PLANTING DENSITIES AND PLASTIC MULCHING FOR "SMOOTH CAYENNE" PINEAPPLE GROWN IN AN AW₂ CLIMATE FLUVISOL SOIL IN VERACRUZ, MEXICO

The agro-ecological conditions prevailing in Southern Veracruz endows this area with an excellent potential for pineapple production. To exploit such potential new production technologies are needed to convince pineapple growers about the sustainability of their production systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of planting densities with and without plastic mulching on pineapple fruit weight and quality. The experiment was carried out at FISPA-UV, from June 2000 to June 2001 in an Aw climate and a luvisol soil. Treatments were 30, 50 and 70 thousand plants ha-¹ with and without plastic mulching for each density. The experimental design was randomized complete blocks in split-plots. Variables evaluated were: percentage of natural flowering, fruit weight, length, equatorial diameter, heart diameter, ºBrix, acidity and external and internal colour, crown length and weight. Plastic mulching resulted in significantly better results than no plastic mulching for: fruit weight (1.9 vs. 1.8kg), fruit plus crown weight (2.2 vs. 21kg), Brix degrees (11.1 vs. 10.8), lower acidity (0.345 vs 0.329) and fruit equatorial diameter (12.7 vs. 12.5cm). In regard to planting densities, the best density was 30 thousand plants ha-¹ because it showed: higher fruit weight (2.17kg), more fruit and crown weight (2.419kg), and good Brix degrees content (11.12). For variables determining fruit shape (fruit diameter and length), all three planting densities produced fruits that meet domestic market requirements. It is concluded that plastic mulching with a planting density of 30 thousand plants ha-¹ gave the best results for fruit weight and some of the fruit quality components.