A Complete Guide to the Key Techniques for Growing Ground Pineapple
Ground pineapple probably confuses many people; everyone has only heard of pineapple, so what is ground pineapple? In fact, ground pineapple is simply pineapple that grows on the ground, because pineapple comes in two kinds: one grows on trees, and one grows on the ground, so ground pineapple is the pineapple we commonly eat. So how do you grow ground pineapple?
Ground Pineapple Growing Techniques
1. Planting method
Before preparing the land, apply 5000 kg of fermented, fully rotted farmyard manure and 25 kg of soybean cake per mu. Plow to a depth of 25-30 cm, level the soil, and lay out north-south beds. Make each planting belt 2 m wide, leave 50 cm for the path, and keep the bed surface 150 cm wide; the height difference between the path and the bed should just be enough to allow watering, and does not need to be too large. Plant 4 rows per bed, with a plant spacing of about 30 cm, at a density of 4000-4500 plants per mu. Either open a furrow and water, or dig holes and water, for planting.
2. Management methods
During the seedling stage, water moderately, pay attention to breaking the soil surface, weeding, and vigorously promoting stem and leaf growth (a jin of leaves for a jin of fruit). During the growing period, it is not strict about fertilizer and can be applied according to conditions at a nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium ratio of 2:1:3. Before Frost's Descent, cover with a greenhouse. On winter nights and on windy and snowy days, cover the greenhouse with straw mats; when it is very cold, warming equipment must be used to raise the temperature, keeping it above 5°C inside the greenhouse to prevent the plants from freezing. Remove the greenhouse cover at the Start of Summer; during the rainy season, drainage must be ensured to prevent fruit rot. Before flowering and fruiting, stretch a wire between every two rows to secure the fruit stalk and prevent lodging from the weight of the fruit. The tender hollow at the upper end of the pineapple fruit easily harbors insects and attracts pests; breaking off the tender heart or covering it with grass can prevent this. Basically no pesticide is needed throughout the growing period. For cultivation in the north, from planting to fruit maturity takes 11 months; a fully ripe pineapple has relatively flat skin, shows yellow, and gives off a fragrance.
3. Propagation
After harvesting the fruit, keep one sucker closest to the ground for cultivation, to bear fruit the following year; the other 6-7 suckers and the crown can all be broken off and planted. Plant 1 mu in the first year, and expand to 7 mu in the second year.
Techniques for Growing Ground Pineapple in Pots
1. Choose a healthy pineapple. Because pineapples have already been stored for some time, and some even have withered leaves, if you plan to grow a pineapple in a pot, be sure to buy one whose leaves look fresh, for example with the white powder still on the leaves and the leaves still emerald green. To increase the success rate, you can buy one more, or pot two or three together.
2. After choosing the pineapple, use a knife to cut off the crown, tear off the lower layer of bracts, and leave it in a cool place for 3 days until the cut surface is dry. Letting it sit for a few days mainly allows the plant to lose some water so it is less likely to rot.
3. Take a transparent bottle, fill it about halfway with water, insert the crown to induce roots; root tips can usually be seen in about 7 days, then transfer it to a flower pot for planting. Pot-grown pineapple has no special requirements for soil; do not water too frequently, and water only when the soil looks dry. Whether or not to use a rooting agent is optional, because pineapple is an easy-to-grow plant, and a pot 30 cm in diameter is enough.
4. After potting, make sure the pineapple gets plenty of sunlight. With good management for most of the year, it can produce a flower bud, and from flower to fruit takes about 200 days. In winter, it should be brought indoors when the outdoor temperature is around 5°C to overwinter, maintaining light and keeping the leaf surface frequently moist; once spring begins, move it outdoors.
Where Ground Pineapple Is Suitable for Planting
Pineapple is a tropical perennial herbaceous fruit tree. It likes warmth and moisture and avoids low temperatures and frost; it has strong drought tolerance, but good growth and development require sufficient water. If rainfall is insufficient, excessive, or uneven, it should be regulated through drainage and irrigation. Pineapple originated in tropical rainforests and tropical plateau regions. It has fairly strong shade tolerance and likes diffused light rather than direct light, but abundant light is still needed for high yield and good quality. Pineapple has broad adaptability to soil, but neutral or alkaline soil, clayey soil, or structureless silty sand is unsuitable; it requires a pH of 5-6. Pineapple plants are short and suffer relatively little wind damage, but strong winds of force 6 or above can also cause damage.
Temperature is the most important ecological factor affecting the growth, development, yield, and quality of pineapple. According to research, pineapple can grow at 15-40°C, with 28-32°C being most suitable. At 10°C it grows slowly or stops growing, and continuous exposure below 5°C causes cold damage; it can survive 1-2 days at 1-2°C, but longer exposure causes serious harm. Compared with other tropical herbaceous fruit trees (such as banana and papaya), pineapple has a stronger tolerance for low temperatures and brief frost. Different pineapple varieties respond differently to temperature for flowering. When the daily average temperature is around 13°C, they do not flower; flowering only begins at 16°C. Drought and intense heat can also inhibit flower opening or cause incomplete flowering. The length of the fruit ripening period and the quality of the fruit are also closely related to temperature. For every 1°C increase in average temperature from flower bud emergence to maturity, the ripening period is shortened by about 5-8 days. If the temperature is high, sunlight is strong, and moisture is sufficient, the ripening period is short and quality is good. Therefore, summer and autumn fruits generally have a shorter ripening period than winter and spring fruits, and also have better flavor.
Pineapple is a relatively drought-tolerant crop. According to research, the daily evapotranspiration of pineapple is about 4.5 mm. Even if the soil's original water content is relatively high, as long as there is no precipitation for 3-4 weeks, the soil moisture can be depleted. Therefore, during the growth and development of pineapple, attention should be paid to supplying water appropriately to ensure normal growth and development. However, pineapple is a shallow-rooted, aeration-loving crop; too much water and excessively high soil moisture can cause poor soil aeration, hinder nutrient uptake and utilization, and in severe cases cause root mass rot and death.
Pest and Disease Control
1. Sri Lanka pineapple wilt disease: after the plant becomes diseased, the leaves soften and droop, the leaf color changes from pale green to red, the base rots, and finally the whole plant dies. This disease is caused by damage from mealybugs.
Control methods: First, strictly avoid using diseased seedlings for propagation. Second, promptly eliminate mealybugs; when planting, dip the heads in a 500-fold dimethoate solution, invert to dry, and then plant. If mealybug damage is found after planting, promptly spray a 500-fold dimethoate solution, or a 1500-fold solution of 25% Zhongke Meiling. In addition, if diseased plants are found in the pineapple field, they should be dug out promptly to prevent spread.
2. Black rot: the affected fruit core turns black and gradually expands until the whole fruit rots. The pathogen mostly enters through wounds at the leaf bud removal site and the fruit stalk wound from harvesting.
Control methods: Be careful not to top the plants or harvest fruit on rainy days, to reduce opportunities for pathogen invasion. This disease is also the main disease of stored fresh pineapple fruit.
3. Seedling heart rot: seedlings rot at the heart and die. It is mainly caused by heating during piling or by water accumulation.
Control methods: Avoid piling seedlings for too long, especially during long-distance transport, where piling should be minimized as much as possible to avoid heat, high humidity, or poor ventilation causing heating and damaging the seedlings. After arriving at the destination, spread them out immediately, sun-dry them briefly for 1-2 days, and then plant. Avoid planting on rainy days, and pay attention to deep plowing and shallow planting.
As described above, growing ground pineapple is actually very simple; it can even be grown at home. Usually, after eating pineapple, we throw away the pineapple leaves, but the discarded pineapple leaves are the pineapple's seedlings. Plant them in a pot and care for them well, and they will slowly take root and grow new leaves, and may even produce a pineapple.