Sapling Production in Pineapple
- Importance: Pineapple is propagated through suckers, slips, and crowns, but these are limited in number. Tissue culture enables large-scale multiplication of uniform planting materials.
Stages
a. Primary Hardening:
- Plantlets washed and transferred to small protrays with sterilized cocopeat or perlite.
- Kept in greenhouse at 85–90 percent humidity and 25–28°C.
- Period: 6–8 weeks.
b. Secondary Hardening:
- Plantlets shifted to polybags (15 × 10 cm) with soil: sand: FYM (1:1:1).
- Maintained in shade net for 1–2 months.
- Application of foliar sprays with 1 percent urea and micronutrients.
- Plantlets develop 5–6 healthy leaves and strong root system.
c. Field Readiness:
- Saplings ready for field after 10–12 weeks of hardening.
- Uniform planting ensures synchronized flowering and harvest.
Advantages of Tissue-Cultured Saplings
- Production of disease-free and true-to-type plants.
- Rapid multiplication of elite varieties.
- Uniform growth, flowering, and fruiting.
- Early maturity and higher yield.
- Essential for establishing quality-certified orchards.