Towards a better management of the gustatory quality of pineapple using the Simpiña crop model

Abstract

Fruit quality has become increasingly important in fruit production, and improving the quality of products is an economic, public health, and scientific concern. The gustatory quality of fruit at harvest is affected by environmental conditions and management and can be highly variable. Our objective was to use the SIMPINA model, linked to SIMPINA - Sugar and SIMPINA - TA to identify combinations of cultural practices that optimize the gustatory quality of pineapple at harvest in the main areas of production on Reunion Island. SIM PINA - Sugar simulated total soluble solids (TSS) during fruit development. Titratable acidity (TA) was simulated with a statistical model linking periods during fruit development where climatic variables (rainfall, global radiation and temperature) affect TA of pineapple at harvest. The optimal sweetness index TSS/TA was used to select combinations of cultural practices that improve gustatory quality. Globally, to reach the optimal TSS/TA, the set of practices, e.g., optimum months for planting, dates of forcing, planting density and irrigation varied according to the diversity of climatic conditions in the main areas of production studied. Cultural practices selected lead to the production of large fruits (>700 g) and the model consistently identified harvest dates in the warm season as the time when the optimal TSS/TA was obtained regardless of area of production.