How to Take Care of a Pineapple Plant at Home (Complete Guide)

This time we will provide information on how to grow pineapple that is good and true. To get quality pineapples, then continue to look read this article to know how to take care of your pineapple plant. Pineapple or in its Latin name Ananas comous is a type of fruit that can be used as ingredients or as a complement to cooking. In the complement to this dish, pineapple serves as an ingredient that can serve dishes such as chicken or beef. Even pineapple has a function as alternative medicine. 

The origin of this pineapple originally grew in the area of Brasilia until it spread to the American mainland to Malaysia to Indonesia. Well, when the pineapple began to spread to Indonesia initially only as a plant in the yard alone. So, it hasn't arrived at cultivation. So, initially, this pineapple was only a noble people in Indonesia who had it. Therefore, it is rare for lower and middle-class people to consume pineapple at that time.

It is different from the one that began to cultivate pineapple. Even pineapple fruit has begun to be used as a business field in the field of business agriculture or agriculture. Basically, planting pineapple is very easy to do and apply, even though he is a beginner in the world of agriculture. Therefore, you can try it after reading this article about how to grow a pineapple.

Benefits of Pineapple

Imagine, how about a quality pineapple? Of course, this pineapple has a yellow fruit with a sweet and slightly sour taste. The plant also has a characteristic with its pointed and long leaves making this pineapple plant a distinctive characteristic and unique shape.

Generally, this pineapple is used as the main ingredient in the salad. So, if you eat rujak, it's still missing something without pineapple. Also as said above, if pineapple can also be used as an additional ingredient in dishes that function as a softener of the texture of the meat and provide a fresh taste to the cuisine. 

Not only as the main ingredient of cooking and rujak ingredients, if pineapple can also be used as a display material in the yard. This is because pineapple plants have a unique shape as a display and decoration of the home yard. With its pointed leaves and crown-like shape, this pineapple plant is very beautiful when seen.

Then, let's see a complete guide on how to take care of a pineapple plant:

1. Land to Plant Pineapple

Pineapple plants are very suitable to live in areas in the highlands. Just like other sweet and sour fruits such as strawberries, dragon fruit, oranges, and others, this pineapple can only live in areas that are highland areas. In conclusion, fruits that live in the highlands have characteristics as sweet fruit and a little acidity. One of them is pineapple.

However, pineapple can actually grow in lowland areas. Therefore, many home yards are filled with pineapple plants. It's just that, the difference between pineapple which grows in the highlands is more quality compared to pineapple which grows in the lowlands. Most pineapples that grow in the lowlands are smaller and rounder than pineapples that grow in the highlands. 

Climate

Pineapple plants, very suitable in tropical regions. Maybe this is one factor if the pineapple is a yellow fruit. Therefore, Indonesia is very suitable to grow pineapple plants as a field of business in agriculture. So, it is not surprising that many farmers began to turn to pineapple cultivation as their business fields.

Soil

Land is a planting medium that can be used by pineapple plants to grow and develop. Well, loose soil, very suitable for this pineapple fruit plant. So, fertile and loose soil can help the maximum and optimal growth and development of pineapple plants. 

You can use fertile soil such as sandy soil to grow pineapple plants. In addition, you can also plant pineapple using a planting medium in the form of volcanic soil. Not only loose soil, but land suitable for planting pineapple is also land that has organic elements. In other words, this soil that has organic elements will help the growth and development of pineapple plants for irrigation and the taking of pineapple nutrients through the roots. 

However, keep in mind also that these pineapple plants really need direct sunlight for 9 hours a day. So, do not let him lack direct sunlight in a day, or not, pineapple plants will grow not optimal and make pineapple less quality when harvested. In other words, pineapple plants are suitable in environments that have temperatures around 23 to 32 degrees Celsius.

For the acidity of the soil that is suitable for planting this pineapple is around 5.7 to 7 pH. This is because so that the soil has drainage properties to help the growth and absorption of water through plant roots.

You are not advised to plant pineapple during the rainy season. Because pineapple plants are not suitable for environments that have high rainfall. This can make the plant wilt and rot.

So, it can be concluded that planting pineapple is very suitable in the area or land that:

• Lowland to highlands,
• Tropical,
• Have loose and fertile soil or more sandy soil, or can also make volcanic soil,
• Organic soil,
• Exposed to direct sunlight for 9 hours a day,
• Located in an area of 23 to 32 degrees Celsius,
• The acidity is around 5.7 to 7 pH,
• Drainage land, and
• There is enough rainfall.

2. Seed Selection

In conducting cultivation, including planting pineapple, seed selection is the most important stage in cultivating pineapple. Because, if you choose the pineapple seeds wrongly, then you will get an unsatisfactory crop, aka you can say 'crop failure'. Therefore, do not let you choose the wrong seeds.

In other words, pay attention when you choose seeds. When you buy pineapple seeds at a farm shop, you have to understand the characteristics of good pineapple seedlings. So, you don't get lied to by the seller who only benefits one-sidedly.

There are three ways to use these pineapple seeds. The following are three ways to choose good and true quality pineapple seeds:

Tiller Results

You can use pineapple seeds by taking from the results of the pineapple tiller. Choose a quality pineapple tiller with a nice and weighty fruit body shape. So, the seedlings of pineapple, aka good seeds, will produce weights and good ones will also be good in their crops.

Vegetative

For the second way, this is the vegetative way. In this vegetative way, you can pick up seeds from fruit buds, root shoots, stem buds, fruit crowns, or can also be taken from stem cuttings. However, most pineapple farmers rarely use the vegetative method by taking stem buds. This is because the vegetative method by taking stem buds takes a long time in its planting and growth.

Generative

Unlike the case with the generative way, the seeds are taken from pineapple seeds. Keep in mind, that in order to obtain quality seeds, you need to choose directly from the mother of plants that are not defective, healthy, and plants that are not easily damaged by disease. The physical characteristics of healthy pineapple plants are pineapple plants that have thick leaves. This shows that the plant is very healthy.

3. Planting Preparation

Actually, for preparing land for planting, it has been explained above. Basically, the characteristics of the soil as a suitable planting medium are the characteristics mentioned above.

In preparing the planting area, you can use moor or moorland that has previously been gelled before being used as a planting area for pineapple plants. If the moor already feels quite loose, then the land is ready to be sprinkled with 10 tons of manure or bokashi for 1-hectare land size. (Also read: How to Plant Lime )

You also need to make beds to block puddles that can damage the growth of pineapple plants. Now, to make these beds, you can use beds 80 to 110 cm wide per plant. Please plant and sprinkle plant seeds with a distance of about 100 cm and a height of about 30 cm. with this distance, it will not hinder the growth and development of pineapple plants. In addition, plant roots will not fight each other for water in the soil.

So, if it is simplified that the methods for preparing planting land for planting pineapple are as follows:

• Sprinkle the land as planting land,
• Sprinkle 10 tons of manure or bokashi for 1 hectare of land,
• Make beds with a width of about 80 to 110 cm and a height of 30 cm, and
• Sprinkle pineapple seeds with a distance of 100 cm.

4. Plant Pineapple

After the planting stage preparation process is complete, it's time for you to proceed to the stage of planting a pineapple. Generally, farmers start planting this pineapple in the early rainy season. This is because and it is expected that the growth can be fast and uniform with other pineapple plants. The following is how to grow pineapple:

Creating a Hole Plant

The first step is to make a planting hole in the bed already made. You can use a buckle or hoe to make planting holes. Make a planting hole about 30 x 30 cm.

Inserting seeds

After the planting hole has been made with the mesh in accordance with the beds that have been made, then it's time to proceed to sow pineapple seeds. However, beforehand you need to select which pineapple seeds are suitable for you to use. Choose good and quality pineapple seeds so that later you can produce good and quality pineapple. 

Hole

Cover each hole by using soil piled onto the ground. If necessary, step on the land that is hoarding, so that the soil can solidify. When placing pineapple seeds, you should try if the pineapple seedlings are really embedded in the soil, so that the growth is good and not easily collapsed.

Flush

The final step is to flush the soil evenly and cleanly using clean water. If necessary while praying that your harvest is satisfying and of high quality. 

So, if it is simplified that the way to plant pineapple is as follows:

• Make a planting hole with size 30 x 30 cm,
• Insert seeds into holes,
• Cover the hole with soil compacted up to solid, and
• Water the seeds and soil to grow easily.

5. Diseases and Pests

To plant good pineapple, you need to know pests and diseases in pineapple plants so you can prevent the occurrence of diseases in your pineapple plants. You don't want to, your plants are sick, which makes the pineapple that you harvest later not quality and not sold on the market? Therefore, look for diseases and pests in this pineapple plant. 

With you knowing pests and diseases that attack pineapple plants, you also need to know how to prevent and eradicate pests or diseases that attack your pineapple plants.

Generally, pests that attack pineapple plants include fruit flies, fruit caterpillars, beetles, and fruit borers. Well, to eradicate and prevent these pests, you can use exterminators. But remember, use the pest exterminator in accordance with the dosage and recommended packaging. If it's excessive, it can cause your pineapple plants to become disrupted and might die before harvesting. 

Well, if the above is a pest exterminator, then you also need prevention in planting good and right pineapple. Because prevention is better than cure. For prevention, you can use Mankozeb, Benlet, and Kasumin by spraying on plants. You can get it all at the nearest farm shop.

6. Harvest Pineapple

Generally, farmers will do this harvesting stage after the plants have reached the age of around 12 months or a year. However, it should also be noted that pineapple ready for harvest is pineapple which has the following characteristics:

• Eyes are more horizontal,
• The crown of the fruit starts to look wide open,
• Fruit crown is round, and
• Fruit stalks start to shrink because they have been replaced or turned into the fruit as a whole.
• If the pineapple already has these characteristics, then the pineapple indicates that the pineapple is ready to be harvested and consumed or sold.

To harvest it, just pay attention and select the pineapple that tastes fragrant. Fruit that smells good, means that the pineapple is ripe or ripe on the tree. To take the fruit, just cut on the fruit stalk using a knife or you can also use a sickle.

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