Olaniyi, J. O* and Kelani Kemi
Department of Agronomy, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria.
*13Correspondence author, E mail [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Trials were carried out to improve pineapple production by increasing planting materials through the use of rapid multiplication method in order to determine the best length and method of propagation. The treatments included three lengths of stem shoot cuttings; 5cm, 7.5cm and 10cm, having both sliced and unsliced stem shoot cutting methods. These sliced and unsliced stem shoot cutting of different sizes were planted on a sawdust: poultry manure (1:1) mixture and watered fortnightly. Plant height and number of leaves of sprouted plant at transplanting were significantly affected by all the treatments and their various combinations. Number of sprouted plants was significantly (P≤ 0.05) influenced by lengths, methods and length and method combined effect at each sampling occasions. The sett size of 7.5cm with sliced stem shoot cutting method gave the best growth parameters and more sprouted plants than the other cutting sizes. Therefore, 7.5cm sliced stem shoot cutting which produced more planting materials and better percent plant survival in the field can be recommended as rapid multiplication methods for pineapple.
Key words:Ananas comosus, stem shoot, cutting length, cutting method, sprouted plant, growth.
INTRODUCTION
Pineapple (Ananascomosus), is the leading edible member of the family Bromeliacea which consists of about 2,000 species, mostly epiphatic and many strikingly ornamental (Morton et al, 1987). Pineapples are grown all year round in the warmer climates. Its origin has been traced to Brazil and Paraguay in the Amazonic basin where the fruit was domesticated (Collins, 1949; Drew, 1980). Nearly 70% of the pineapple is consumed as fresh fruit in producing countries, commercial production is normally geared towards processing. The main products are canned fruit slices and chunks, juices, jams and dried candid pineapples. By-products such as vinegar, citric acid, enzymes and wine are also produced. The pineapple plant and fruit are also used as ornamentals; they contain vitamins A and C (Collins, 1960; Dull, 1971). Pineapple, serves various purposes, it is of great importance to humans. It is also medicinal. Pineapple produces Bromelain which is an enzyme. It helps the body’s digestive system and it also has anti-inflammatory properties. It has been used to treat a number of medicinal problems, including heart diseases, arthrithis and upper respiratory infections. This remarkable enzyme is found in all types of pineapples (Morton et al, 1987). Fruits generally are highly nutritious; they supply nutrients to human body when consumed (Dull, 1971). The fruit quality is determined by size (finger length and thickness), evenness of ripening, freedom from blemishes and defects and the arrangement of the clusters.
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Pineapple contains micro-nutrients that experts believe protects against cancer and these micro- nutrients also break up blood clots and are beneficial to the heart. The ripe pineapple has diuretic properties. Its juice also kills intestinal worms, it also relieves intestinal disorders and soothes the bile. Pineapple juice contains chemicals that stimulates the kidney and aids in removing toxic element from the body (Morton et al, 1987). Pineapples are sometimes important to livestock, the crowns are fed to horses if not needed for planting. Final pineapple waste from the processing factories may be dehydrated as “bran” and fed to cattle, pigs and chickens (Morton, 1987). The pineapple fruit with crowns intact is often used as a decoration and there are variegated forms of the plant universally grown for their beauty (Julia, 1987).
Pineapple is second after bananas, contributing to over 20% of the world production of tropical fruits (Coveca, 2002). Pineapple dominates the world trade of tropical fruits, although other fruits have gained. Market share statistics from year 2000 indicate that pineapple trade took 51% from a total of 2.1million tons of the whole fruit market with mangoes taking the second place, with 21.7% (FAO, 2002). Pineapple is the best positioned fruit since its trade is oriented to developed countries as Japan, the USA and European Community (Coveca, 2002). Consequently, during the past decade world production of pineapple has increased at a rate of 1.9% per year, despite the occurrence of unfavourable weather and economic situation (FAO, 2002).
Pineapple is propagated in vegetative form using the crown or the suckers or stem shoots of healthy and productive plant. These materials must be properly selected by size to assure crop uniformity (Py, 1969).Vegetative propagation is classified according to the position at which the culturing material is reproduced with respect to the plant such as suckers, stem shoots and slips (Collins, 1960; Coveca, 2002). On the other hand, a periodical renewal of cultures is required in order to keep fruit quality in commercial plantations. Most of large production fields allow plants to produce only two or three harvest. Lack of renovation produces decreased fruit size and lack of uniformity (Oirsa, 1999).
In Nigeria, despite the favourable weather conditions that favours pineapple production and the fact that it is one of the preferred fruits consumed by many tribes, the production is low and does not the demand. The duration at which pineapple matures is one of the major constraints in production. Therefore, rapid means of multiplying pineapple using planting materials from their parent plants, which is more economical, is desirable.
The objectives of the study were to improve pineapple production by increasing planting materials through the use of rapid multiplication methods, and to determine the best cutting method and size of planting materials for the rapid multiplication of pineapple.
RESEARCH APPROACH
The experiment was carried out at the Teaching and Research Farm of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria.The experiment was of two phases. The first phase was done on the nursery site, where the plantlets were raised from the stumps or stem shoots while the second phase involved establishment of plantlets on the field.
The experimental nursery site was cleared and 18 sunken beds were made on the 15th of January, 2007. There were three replicates and each replicate consisted of six beds. Each bed measured 2m x 1m with a 1m spacing in between beds for easy movement during cultural operations. Each sunken bed was filled with growth media consisting of a mixture of sawdust and poultry manure in a ratio 2:1.
Pineapple stumps were obtained from the pineapple plot of the Agronomy Department, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso. The stumps or stem shoot were cut into three sizes or lengths; 5cm, 7.5cm and 10cm, each having sliced and unsliced cutting methods. The resulting combination gave six treatments, namely: 5cm unsliced, 5cm sliced, 7.5cm unsliced, 7.5cm sliced, 10cm sliced and 10cm
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unsliced. These were randomly assigned into beds within each replicate. The 2x3 factorial experiments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications.
The planting materials (sliced and unsliced stumps) were treated with 5ml furadan diluted with 10litres of water overnight, to prevent diseases and pests infestations in the field. Twenty planting materials were planted on each bed irrespective of the treatment combinations. After planting, the beds were mulched with dry grasses to conserve moisture. Insect pests were controlled by spraying neem seed extract. Regular weeding was done manually to control weeds on the plots.
The permanent site was clear felled and ridges were made. The sprouted plants from each bed were transplanted to the permanent field at 18 weeks after planting. Watering and mulching of the transplants were carried out immediately after transplanting. Also, soil was amended with 4 t. ha-1 of
cassava peel compost for proper plants establishment.
Prior to transplanting, the number of sprouted stumps produced from each bed were counted and recorded at two weeks interval. Also, growth parameters such as number of leaves and height of plant were determined by counting and measuring with metre ruler and recorded, respectively at two weeks interval. Data were also collected from the plants on the field 6 weeks after transplanting to assess rate of establishment and survival of the plants. The parameters assessed were: number of leaves, height of plant and percent plant survival. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance and means compared by the least significant difference (LSD) at 0.05% probability levels.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Number of sprouted plants was significantly (P≤ 0.05) influenced by the cutting length, cutting method and cutting length and method combined effect at the various sampling occasions except at 6 and 8 WAP for methods of cuttings (Table 1). The 7.5cm sliced stumps produced more plants at 16 weeks after planting, followed by 5cm and 10cm sliced whereas the least plantlets were recorded from 10cm unsliced cuttings. Cutting methods also had effect on the sprouting rate of pineapple stumps, with sliced stem shoot cuttings irrespective of length sprouted rapidly and producing more plantlets than unsliced stem shoot cutting.
The use of sliced stumps or stem shoot cuttings in the rapid multiplication of pineapple yielded higher plantlets than unsliced stump. The rapid sprouting and more sucker production from the sliced cuttings may be attributed to its ability to break dormancy faster as compared to the unsliced stem shoot cuttings irrespective of cutting length. It also showed that uniform suckers can be obtained in appreciable number by the stimulation of the dorminant axillary buds on the old stump. The highest plantlets obtained from the sliced stem shoot cuttings is contrary to the findings of Simone (1999), who recommended unsliced stem shoot cuttings for multiplying pineapple suckers. This is probably because the sliced stem shoot cuttings can break dormancy faster and have a direct access to water and nutrients from the organic growth medium.
Growth parameters and weight of sprouted plants at transplanting were significantly affected by all the treatments and their combinations (Table 2). The highest number of leaves and plant height of the sprouted plants at transplanting (16WAP) were obtained from while the least values were recorded from 5cm unsliced cuttings. The number of leaves and plant height of the sprouted plants increased as the cutting length increased up to 7cm, then declined thereafter at 10cm.
The results revealed that 7cm is the longest stem shoot cutting length in the rapid multiplication of pineapple, where vigorous and better plantlets can be developed. The better performance recorded from the sliced stem shoot cuttings might be due to their ability to form roots early and easy accessibility to the growth medium as compared to the unsliced stem shoot cuttings.
After transplanting, it was observed that number of leaves, plant height and leaf area were significantly influenced by the length, method, and length and method combined effect of stem
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shoot cuttings. The highest growth parameters were obtained from 7.5cm sliced plants on the field whereas 5cm unsliced gave the least performance.
The vigorous growth of suckers observed from 7.5cm sliced and from all the sliced stem shoot cuttings in this study might be due to the direct access of the cut surfaces to water and nutrient elements from the surrounding growth medium before transplanting. Variability in number of leaves, height of plant and leaf area shows that the plants responded to various treatments on the nursery beds.
Percentage of plants survived on the field was significantly influenced by length, method and length and method combined effects of cuttings. It was observed that all lengths and methods of stem shoot cuttings had satisfactory percentage of plant survival except 5cm unsliced which had the least survival of less than 50%.
The general better performance in terms of vigorous growth and plants establishment on the field of suckers derived from 7.5cm sliced stem shoot cuttings under this study corroborated the work of Simone (1999) who recommended sliced stump cuttings of between 6.3 and 7.5cm for banana. The 7.5cm sliced cutting obtained in this work for rapid multiplication and plant establishment is in contrary to 5cm stump cutting recommended for pineapple by Simone (1999). This probably might be due to the more ‘eyes’ (buds) found on 7.5cm than on 5cm cutting, from which the new suckers emanate.
In conclusion, the growth parameters assessed under this study and plants establishment on the field were significantly (P≤0.05) influenced by the various treatments. The planting materials with 7.5cm in length and sliced methods of stem shoot cuttings were able to produce more plantlets with vigorous growth rate than other sizes and cutting methods. Therefore, it can be recommended that 7.5cm sliced cutting is a good rapid multiplication method for pineapple suckers.
Table 1: Mean number of sprouted plants in the nursery.
WEEKS AFTER PLANTING Treatments 6 8 10 12 14 16 5cm unsliced 2.0 4.5 5.0 6.0 6.5 7.0 5cm sliced 3.0 4.5 5.0 5.0 7.0 7.5 7.5cm unsliced 4.5 7.0 5,0 5.5 6.0 6.0 7.5cm sliced 6.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 9.0 9.0 10cm unsliced 1.5 3.5 3.5 4.0 4.0 4.0 10cm sliced 2.0 5.5 6.0 6.0 7.5 7.5 LSD (0.05): Length 1.29 0.08 0.56 1.31 1.07 1.10 Method Ns Ns 0.46 1.07 0.88 0.91 L x M Ns 0.88 0.26 1.40 0.94 1.01
Table 2: Growth parameters and weight of sprouted plants at transplanting (16 WAP).
Treatments Number of
leaves
Plant height (cm) Plant weight (g)
5cm unsliced 15.4 7.0 40.0
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FaCT: Publishing online at http://www.m.elewa.org 140 7.5 unsliced 16.6 10.3 60.0 7.5cm sliced 18.4 10.6 70.0 10cm unsliced 15.6 7. 2 50.0 10cm sliced 16.1 8.4 63.4 LSD (0.05): Length 0.79 0.82 6.81 Method 0.64 ns Ns L x M 0.50 0.82 6.81
Table 3: Growth parameters and percent plant survival of plants on the field at 12WAP.
Treatments Number of leaves Plant height (cm) Leaf Area (cm2) Plant survival (%) 5cm unsliced 9.00 21.14 43.76 47.0 5cm sliced 16.50 26.00 67.93 88.9 7.5cm unsliced 16.17 30.83 94.03 92.3 7.5cm sliced 18.17 30.30 104.56 94.1 10cm unsliced 9.86 20.29 44.48 71.4 10cm sliced 12.83 24.00 65.28 69.20 LSD (0.05): Length 0.48 5.61 0.36 1.21 Method 0.39 ns 0.29 0.99 L x M 0.19 5.61 0.10 1.20 REFERENCES
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