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Pineapple is very abundant in tropical countries. They contain
vitamins and minerals essential to a man’s body to keep him healthy.
Starting your own pineapple farm will require more effort and dedication.
Starting Your Own Pineapple Farm:
Pineapple has many by products. It can produce different kinds of
products that are very much needed by the people. It can be made into
jam, juice, vinegar and other different food types. It can also be made
and processed into a high quality cloth. You will never leave a waste if you use pineapple. Its covering and other waste coming from canning may be used as livestock feeds.
Things You Need To Know about Farming:
The soil and climate is essential in starting your pineapple farm. It
is known to grow in tropical countries. These pineapples need a mild
and relatively same temperature all throughout the year. It even needs
an even rainfall for its growing needs. This kind of fruit is grown well
if there are enough sources of light and water. It should be in the
mild level. Anything that is too much is bad for these pineapples.
That’s why it is perfect to grow in an area like those in the tropical
countries. Pineapples are ideal to grow in elevated soil particularly in
dry soil.
The planting materials you will need will be the slips as well as
suckers. Slips usually bear fruits within an average time frame of 18-20
months. These should be acquired 6 to 8 weeks after it was harvested.
To prepare the soil for planting, one thing you should do is to
determine when the perfect time to plant pineapples. There are different
perfect times to plant pineapples in different tropical countries. To
do slips as well as suckers, you must plant them 8 to 10cm deep in the
soil and put 80 to 100cm distance in between these slips and suckers.
This way requires a space of 25-30 centimeters in a line, 50 centimeters
in a two line and 100 centimeters between two lines rows. This may
produce around 44,000-53,000 plants for each hectare.
Weeds have always been a major problem in big plantations. There is a
way of getting rid of them. Getting rid of them may be by hand pulling
or using a hoe. These weeds are used to preserve moisture. You may use
herbicide. The diuron is the most commonly used herbicide. It is used at
6.4 kilograms active ingredient for each hectare. Immediately spray
after planting. Reuse after two months to prevent the growth of weed.
Never use herbicides, which might be poisonous to the crown of the crop.
When harvesting, get rid of the leaves from the fruit’s bottom. Put
harvesting containers in the last part of the farm rows. Make sure that
the containers do not include any rough or sharp projections inside. In
addition, those intended for the markets that need fresh fruit must not
be loaded in trucks and jeeps without putting them first in the boxes.
When harvesting, Smooth Cayenne’s shell colors are normally utilized in
identifying the different stages of the maturity of the pineapples.
Through this, you will know that you are ready for a good harvest.
The primary goal of any right thinking government is economic
development through inward looking, self sufficiency, self reliance,
rural development, and increase in foreign reserves through non-oil
exports to mention but just few.
In order to achieve these beautiful goals, we need to divert our efforts
toward some areas that have long been neglected. It is, therefore, a
matter of urgency to raise the awareness of people in this direction.
This is the need for this write-up.
Justification:
The capital required for the
establishment of pineapple plantation is very low when compared with
some other investment openings. Land requirement is also minimal.
Pursuance of pineappl e project as a means of livelihood is a needed
requirement our economic development.Such a project will create employment opportunities, help in rural development, and launch the country on the path of self sufficiency, increase food production and help in improving our health care delivery services. This is because people can now take the right quality of food (pineapple contains a lot of vitamins and minerals required for the proper functioning of human body systems).
The demand for pineapple is very vast and wide. With the establishment of fruit juice processing factories all over the country in recent years, owners of pineapple plantations have been enjoying very good patronage.
It must be noted that there exists a lot of export potential for pineapple. Reports have confirmed that customers in industrialised countries are demanding high quality exotic out of season pineapple all the year round. Wealthy shoppers in overseas countries are prepared to pay top prices for tropical pineapples.
It has been reported that Kenya sells 36,500 tons of fresh fruits (pineapple inclusive) overseas worth $92 million. This is a great advantage Nigerian investors should grab. We have imported apples in our markets in Nigeria; there is no reason why our pineapple should not be in foreign market.
Social and economic benefits outlined above notwithstanding, establishment of pineapple plantation are yet another investment opportunity that Nigerian investors should give a very serious consideration. Production technology
To establish pineapple plantation, ownership of land is required. Land can equally be leased by prospective investors. The land to be used should have the required fertility to support its growth. Right variety of pineapple suckers should also be used. After the above requirements have been met, appropriate beds are to be made after which planting is done using correct spacing and plant population.
Other cultural practices include mulching, application of appropriate fertilizer and weeding.
Pineapples mature for harvesting as from the 12th month of planting. Investors can be assisted as far as the management services are concerned on request. Half-ripe fruits are harvested if the desired market is export market. Planting is always done in the raining season.
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