Pineapple comes from the Mato Grosso Plateau on the border of Brazil and Paraguay. This plant is widely cultivated in many tropical and subtropical countries, and has also become widely used in the decoration of residential premises. It is used in cooking, cosmetics. For example, the most famous dish that any housewife from pineapple can make with their own hands is a chicken salad with pineapple, not to mention the various uses of this fruit in sweet pastries. And in cosmetics, there are whole pineapple series. And gastroenterologists recommend it to those who have problems with fermentation.
Cultivation and care of pineapple
Pineapple coarse-grained – the most cultivated species. Belongs to bromilia and herbaceous perennials. The stem is shortened, and the leaves are stiff, linear and xiphoid up to 1.5 m long and up to 6 cm wide. Ananas comosus var. has beautiful leaves. variegatus – green-creamy longitudinal stripes that turn pink in bright light. Most varieties produce fruits without pollination.
An adult pineapple reaches a height of 1 m, and the peduncle ends with a spike-shaped inflorescence of lilac, white or purple. Depending on the variety, after flowering, a fruit weighing from 0.2 to 15 kg is formed. The peculiarity of the fruit is the ability to germinate through it an shoot with normally developed leaves, which is called the “Sultan”. It is carefully cut and rooted.
How to grow pineapple at home
1. Carefully cut the apical shoot (“Sultan”) with a capture of 0.5-1 cm of tissue.
2. Dry for 2-3 days
3. Separate the flesh and plant to a shallow depth in sphagnum moss or in wet sand. When kept in a warm room and moderate watering, the roots appear at 2-4 weeks.
Another way is when they contain the cut “sultan” in the water so that it barely touches the surface of the water and then awaits the appearance of its roots.
4. When the roots appear, the plant can be transplanted into the appropriate substrate. In the first days after transplantation, we cover the plant with a jar or a plastic cap.
Substrate: 3 parts of turfy land, 2 parts of deciduous land, 2 parts of peat and 1 part of sand.
In the warm season, in order to grow pineapple at home, the temperature of the substrate for pineapples must be within + 25 C and always moist, but not wet!
5. Place pots with plants on the south, south-west windows, in a warm, well-ventilated room, only in sunlight.
6. Should be watered only with warm, settled water.
7. In winter, the temperature of the substrate can be reduced to + 15C, and watering can be reduced.
8. With the beginning of intensive growth (spring-summer), pineapple with your own hands should be abundantly watered and sprayed, and fed with organic and mineral fertilizers.
The first crop can be obtained in 15 months at night temperature not lower than + 16-17 ° C, and if this is not observed, the crop can appear only in the third year.
How to accelerate the appearance of flower buds in pineapple
On the Azores, pineapple fumigation has been practiced for over a hundred years. This is done so that flower buds are formed faster. This is facilitated by ethylene, which is released during combustion. Naturally, no one recommends burning a fire in the rooms, but there is a way that replaces this. Another gas accelerates the appearance of flower buds – it is acetylene. The easiest way to get such a gas is to combine carbide with water in a thick-walled, closed container. Part of acetylene is “absorbed” into this water, which is watered or sprayed with plants.
And the easiest method to accelerate the appearance of flower buds is rotten apples. They are laid around the plant and wrapped tightly in cellophane. Leave in this form for 24 hours. In addition, this operation is the most loyal to pineapples and people at home.
Somewhere in 19-20 months, the pineapple will bloom, and after 4-5 months you can try the pineapple grown at home.