Plastic mulching, Fruitone CPA and leaves pruning to avoid natural flowering in ‘MD-2’ pineapple in Mexico

The seasonality of pineapple production, caused by the natural winter flowering, is a major problem in various regions of the world, and Mexico is no exception. Due to this phenomenon, there is a shortage of fruit in September and October, increasing the prices, but on the other side, there is an oversupply in June and July with low prices. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of plastic mulch, the growth regulator Fruitone CPA and leaves pruning on the natural flowering of pineapple ‘MD-2’. The experiment was done in the pineapple zone of Los Robles, in the municipality of Medellín, Veracruz, Mexico at 18°16’ LN and 96°16’ LW, at 20 m o.s.l. The treatments studied were soil with plastic mulching and bare soil; Fruitone CPA in several doses, number of applications and in combination with aviglycine (AVG); and three levels of leaves pruning (30, 60 and 90%). The experiment was carried out in a randomized block design with four replications, with each plot set up by 50 plants at a density of 60,000 plants ha^‑1. Applications of Fruitone CPA and pruning started at the end of October, when the plants showed an average weight of 2 kg. Natural flowering variables were determined along plant development. The bare soil control had a natural flowering rate of 83%, while the plastic mulch a much lower one of 38% (p≥0.05). Fruitone CPA presented a better result for plants grown on plastic mulch (3.2% of natural flowering) than on bare soil (25.1%), when used at the total dosis of 128 mg L^‑1, corresponding to four equal applications. Pruning was effective when done at rates of 60 and 90% of the leaves with a natural flowering rate of 4.2% or less. There was no significant effect of the combination of Fruitone CPA with AVG.