Hainan Succeeds in Introducing Superior Pineapple Variety and Its Supporting Cultivation Techniques

"Tainong No. 16 pineapple, which can be planted in all four seasons, looks no different from ordinary pineapple, but it has no fruitlets to remove, and can be sliced and eaten directly like a watermelon." said Hua Min, a researcher at the Tropical Fruit Tree Research Institute of the Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences. They have already solved a series of problems with this pineapple variety, such as its tendency to form watery pineapples and its low rate of marketable fruit; the pineapple flesh is tender and convenient to eat.

Hua Min introduced that in 2002 the Tropical Fruit Tree Research Institute and the Environment and Plant Protection Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences jointly undertook the project "Research on the Introduction, Trial Planting and Supporting Cultivation Techniques of Superior Pineapple Varieties", introducing superior pineapple varieties suited to the climate and soil of the province. At present, the Tainong No. 16 pineapple variety and its supporting cultivation techniques project won the first prize of the 2015 Hainan Provincial Science and Technology Achievement Transformation Award.

"When Tainong No. 16 pineapple was first introduced to Hainan, although the plants were tall and grew vigorously, it was relatively difficult to force flowering in the off-season." Hua Min continued. Its fruit quality is also affected by factors such as soil, water and fertilization management; once cultivation management is improper, watery pineapples are very likely to form, affecting the economic benefits of pineapple.

In order to solve the difficulty of forcing flowering for production period regulation, the researchers developed production period regulation and flower forcing techniques, such as using different chemicals in different seasons: using ethylene under low temperature and drought, and using calcium carbide plus ethephon or calcium carbide to force flowering under high temperature and drought. After years of research, the Tropical Fruit Tree Research Institute has now achieved artificial regulation of flower forcing for Tainong No. 16 pineapple, producing fruit year-round. In addition, the researchers also adopted techniques such as plastic film mulching cultivation with sprinkler irrigation under the film and fruit bagging, and developed fertilizer amounts and fertilizer ratios suitable for pineapple growth, gradually solving problems such as many watery pineapples, poor fruit quality and low rate of marketable fruit caused by improper fertilization.

"After improvement, the cost savings and efficiency increase per mu of pineapple planting can now reach more than 2600 yuan." Hua Min introduced. At present, Tainong No. 16 pineapple and its supporting cultivation techniques have been promoted and applied in Haikou, Chengmai, Qionghai, Wanning, Wenchang, Changjiang, Ledong and Danzhou, among other cities and counties, using a company plus farmers model of planting, with an average yield of more than 3 tons per mu and an output value of more than 20,000 yuan.