ISHS Acta Horticulturae 822: VI International Pineapple Symposium
DEVELOPMENT OF AN ORGANIC PINEAPPLE CULTIVATION STRATEGY FOR THE EASTERN CAPE REGION OF SOUTH AFRICA |
| Authors: | D.N.A. Murray, B. Manicom |
| Keywords: | Ananas comosus, organic, production |
| Abstract:
Globally, fresh and processed pineapple is readily available. The exotic status of pineapple is gone and suppliers focus on differentiating their product to maintain a competitive edge in the market place, such as with Del Monte’s MD-2 hybrid. A lucrative niche market has emerged for organic pineapple at national and international levels. There even exists a sustained demand for processed organic pineapple. The Pineapple Growers Association, Eastern Cape, RSA, requested the development of a certified organic pineapple production strategy that could be widely embraced by commercial producers. A producer friendly strategy, limiting the number of operations and utilising off-the-shelf certified inputs would be ideal. An observational trial to explore various approaches was initiated, commencing with a two year conditioning period to maximise soil aeration and drainage, manipulate soil mineral levels and balances toward the optimum and to stimulate the inherent soil biology levels. The natural plant crop harvest occurred in 2005/6 with organic fruit yields ranging between 71 and 104 t ha-1 whilst standard inorganic production was 73 t ha-1. The plant crop fruit cycle coincided with an extremely wet 2005 winter, resulting in high levels of plant root mortality. The ratoon harvest was in 2007/8 and organic fruit yields were 31-55 t ha-1 while standard practice production was 47 t ha-1. | |
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