Todayprimetime.com-The pineapple farm is a business with a great future. After all, it is the fruit that can be eaten alone and be combined with almost everything. This popular fruit is also commonly used for diet. But before setting your mind on the pineapple farm business, there are things that you need to know.
The Pineapple Plant
Have you ever seen a pineapple plant? It will not take so much space, and therefore you can grow a lot of them in a smaller space. It has a dens, yet shallow root. It can grow to 90 cm in height and has long and prickly leaves. One pineapple plant will only bear one fruit. The fruit grows in the center of the plant. Once a fruit is harvested, the pineapple plant will produce another sucker. The sucker will then produce another fruiting stem to start another fruit. This will be the process that takes place over and over again for almost fifty years. This is how long the pineapple plant can live.
Although the pineapple can live for decades, however it should not be kept that long for the pineapple farms. The reason is because the second pineapple fruit is usually smaller in size compared to the first one and so on and so on. Therefore, for commercial purposes, pineapple plants should not be kept for more than 3 to 4 years if you want to have the quality desired.
A new pineapple plant can be grown from several sources, such as from slip, sucker, seed or crown. However, growing the pineapple plant from seed can take so long that is not advisable to do. The pineapple plant can start to flower after a year or 14 months after it is being planted. However, it is usually ready to be harvested 20 months afterwards.
Best Areas to Grow Pineapples
Pineapples are not difficult to take care and maintain. However, for best results, you need to know the best places to grow them. The pineapples are the plantations from the tropical areas, but they can also grow in the subtropical areas. They can live in different varieties of soil, however they love a little acid soil. The best soil P.H for the pineapple plant is 4.5 – 5.5. A good drainage is a must for the plants, though. Without it, the plant will not grow.
You would not need to worry so much about rainfall. The pineapple plant can live and grow in a wide range of conditions in term of rainfall.
