Nutrient supply and dry-matter partitioning of pineapple cv. Josapine on sandy tin tailings

Abstract

Introduction. Their physical and chemical properties make sandy tin tailings unsuitable for agricultural purposes without proper fertilizer and crop management practices. An attempt was made to use these tailings for sustainable production of pineapple using fertilization and irrigation techniques. Therefore, the objective of the study was to determine the effect of ground sucker size and levels of fertilizer used on yield and nutrient accumulation in plant components of pineapple cv. Josapine grown on sandy tin tailings. Materials and methods. Three fertilizer levels (plot 1, plot 2 and plot 3) containing N, P, K, Ca, Mg and Cu in solution and three classes of ground suckers (> 70 cm, 70-40 cm and 70 cm) and 96 g·plant -1 (size < 70 cm), respectively. Total dry matter accumu- lation was greater (26%) for plot 1 than for plots 2 and 3. Substantial amounts of the dry matter accu- mulation occurred in leaves (45.0%) and fruit (34.0%) and less in stems (16.0%) and roots (5%). A similar pattern was also observed for the total (major and micro-) nutrient accumulation in the plant components. Besides the fruit parameters, the length of the pineapple stem is an important factor affecting the yield of pineapple, either expressed on a fresh (R 2 = 0.904***) or dry (R 2 = 0.855***) wei- ght basis. Conclusion. Ground sucker size is a very important factor for successful production of a high fruit yield and quality of pineapple planted on sandy tin tailings.