PINEAPPLE CULTIVATION IN HILLY TRIPURA WITH YEAR AROUND PRODUCTION: IMPROVING LIVELIHOOD OPPORTUNITIES IN RURAL AREAS OF TRIPURA

Pineapple (Ananas comosus L.) is a natural fruit in the state with favorable sub-tropical agro-climatic conditions, fertile slightly acidic soil, and abundant rainfall. The undulating tilla land with varying degrees of slope are highly susceptible to erosion so practices to check soil erosion are vital. ‘Queen’ and ‘Kew’ (‘Smooth Cayenne’) are the main cultivars grown in different parts of Tripura. The area under pineapple cultivation is 5,180 ha and production is 1.06 million t with ‘Queen’ being the most popular for fresh consumption and occupying the largest area. Pineapple does not flower uniformly even after physiological maturity so 80% of pineapple fruit are harvested within only 2-3 months (May-June-July), resulting in a huge market glut in almost all markets of the state. During May to July the state usually receives high rainfall accompanied with high relative humidity and temperature, which results in rapid deterioration in the keeping quality and because of that the farmers get very low prices. In order to overcome this problem, year round production by using different grades of suckers and slips (300, 600 and 900 g), staggered planting from April to October at monthly intervals followed by chemical induction by application of ethephon at 25 ppm at 38-40 leaf stage result in off season flowering and fruiting. Moreover, spreading production into the off season plays a vital role in nutrition and livelihood opportunity for rural and tribal areas of the state for employment and income generation.