GROWTH, YIELD AND QUALITY OF PINEAPPLE CV. JOSAPINE AS AFFECTED BY DENSITY AND FERTILIZER RATE GROWN ON SANDY SOIL IN MALAYSIA

Since its release in 1996, Josapine, a table-pineapple hybrid cultivar has been extensively grown on peat soils. In order to fulfill the growing demand for this cultivar on mineral soils, a study was conducted to determine the performance of the cultivar on a sandy mineral soil. This study to observe the response of the pineapple hybrid cultivar to plant density and fertilizer rate was carried out on a sandy mineral soil in Kelantan, Malaysia from September 1997 to October 1998. Four planting densities (i.e. 10,759; 12,911; 21,578; and 25, 822 plants/ha) and two fertilizer rates of 40 and 60gm/plant (N:P₂O₅:K₂O:MgO=12:12:17:2) were tested. The experiment was conducted using the Randomized Complete Block Design with four replications. Results obtained showed that the number of leaves and plant height at 9 months after planting (just before flower induction) were not significantly affected by the treatments. However, the width of D-leaf was significantly smaller for the plants grown under higher density of more than 20,000 plants/ha. At harvest, 13 months after planting (122 days after flower induction) the total plant fresh weight was not significantly affected by the treatments. Estimated fruit yield was significantly higher with higher densities although the fruit sizes were significantly smaller. The highest yield of 29.58 mt/ha was obtained with plant density of 25,822 plants/ha receiving 60gm/plant fertilizer rate, while the lowest was 14.51 mt/ha for treatment with 10,758 plants/ha receiving 40 gm/plant fertilizer rate. The crown length, crown weight, sugar content and acid content of the fruits were not affected by densities or fertilizer rates. However, the fruit length and fruit diameter were significantly smaller for crops grown with higher densities and higher fertilizer rate. The implication of the results was discussed with respect to the potential benefits for the local growers to maximize their incomes.