Abstract
Pineapple (Ananas comosus var. comosus) is one of the most produced fruits; it ranks third in world production after bananas and mangoes. It is cultivated to meet nutritional needs and is important for the production of preserves and the sale of fresh fruit. Assuming that there is adequate water, the yield of this cultivar depends on two fundamental factors, the density of planting and adequate supplies of NPK and micronutrients. The objective of the study was to determine the effects on the vegetative growth of 'MD-2' pineapple plants of three different fertilization systems (macro- and micronutrients) based on products of CODA Brand (Agro Solution, Spain) (CODA), the usual system used for pineapple fertilization (UEB) and a combination of elements of both treatments (COMBINED) under field conditions. Treatments were arranged in a randomized block design and each treatment was replicated twice. Plots were 0.25 ha containing approximately 16,250 plants per replicate. The vegetative growth indicators evaluated were: fresh mass of plant (kg), length of plant (cm), number of leaves, fresh weight of leaf “D” (g), dry weight of leaf “D” (g), and relative area of leaf “D” (g cm(‑2)). Plants grown with the CODA system had greater plant fresh mass (0.5 kg), number of leaves (5), fresh (5 g) and dry (2.3 g) weight and length of leaf “D” (10 cm), and reached the floral induction weight of 2.5 kg at least one month before the other two systems. However, the highest yield (99.2 t ha(‑1)) was produced with the COMBINED treatment, perhaps due to the use of Bulitem (Chemical Meristem, S.L., Spain), a product designed to stimulate fruit enlargement.
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