CHE REFERENCE LIBRARY - ZetaTalk

‘I’ZIE N IJRSERY-1,187 395i :.1;;I,__lvngt!l with cliffvrcwt x1-i~rictics from :L Ecw itidies to 2 foot or cvcnInow in lfq$h. Thr~ IGncapplc fruit. is borne at the summit of thisstulk. At tlw lx15(* of tlw fruit ;L consih:d~lc number of small plantsis producYd. ‘I‘l~st* iircl spoken of as “ slips.” IJsrmlly th.e pineapplefruits wm lw l)rol~n from the t.01) of t,hFl stalk after removingthe slips. \Yl WIT tlww slips h;tvr~ grown. to 1~ S or 10 inches long,thq~ art’ rt~mo\x~O ;tn(l r*rlnsiclc~r~~cl as c~lual to suckers of the samesizt>.At t lw apes of thp fruit is a11 outgrowth spoken of as the “ crown.”‘Fhis c‘rown may 1x3 used For producing pineapples in the same wayt 11a t ~;l~cqkcrs or slips ;IW t~mplo~4. I[n some varieties a considerableIIIIIII~HT of srryall plants ark around fhe crown ; at times theseclt~\~t~lop into large c~nough plants to make it possible to set them int I)(* ficbl(l. 7’1~~~. art‘ thtln called “ crown slips.” It is seldom thatC’rown Slips iLIT usctl for connncrcial propagation.In C’;W of rare or high-priced pineapples, the old stools may bel~rcl ~~~ccc~sl’r~ll~~ for producing new plant,s. By removing the stoolsfrom tllcb grouml, trimming off the leaves and roots, these stoolsIllit>* lw pl;~(~~l in i\ horizontal position and covered with a smallquantity of soil. In tltch course of a few weeks to several months,many of 111th l)u&i? one of which is in the asil of every leaf, will growinto pirwnppl~~ ~lli1lltS. These are removed from time to time, astheme ilrc‘ lilrgtt cnougll for t.r;tnsplanting. In greenhouses the sameopcr;l tion IlltL>. 1 w c;lrriclcl out, sphagnum moss being substitutedfor tlitl soil. ( 'ill't'.shouhl 1~ ta,ken that the temperature of thepro~m~‘L -“(r*r*‘*x~y L I ‘b- 1 ,::yl, 1 ;rlrl- ,..,,tj fi1.q .,*.. or mtclnors7 clo(+ not. reach a high degreeIt slmultl not rwcl1 !)(I”, ilIlt it is preferable to keep it in the 80’s.PintqqArs 00 l)cst in tliosc> regions where the annual temperature isapprosim:itclJ- 2”.IVnder fa\-oruble contlitions, pineapple plants will produce fruitin eightr>rtn to thirt>- months from the time the rooted plants areset out, \-ar>.ing with different \ytirieties. Red Spanish, whichis rarely grown in the greenhouse, comes into bearing inabout eiglltecn months under field conditions. Porto Rico andSmooth (‘aycnnt.a require somewhat longer time, usuall*v about.t hirt>- nion tbs.The pro(luc+ion of serdling pineapples may be described, althoughpracticed only for the obtaining of new varieties. InFlorida seeds arc rarely produced. This is becausr: there areno natural agcnoies for distributing the pollen. The fruit fromthe tropics, particularly from Panama, frequently contains viable