How to Make Pineapple Plant Produce Fruit. Pineapple (Ananas comosus) is a perennial herbaceous plant that belongs to the family of Bromeliaceae.
How to make pineapple plant produce fruit
It is under USDA hardiness zones 10 to 11. The average height ranges from one to three feet, while its spreads are three to five feet.
Pineapples show slow growth, might take years to grow and produce fruits, but once fruit production starts, it’s worth waiting.
The plant possesses beautifully red flowers with oval-shaped, fleshy yellow, brown fruits that gain a height of 6-12 inches.
Making pineapple fruit producer
First, you need to plant the pineapple plant. For that, follow the procedure.
Procedure
Take a pineapple and cut the top crown about an inch along the flesh. Place it safe for over a day or two until it heals. Find the perfect location where your pineapple needs to be grown.
Dig a hole and place the crown in the potting soil. The pineapple crown must be about 8 inches deep. In winters, place the plant inside under a sunny window. Water the plant adequately, and after a few months, don’t forget to feed the plant.
Use a weak, kelp-based organic fertilizer to provide proper nutrients to the plant. The temperature must be above 65 degrees to avoid the plant’s hibernation.
A cold temperature turns the plants into a hibernation phase. After this, you have to wait for a couple of years, till it gets matured.
You can speed up the process in many ways. Let’s discuss the ways that will help the pineapple to produce fruits.
Methods to Enhance Blooming Process
Use of Rotten Apples
- Apply this procedure when the plant matures, after 2 1/2 years of planting.
- To shorten the blooming time, and enhance fruit production, take the pineapple plant and cover it with a bag.
- To this bag, add a rotten apple that will generate ethylene gas.
- This gas encourages the plant to bloom and set fruit.
- Airtight the bag.
- Wait for four days, then remove the bag and apple from the plant.
- The plant will still need 14 weeks to start blooming, even in the presence of ethylene.
- The fruits take six months to mature.
Use of Calcium Carbide
- Purchase calcium carbide from a hobby store and add a few pellets in one cup of ice water.
- Mix them well.
- Wait till the solution stops fizzing.
- Take the solution and pour it into the center of the plant, usually the rosette.
- Calcium carbide will produce ethylene gas that encourages the plant to bloom and set fruit.
Use of Naphthalene acetic Acid
- Take about 7 mg Naphthalene acetic acid and add it to one cup of water.
- Mix the solution well.
- Now take the solution and pour it in the rosette.
- It will also induce flowering, and after some time the plant will start producing fruits.
Use of B-hydroxyethyl hydrazine (BOH)
- Take about 5 ml of B-hydroxyethyl hydrazine per gallon of water.
- Mix them well and pour them on the pineapple plant.
- It will generate either acetylene or ethylene gas to enhance the blooming of the pineapple plant.
- Remember to reapply
- The use of y for forced treatment after one week.
Requirements
Light requirement
The plant requires partial shade/part sun for its growth
Soil tolerances
The plant grows well in slightly alkaline, clay, sand, acidic, and loam soil.
Drought tolerance
The plant is highly resistant to drought.
Plant spacing
Maintain a spacing of 36 to 60 inches while growing the pineapple plant.
Conclusion
To enhance the blooming and fruit production, use rotten apples, calcium carbide, and naphthalene acetic acid.
The generation of either acetylene or ethylene gas makes the plant bloom early.
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