Foliar Application of Aviglycine Reduces Natural Flowering in Pineapple

Abstract

Natural flowering of pineapple is a serious problem for commercial growers of pineapple because it disrupts fruiting schedules, decreases harvesting efficiency and increases costs, and may reduce the percentage of marketable fruit. Aviglycine ([S]-trans-2-amino-4-(2 aminoethoxy)-3-butenoic acid hydrochloride), an inhibitor of ethylene biosynthesis, was applied as a foliar spray to evaluate its potential to prevent natural flowering in 1-year-old `Tainon 18' pineapple. Two experiments were conducted between 10 Oct. and 10 Apr. during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 production seasons. For the 2001-02 season, single or double applications of aviglycine at 100 mg L-1 had no significant effect on natural flowering. A double application of aviglycine at 500 mg L-1 first applied on 9 Nov. reduced flowering from 95.0% in the control to 51.3% when evaluated on 25 Feb. 2002. In the 2002-03 production season, triple applications of aviglycine applied at 20-day intervals beginning on 10 Nov. 2002 significantly reduced natural flowering when evaluated on 28 Mar. 2003. There was 95.8% flowering in the control, 64.6% with 250 and 375 mg L-1 aviglycine, and 50% with 500 mg L-1 aviglycine. Aviglycine has the potential to partially control precocious flowering of pineapple, which will reduce crop losses associated with such flowering.