Why Are Pineapples Important?

“Be a pineapple; stand tall, wear a crown, and be sweet on the inside,” said by anonymous. Pineapples, or ananas comosus, are very interesting because they just look so unique and taste amazing. Most people do not realize that pineapples are used for more than just food and have long life cycles. Also, many people think that pineapples mainly grow in Hawaii, but that is not the case. Just like all crops, pineapples have certain environmental preferences they like to grow in. With certain preferences, people wonder if pineapples can grow in east Texas.

Pineapples are important for many different reasons. One reason is that pineapples have different health benefits that most people don’t realize. They are good for the immune system, bone strength,

Pineapple life cycles are very long. It takes about four years for pineapples to go through their life cycle. The stages are planting, vegetative growth, flowering, ripening, harvesting, and ratooning. The vegetative growth takes about one year. For a pineapple to flower, it usually takes eleven to twelve months. For a pineapple to be fully ripe, it takes about six to seven months. They are harvested close to the end of the ripening stage of the cycle depending on when they are supposed to be shipped. Ratooning takes another twelve months to produce (GeoChemBio.com). Pineapples have some unique traits. Their leaves make a crown at the top of the fruit. The yellowish-green color of the pineapple is important to tell when it is ripened enough to harvest. Also, pineapples have a cross-spiked pattern on the outside of the fruit, which is the only fruit with that pattern. Pineapples are bred two different ways; seeds and vegetative. Vegetative is used more than seeds because seeds germinate slow and are used more in breeding programs. Pineapples are propagated by vegetation (The Biology). The most common parts of the pineapple used in vegetative propagation are the crowns, slips, and ratoons (GeoChemBio.com). The main pollinator for pineapples is hummingbirds. A fun fact about hummingbirds is that they are banned in Hawaii, which leads to pineapples being bred in a vegetative

There are three of these that are specifically centered in east Texas that affect the growth and production of pineapples. One disease that effects pineapples are called yellow spot. Yellow spot is caused by the tomato spotted wilt virus and is transmitted through weeds. It starts in the crown, or leaves, of the pineapple and spreads to the plant heart. Then it eventually will kill the pineapple crop. Two major pests that effect pineapples are red mites and pineapple mites. The red mites cause lesions on the leaves attacks the leaf bases. Red mite infections are also very high in droughts. Pineapple mites damage the inside of the pineapple. Unlike the red mites, pineapple mites are invisible. Another pest that effects pineapples are ants. Ants transfer mealybug to each plant