pineapple

[mr b.caapi]

ive recently grown a nice plant from the top of a pineapple i bought, someone told me that if it is grown like this they cannot fruit. can anyone confirm this?

[Skulking Lurker]

Mine fruit all the time.

That is how a producer gets a field of the same variety, by cloning in just that manner.

[mr b.caapi]

good to hear cheers

[Torsten]

I thought that was how they were commercially propagated anyway.....

[Skulking Lurker]

Usually they start by exhaustively breeding a shitload of hybrids, and then testing for taste, texture, colour, acid/sugar content, disease resistence, etc.

When an appropriate one is found, propagation begins.

From Landline.....

In the lush hills behind Nambour, the scientists at the DPI's Maroochy research station have been crossbreeding pineapples for 12 years. From 60,000 seedlings, a shortlist of six has been identified as having commercial potential.

The Department of Primary Industry's Garth Sanewski says they are looking for pineapples that are generally sweeter, lower in acid, with enhanced flavours, nice aroma, and a good internal appearance.

"Generally that means more yellow flesh," he said. "We're also looking for resistance to some of the disorders that we see in the normal cayenne so we're looking for reduced translucency, that is where the fruit can go overripe and fermented inside before it's externally ripe, we want resistance to that, we want resistance to cold season disorder called blackheart and we also want improved health benefits, high vitamin C, high vitamin A.

"We've principally been breeding for improved eating quality which is made up of high sugars, generally lower acid levels and a different range of volatiles or flavour components.

"We've also managed to increase the vitamin levels maybe vitamin E and A, which gives it a more yellow flesh, slightly more crunchy flesh in some cases, less translucency."

The new pineapples are not only sweeter and less acidic, each has a distinctly different taste.

"The traditional pineapple flavour will still be represented in some of them, others will be more like coconut, others are quite perfumed or aromatic, still others will have a fruit salad or a peachy flavour, still others will describe a mango flavour so there's a fairly big difference in the flavours of different pineapples,” Mr Sanewski said.

For growers like Gary Pike hybrid pines offer the chance to diversify.

"One of the problems, whenever you decide to go into a new variety whether it's a hybrid or one of your own farm-bred clones, it can be five to seven years from when you decide to go into it to when you finally become economical and that you're marketing them to their full potential,” Mr Pike said.

Nine years ago, Pinata Pines, run by brothers Gavin and Stephen Scurr introduced its own hybrid. Pinata is now the largest grower and distributor of fresh pineapple, supplying several supermarket chains around the country.

Gavin Scurr says it depends on who you see your competitor as.

"The more people that grow good pineapples the better it is for everyone and that's been demonstrated in the US particularly where this particular hybrid that we brought here has actually trebled the sales of pineapple in the whole US since that variety's become available there,” he said.

There is another reason why the introduction and marketing of hybrids in the marketplace can't come soon enough - imports.

Biosecurity Australia has cleared the way for imported pineapples from the Philippines. As yet none has arrived, but with a similar process underway for the much more lucrative banana industry, pineapple growers now have reason to be concerned.

Gavin Scurr says it is a threat.

"The varieties that they'd bring in would be the hybrid varieties they wouldn't be the smooth cayenne for instance, with the Aussie dollar continuing to rise it's making it easier for imports to come," he said.

Full article here

[Skulking Lurker]

Also, from this Previous thread

 

quote:

---

Pineapples are nearly always fertile, but highly self-incompatible. So as long as you only have one plant, or a whole field of a single variety, they are generally seedless. But if you have 2 plants of different varieties, and they happen to flower at the same time, they will make large numbers of seeds. The seeds are viable and fairly easy to grow, although slow. I wonder, though, if yours are the size of apple seeds, they may not be good. I'd say they should be more navy bean size.

---

That is how a grower ends up with seedless pineapples. By having clones of the same variety filling his field.

[smogs]

i cant believe they sell pineapple plants in nurseries for $50!!

[Stonehenge]

I've had 6 pinnapple growing in my yard for a couple years now and never a fruit. They just turn yellow and stay that way.

[Salvi]

The leaves turn yellow Stonehenge? Do they continue growing?

[bok]

I went to the big pineapple this year cause the big day out was sold out, I had to do something big. on the pineapple train ride the anouncer said propogation from the tops was how they did it. And that it should take 12 to 18 months for fruit to form. He also said that the fruit decrease in size at each consecutive fruiting. Of the two species I grow at home the smooth leaved variety fruits the quickest and the biggest.

Yay educational train rides work

[smogs]

my dad who is orginally from the north coast wont shut up about how much betetr rough skins are (flavour wise) and how no1 sells them anymore because they are a real bitch to handel

[Rev]

i hope sombody is keeping a heritage collection of pinepples for all the oldies

I heard in the south you wait till the pienapples get big enough then put a plastic bag over them with some green apples and the ethylene triggers fruiting

BTW a friend in SW WA had a plant 18 years before it fruited!!!!!!

[smogs]

interesting...

i have seen them fruiting in shops... but expensive

[planthelper]

pineapples need lots of fert,

i managed to eat my own fruits, 2 years after planting the tops, yummy!

aswell don't allowe any competition around your pines, allways keep the pineapple growing area "barren" and free of weeds...

pines sometimes ferment into alcohol if not eaten in time, as such the pineapple thought us how to make alcohol.

some 150 years ago ananas comosus was the most prized fruit on this planet, fetching prizes equivilant of a big tv set now, or even more...

that's why you often see pines at royal paintings,

only the kings and emperors could afford this fruit, which was glass house grown (paxton)in england and other places.

pineapples where so rare and exxi, even the royales did not eat them but,instead they used them only for repeated feasting table decoration!

[ 23. February 2005, 16:32: Message edited by: planthelper ]

[smogs]

wow very interesting!

that makes more sense... because ive often wondered how alcohol was discovered and usually went along the lines of

"oh no that rain from 2 weeks ago is still in our grain store... poo yuck it stinks! i wonder what it tastes like... oh man thats awful... i wonder what happens when i drink a shitload... hey this is fun"

[psycho0]

i love those mini pineapples they have now!

too bad u cant eat them tho:(