Abstract
Quality, shelf life, and yield of a pineapple fruit are the important attributes for the producers and customers in the pineapple value chain of Benin, whereas poor quality, short shelf life, and low yield are the main constraints. We quantified the effects of planting density and K2O:N fertilizer ratio on the pineapple yield, external quality, and perceived shelf life in four on-farm experiments with cv. Sugarloaf in Benin; two experiments were installed in the long rainy season and two in the short rainy season. A split-plot design was used with the planting density as the main factor at three levels: 54,000, 66,600, and 74,000 plants.ha−1. The K2O:N ratio was a subfactor with three levels: K2O:N = 0.35 (farmers' practice), K2O:N = 1, and K2O:N = 2. The results showed that both factors had no effect on the crop development variables (such as the number of functional leaves and D-leaf length) at the moment of flowering induction. The planting density had no effect on the total weight per fruit, infructescence weight, total fruit length, infructescence length, crown length, or the fruit shelf life as perceived by traders. The yield increased from 54.9–69.1 up to 90.1 t.ha−1 with an increase in the planting density. The yield increase was not at the expense of the fruit weight. Increased K2O:N ratio led to a higher fruit weight whereas the fruit length was not affected. The shelf life of fruits produced at a K2O:N ratio of 1 and as perceived by traders was 6 days longer than that of fruits produced at a ratio of 0.35 (farmers' practice). Based on these results, we suggest the fresh pineapple farmers in Benin to use a combination of 66,600 plants.ha−1 with a K-fertilization scheme based on a K2O:N ratio of 1 to meet the expectation of both producers and customers in terms of fruit yield and fruit quality.
Highlights
Pineapple (Ananas comosus [L.] Merrill) is a fruit predominantly produced intropical countries
Effects on Plant Characteristics at Flowering Induction. Both the planting density and K fertilization scheme had no significant effects on the number of functional leaves per plant and the D-leaf length at the moment of flowering induction (Table 5), nor were there any significant interactions between the two factors
The effects of agronomic practices, such as planting density and K2O:N ratio, on the fruit quality are important in the pineapple cultivation
Summary
Pineapple (Ananas comosus [L.] Merrill) is a fruit predominantly produced in (sub)tropical countries. Fassinou Hotegni et al (2014) reported that pineapple is a main crop in the southern part of Benin, especially in the Atlantic Department where it is cultivated by about 70% of the farmers. The Atlantic Department realizes about 95% of the national pineapple production in Benin (Karim et al, 2018). In 2016, the Beninese government, through its Governmental Actions Plan (PAG), decided to include the pineapple fruit as one of the most important crops to be promoted with a target of 600,000 tons by 2021. To reach the target set by the government, an increase in crop yield along with improved fruit quality (including shelf life) through improved and sustainable agronomic practices is needed
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