Growing a pineapple is really easy. All you have to do is cut off the top of the pineapple and put it back in soil but before that, the crown has to be dried partially. Simply plant the top of the fruit and it will grow. Here are some handy tips for growing pineapples
• Pineapples take about 18-20 months to become ready to harvest. However, if cultivation is done by crown cutting and plantation, results are faster.
• The optimum temperature for growing healthy pineapples is 32°C during day times at 20°C during night times. In case you didn’t know, if the temperature dips by even 1°C or increases by even 1°C, the growth rate of pineapple decreases by 6%!
• Pineapples can be tricked into flowering using smoke! This was first discovered on the Azores Islands using smoke.
• If pineapple is grown in an area which is not irrigated, it is absolutely necessary that there should be proper distribution of rainfall round the year and the minimum yearly rainfall should be 750 mm.
• Also, for the land where cultivation is done, the drainage system should be very good. If the drainage is not good, root rot and heart rot diseases will set in because the root system will become weak.
• If the temperature rises above 35°C, the fruit will get sunburn!
• Pineapples ripen faster upside down.
• A pineapple that fully ripens will stay for a maximum of 2 days under normal conditions and a maximum for a week under refrigerated conditions. This means that the fruit is very perishable once fully ripe.
• Pineapples contain the bromelain enzyme which can break down proteins, so you can use them to tenderize meat.
