Enhancing the Productivity of Pineapple cv. Queen through Foliar Application of Growth Promoting Substances
Dibyasen Patra
Department of Fruit Science & Horticulture Technology, College of Agriculture, Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology, Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Odisha- 751003, India.
Bijaya Kumar Sethy *
College of Agriculture, Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology, Chiplima, Sambalpur, Odisha-768025, India.
Ranjan Kumar Tarai
College of Horticulture, Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology, Chiplima, Sambalpur, Odisha-768025, India.
Subash Chandra Swain
Department of Fruit Science & Horticulture Technology, College of Agriculture, Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology, Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Odisha- 751003, India.
Sushrita Nayak
Department of Fruit Science & Horticulture Technology, College of Agriculture, Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology, Bhubaneswar, Khurda, Odisha- 751003, India.
Chinmaya Jena
Department of Horticulture, M. S. Swaminathan School of Agriculture, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi, Gajapati, Odisha- 761211, India.
Akash Oram
College of Agriculture, Odisha University of Agriculture & Technology, Bhawanipatna, Kalahandi, Odisha-766001, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Erratic flowering patterns and non-uniform fruit development hinder commercial pineapple (Ananas comosus L. Merr.) cultivation. A field study (2023–2024) at OUAT, Chiplima, Sambalpur, Odisha, India, evaluated the impact of foliar nutrients (0.5% and 1.0% Ca as CaCl2; 0.5% and 1.0% B as Borax) and growth regulators (GA3 @ 100 ppm; NAA @ 200 ppm), individually and in combination (15 treatments, RBD, three replications), on phenology, yield, and biomass partitioning. Foliar application of 1.0% Ca + NAA @ 200 ppm (T10) performed best overall, accelerating floral bud emergence to 32.56 days and achieving the highest flowering percentage (72.61%), compared to 56.82 days and 48.34% in the water control (T15). T10 reduced the flowering-to-maturity duration by 40.14 days (126.34 vs. 166.48 days) and recorded the highest fruit weight without crown (613.3 g), length (10.1 cm), girth (35.7 cm), fruit volume (476.4 ml), pulp weight (393.3 g), and fruit yield (15.15 t ha-1; a 49.85% increase over the control). Among single applications, 1.0% Ca (T2) gave the highest yield (13.45 t ha-1), while 1.0% B (T4) maximized pulp proportion (72.03%). Application of 1.0% Ca + NAA @ 200 ppm at the 40-leaf stage provides an effective approach to synchronising flowering and optimising fruit yield in pineapple cv. Queen.
Keywords: Pineapple, Queen cultivar, calcium chloride, boron, naphthaleneacetic acid, gibberellic acid, foliar application, flowering synchronisation, fruit yield