Propagation of the Pineapple

            Using the Crown for Asexual propagation

                             By:  Eric Hormann

 

 

Propagating pineapple from an existing plant and making a new one is relatively easy.  Pineapple that are left out to long are usually not edible anymore and most people throw them away, but you can save the top crown and recover the plant.

Pineapples are small herbaceous perennial plants.  They have leaves that are sword-like surrounding the stem, which is fused a top the fruit bearing part.   The fruit ranges from 1-10 lbs.  The inside of the fruit is yellow with many seedless fruits.  

 

 Steps to follow when propagating pineapples.                                             

 

1.     Cut the crown at the limit of the Fruit.

 

 

 

 

2.     You will then have to remove lower leaves to reveal the stem.

 

 

3.     Brown dots show the beginning of the roots.   

 

 4.  The top half, which you have recently cut and removed     

Leaves from will then need to be placed into a container with water that covers the lower stem portion.  Changing the water often and keeping it clean will help in the success.

  1. The pineapple will need high temperatures to avoid from rotting so it is suggested that this propagation be done in the summer.

 

 

 

 

In this picture the roots are shown at approximately 1 inch long after 12 days. 

 

 

Transplanting the pineapple cutting into a pot will require the roots be 2 or more inches long.

 

Soil

The soil choice of the pineapple would be sandy and well drained.  Examples are sandy loam, mildly acid soil of medium fertility.  The pineapple handles long dry spells but usually will lack the fruit production if soils are doesn’t get plenty of moisture. 

 

Maintaining a healthy pineapple plant will require some water and fertilizing.  Water should not exceed more than 2 inches during a week during dry seasons. Nitrogen applications during the first year are really beneficial to size and overall yield per plant.  Adding Magnesium in small amounts aids in size of fruit weight. Potassium and iron are also essential nutrients

 

Pineapples have many uses:

The Juice is drank and also used to clean knife blades and with sand used to clean boat decks.

The crowns are sometimes used to feed horses or even some of the waste at pineapple plants are dehydrated and made into a “bran” which is used to feed livestock and chickens.   

 

Bromelain is a product of the pineapple and is used to tenderize meat and chill proofing beer. In the modern era it is used in therapy as an anti-inflammatory action after surgery the patient takes it in a digestive state

 

There are some toxicity issues regarding the unripe pineapples poisonous irritant to the throat.  If to much consumption of the pineapple cores results in fiber balls in the digestive tract.

 

 

Selected References

 

Malo, S.E. and Campbell C. W.  “The Pineapple”  University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service

          http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_MG055

 

Morton, J. 1987.  “Pineapple”. p. 18-28.  In: Fruits of warm climates 

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/pineapple.html