Ananas comosus

Ananas comosus is an evergreen perennial reaching 1 m (3 ft 3 inches) in height and spread, growing at a fast rate. Hardy to UK zone 10, it requires well-drained soil and tolerates light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with mildly acid to neutral pH. The plant grows in semi-shade to full sun, prefers moist soil, and tolerates drought once established. It is not self-fertile.

Description

A perennial herb with a rosette of long, thick, spiky leaves up to 1 m high & spreading 1-1.5 m. The leaves are arranged in spirals. Some kinds have thorns along the edges of the leaves. The plant produces suckers both near the base of the stem and also higher up the stem near the fruit. These are called slips and these, and the suckers, are broken off and used for planting. The main plant dies after producing a fruit but the suckers keep growing. The plant produces a flower and fruit at the end. The fruit is made up of about 150 berry-like fruitlets that are almost fused together. There is a small crown of leaves on top of the fruit. The fruit can be 25 cm long and weigh 0.5-4 kg. The two main kinds of pineapples are the rough leafed variety which has spines on the leaves and produces a smaller but sweeter fruit. The other kind is the smooth leaf kind with spineless leaves and larger fruit. There are several cultivated varieties.

Edible Uses

The fruit is eaten raw, cooked, or preserved, offering a succulent, aromatic, sweet, and acidic pulp used fresh, canned, juiced, or cooked in dishes. The core is made into candies. The fruit is a good source of vitamins A and C. It is a multiple fruit formed by the near-complete fusion of 100–200 berry-like fruitlets, weighing between 0.5 and 2.5 kilos and measuring roughly 30–60 cm long. Pressed juice yields a sugar syrup. Terminal buds can be eaten raw or cooked as a vegetable or added to soups. The flowering stem, peeled and sliced, is used as a cooked vegetable or added to stews. Young shoots are eaten in salads or curries.

Traditional Uses

The fruit is eaten fresh or used for juice. The fruit can also be sliced and cooked with ham. The fruit is used in ice cream, jams and juices. The young heart leaves can be eaten. They are cooked in curry dishes. Unripe fruit are also cooked and eaten. The flower spikes are peeled and sliced and steamed as a vegetable or added to stews. The rind of the fruit is used for drinks.

Medicinal Uses

Pineapple fruit contains bromelain, a protein-splitting enzyme that aids digestion. The sour, unripe fruit stimulates appetite, improves digestion, and relieves dyspepsia; in Indian herbal medicine it is also considered a uterine tonic and is used to ease sore throats. In some regions it is eaten alone or cooked with Citrus aurantiifolia to induce abortion. The ripe fruit has a cooling, soothing effect — it settles wind and reduces excessive gastric acid, and its significant fibre content makes it a useful laxative for constipation. Juice of the ripe fruit is both diuretic and a digestive tonic. The leaves are anthelmintic and purgative, used to encourage menstruation, ease painful periods, and treat fractures. The plant's juice is applied externally to burns, itches, and boils.

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. They grow from sea level up to 1800 m altitude near the equator. It can survive brief periods down to freezing but cold retards growth, delays fruiting and causes fruit to be more acid. A friable well drained soil with high organic matter is best. Plants cannot stand water-logging. It can survive drought but adequate soil moisture is necessary for good fruit production. Pineapples need an annual average temperature between 17.2°C and 26.9°C. Growth ceases below 20°C. In the equatorial tropics this is mostly between sea level and 1800 metres altitude. Pineapples need well drained and fertile soil. They suit an acid soil and can develop rots in soils where lime has been added. The soil acidity can be between pH 3.3 and 6.0. The best range is pH 4.5 to 5.5. Soils which are not sufficiently acid can be treated with sulphur. It suits hardiness zones 9-10. In Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Africa, Amazon, American Samoa, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Bolivia, Bougainville, Brazil*, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central Africa, Central America, China, Chuuk, Colombia, Congo DR, Congo R, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Easter Island, Ecuador, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, FSM, French Guiana, Ghana, Grenada, Guam, Guatemala, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Lesser Antilles, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Marquesas, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, Middle East, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Pohnpei, Puerto Rico, Rotuma, Sahel, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Sierra Leone, Sikkim, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America*, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Turks & Caicos, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uruguay, USA, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wallis & Futuna, West Africa, West Indies, West Timor, Yap, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

The suckers and slips can be used for planting as well as the top of the fruit. The time to maturity is the fastest for the suckers near the bottom of the plant and slowest when the top of the fruit is planted. Therefore use suckers that grow from the stem near the ground, for earliest yield. Other suckers or the top of the fruit can be used. Pineapples can grow well under shade. Pineapple flowering hormone can be used for fruit production with thorny varieties and calcium carbide for smooth kinds. Fruiting is less seasonal in the highlands than in the lowlands. Pineapples can be planted with 35,000 to 43,000 plants per hectare or 3 or 4 plants per square metre. If plants are spaced more widely they produce more suckers. Fruits become more acid where plants are closely spaced. If too many suckers are left growing from the main plant then smaller fruit will be produced. They can grow in partial shade and in this situation the plants are normally more green. The red colouring of pineapple leaves is due to a deficiency of the nutrient nitrogen. This shows up more quickly in plants in full sunlight. When the plant is sufficiently large it responds to changes such as less nutrients available or less water available, and starts to produce a flower, then a fruit. The number of hours of sunlight as well as reducing temperature and reduced sunlight also help the flowers start to form. The result of this is that flowering and fruiting is often seasonal. This can easily be changed by using a fruiting hormone which allows fruit to be produced at times to suit the grower. Pineapples can grow in semi-arid conditions and this is because the leaves can store some water. They also tend to lose only small amounts of water evaporating through their leaves. But with plenty of water they can grow well. The roots are very sensitive to water logging. Therefore the soil must be well drained. Pineapples do not cover the soil well so it is good to use a mulch of plant material to help weed control, provide some nutrients and to stop soil erosion.

Propagation

Cultivars do not breed true from seed, so seed production is generally reserved for developing new cultivars. Crowns — the leafy clumps atop mature fruits — can be removed by twisting or cutting, cleared of any remaining fruit tissue, dried for one to two days, then placed in moist potting mix or water until roots form. Stem cuttings taken after fruiting can have their leaves removed and be cut into pieces or laid intact in trays and covered with 2 cm of rooting medium; apply bottom heat at 20–27°C until roots form. Lateral shoots can also be used for propagation.

Other Uses

Plants can be grouped as a groundcover in mass plantings. A strong, silky fibre obtained from the leaves surpasses flax in strength, fineness, and lustre. It is white, soft, flexible, long in staple, remarkably durable, and unaffected by immersion in water. It can substitute for silk, mix with wool or cotton, and be used for cordage, textile fabrics, sewing thread, lace, and stringing necklaces. It produces the celebrated piña cloth of the Philippine Islands. The plant is also grown as an indoor houseplant.

Production

Plants usually produce for about 4 years. Fruiting is less seasonal in the highlands than in the lowlands in the tropics. The growth rate for pineapples gets slower as the temperature gets less. So plants grown in the highlands or at higher latitudes take longer to get ready for harvest. It takes 60 days from when the flower starts to form until it appears. Then there are 5 months until the fruit is ready for harvest. The time from planting to harvesting ranges from 11 months up to 32 months depending on temperature. The fruit are smaller, poorer shape and more acid where the temperatures are lower or there is less sunlight.

Other Information

Pineapples are a common and popular fruit. About 16 million tons are produced each year worldwide. It is cultivated.

Notes

There are 7 Ananas species. It contains a chemical called Bromelain which breaks down protein and is also antibacterial. It has antioxidant and antitumoral properties and is cardioprotective.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Abacaxi, Abarba, Anana, Ananas, Anaras, Anarash, Anarosa, Anarosh, Andras, Aneh, Annasi, Apangdang, Bhuin kathar, Bonat, Danas, Ekunhun ahun, Enanasi, Ennanansi, Kanas, Kifubu, Kikakasi, Laimuri, Mananasi, Maneas, Mazhudhachakka, Mnanasi mwitu, Moneah, Moyusi, Mua, Nanas pager, Nanas, Nanasi, Nanat, Naneh, Nat, Nenas mudo, Painapiu, Pina, Po lo, Ponapa, Pweinaper, Pwainiper, Sapparat, Sapparot, Simbita, Sola, Supparot, Te bainaboro, Thom, Vadra, Vainapiu, Yaanat, Zanana

References (127)

• AAK, 1980, Bertanam Pohon Buah-buahan. Penerbitan Yayasan Kanisius, Jogyakarta. p 10
• Abbiw, D.K., 1990, Useful Plants of Ghana. West African uses of wild and cultivated plants. Intermediate Technology Publications and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. p 42
• Anderson, E. F., 1993, Plants and people of the Golden Triangle. Dioscorides Press. p 202
• Baidu-Forson, J.J., et al ,2014,. Assessment of agrobiodiversity resources in the Borotse flood plain, Zambia. CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems. Penang, Malaysia. Working Paper: AAS-2014-12.
• Balkrishna, A., et al, 2022, Indigenous Uses of Plants among Forest-dependent Communities of Seijosa, Arunachal Pradesh. International Journal of Economic Plants 2022, 9(1):064-080

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