Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
planting material can range in weight from a few hundred grams to more
than a kilogram fresh weight (Fig. 12.5). Large suckers are unsuited for use
as planting material because the shock of removal tends to induce precocious
infl orescence development. Shoots, commonly called slips, also are produced
from buds in the axils of the fl oral bracts on the peduncle. The stem of slips is
comma-shaped, in contrast with the straight stem of suckers and crowns. If
slips are allowed to remain on the plant for a few months after fruit harvest,
they can grow to 250-450 g.
Roots
Adventitious roots are produced from preformed root primordia in the stem.
Krauss (1948) separated the roots into 'soil' roots, which develop at the base
of the stem and form the underground root system, and 'axillary' roots, which
form above the soil surface in the leaf axils. The underground root system is
relatively dense and typically extends to a depth of 15-30 cm. The roots of
pineapple plants grown in deep, loose, fertile soil free from parasitic organisms
and can grow downward more than 50 cm and extend 1.83 m beyond the
plant within a year's time.
Fig. 12.5.
Pineapple fruit showing multiple crowns, slips at the base of the fruit and
suckers at the base of the plants (from Coppens d'Eeckenbrugge and Leal, 2003).
