya abhishek
Well drained, sandy loam soil rich in organic matter with pH range 4.5 to 6.5 is best for growth of pineapple. Avoid cultivation in heavy clayey and waterlogged soil.
Hot and humid climate with temperature range around 18 to 44 degrees Celsius and optimum rainfall of around 1400 to 1500 mm annually is considered best.
Practice ploughing followed by digging and prepare trenches of about 90 centimetres wide and 15 to 30 centimetres deep. This helps in removing soil clods, rocks, crop debris, etc.
April to June and August to November is the best time for pineapple plantation. Planting season depends on peak flowering season, onset of monsoon and intensity of precipitation.
For a single plant of pineapple you need to add 16 grams of nitrogen, 12 grams of Potassium, and 4 grams of Phosphorus every year. Apply 40 to 50 tonnes Farm Yard Manure at beginning.
As cultivation of pineapple is practiced in rainfed farming system so irrigation is minimal. In case of draught you can irrigate your field at an interval of 25 days.
5 months after flowering fruits start ripening. Spray Ethrel @ 100 ppm solution one month before flowering to get uniform flowering. When fruit develop golden yellow colour then start harvesting.
Under high density planting you can get yield of up to 70 – 100 tonnes per hectare. However under normal planting system you can easily get yield of around 50 to 80 tonnes per hectare.
Thanks for reading!