Pineapple Production and Research in China

G.M. Suna
South Subtropical Crops Research Institute
Chinese Academy of Tropical Agriculture Science
Huxiu Xincun, Zhanjiang, Guangdong 524091
China

Keywords: pineapple industry, nutrient uptake, sugar accumulation, leaf fibre, China

Abstract
Pineapple, next to banana and mango, is the third most important tropical
fruit in the mainland of China. The cultivation areas range from 52,000 to 65,000 ha
with a total production 780,000 to 920,000 ton within this decade. Guangdong,
Hainan, Guangxi and Yunnan provinces are the main pineapple cultivation areas.
Guangdong province produces 50-60% of the pineapple grown in China. Nearly
80% of the pineapple produced in China goes to the domestic market as fresh fruit.
‘Comte de Paris’, which occupies more than 80% of the planted area, is the most
important pineapple cultivar in mainland China. But ‘Yuecui’, ‘Tainung No.16’ and
‘Tainung No.17’ are promising cultivars and the area devoted to these cultivars
continues to increase. Although the pineapple industry takes an important role in
the tropical agriculture economy in China, there were few researches carried out on
pineapple before 2005. Crop management is mostly based on farmer’s experience.
To promote the development of the pineapple industry and increase its competitive
ability, The Ministry of Agriculture of China started a research program on
pineapple in 2006. It includes genetic improvement, studies into high yield and good
quality fruit production techniques, integrated management of pests and diseases,
postharvest handling, utilization of by-products and marketing strategy. Some
progress has been made from this program, including a better understanding of the
role of nutrient requirements and uptake by ‘Comte de Paris’ and ‘Smooth
Cayenne’ and of sugar metabolism and accumulation during fruit development.
Also, it has been found that pineapple leaf fibres have the ability to kill and/or
inhibit bacteria and eliminate unpleasant smells. Techniques have also been
developed in leaf fibre extraction and processing.

PINEAPPLE PRODUCTION IN CHINA

Change in Planting Area and Total Production
Pineapple, after banana and mango, is the third most important tropical fruit in
China (mainland China). The industry developed rapidly during the period from the late
1970s to the end of the 1980s. In this period, about 50 small-scale canning factories were
set up, and the planting area kept increasing and peaked in 1988. Since then, Chinese
pineapple industry suffered serious black heart damage and the canned production
became unsalable. This caused nearly 40 factories to stop operation and close. Also, the
pineapple planting area, especially in the low-yield region such as Guangxi and Yunnan
province, decreased dramatically. In the second half of the 1990s, China went through a
period of industrial structure adjustment in agricultural, and pineapple cultivation area
increased in favorable areas and decreased in unfavorable areas. This led to a quick
increase in total production. The area planted to pineapples increased from 52,000 to
65,000 ha with a total production of 780,000 to 920,000 tons within this decade (Fig. 1).

Main Production Regions

Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi and Yunnan province, located in south or southwest
a
gm-sun@163.com

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Proc. 7th International Pineapple Symposium
Eds.: H. Abdullah et al.
Acta Hort. 902, ISHS 2011
China, are the leading pineapple cultivation areas. Especially Guangdong province, it
shares 50-60% of the country’s production (Fig. 2). The yield in Guangdong is the highest
in China. During the year 2005 to 2007, the average yield of pineapple in China was less
than 30 t/ha, but it was 30.5, 39.3 and 38.6 t/ha, respectively, in Guangdong province. In
tropical areas like Hainan island, Leizhou peninsula (southwest of Guangdong province)
and Xishuangbanna (south of Yunnan province), pineapple can be harvested all year
round but the fruit tastes more sour and has less aroma in the winter season. In subtropical
areas like Guangxi and Fujian, pineapple fruit should be harvested before late December,
otherwise, cold protecting cultivation is needed.

Production System and Markets

In China, more than 90% of pineapples were produced by the smallholders, the
planting scale is about 1 ha or less for a family. Most of the pineapples were planted and
sold independently while only a few were produced in order form. Fruit prices fluctuated
from year to year and from season to season. Factories are always short of raw material
under such a production system. Since the beginning of the 21st century, some growers
have organized themselves into associations for more opportunity to get technical training
and better marketing. Nearly 80% of the pineapple produced in China goes to the
domestic market as fresh fruit while only about 20% goes for processing. The main
process products are canned fruit and juice. Most of the juice and half of the canned fruit
produced in China went to international markets.
To satisfy consumers’ demands for high quality food, without pesticide residues
and to accelerate the sustainable development of the pineapple industry, the Ministry of
Agriculture of China is taking an action to demonstrate and extend the technology of
standardized production which aims to reduce pesticides by 30%, production costs by
10% while improving fruit quality, production efficiency while being environmentally
friendly.

Cultivars
‘Comte de Paris’, a ‘Queen’ type pineapple with yellow flesh and excellent
flavour, is widespread throughout the country and occupies more than 80% of the area
planted to pineapple. It is the most important pineapple cultivar in China. But ‘Yuecui’,
‘Tainung No.16’ and ‘Tainung No.17’ have shown they are promising cultivars and the
area planted to these cultivars continues to increase. ‘Smooth Cayenne’ clones introduced
from Australia and the United States are being test planted for the purpose of supplying
raw material to the canning factory.

PINEAPPLE RESEARCH IN CHINA

Little pineapple research was carried out in China before the year 2005. To
promote the development of the pineapple industry, the Ministry of Agriculture of China
began a research program on pineapple in 2006. It focuses on genetic improvement,
studies into high yield and high quality fruit production techniques, integrated
management of pests and diseases, postharvest handling, minimal processing, utilization
of by-products and marketing strategies. This research program was mainly carried out by
the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Science and other institutes. Some
progress has been made by these research thrusts.

Plant Nutrition and Fertilization

Our research on the role of nutrients needed and taken up by different cultivars
showed that different cultivars have their own trends in nutrient accumulation. For the
cultivar ‘Comte de Paris’, the amount of N and K uptake per day reached a peak at the
period before forcing (Fig. 3). However, there are two peaks for the cultivar ‘Smooth
Cayenne’, one appearing at the period before forcing, another at the stage of fruit rapid
development (Fig. 4). For ‘Comte de Paris’, more than 80% of the total N, P, and K taken
up by the plant was accumulated before the little fruit period. For ‘Smooth Cayenne’,

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however, only 60-70% accumulated before this period (Chen et al., 2010).
‘Smooth Cayenne’ took up about one-third more N, P and K than ‘Comte de Paris’
(Table 1). This indicates that the former needs more fertilizers. Farmers never apply
fertilizers to pineapple after forcing. Our experiment on ‘Smooth Cayenne’ shows that a
high dose of N and K fertilizers applied at the stage of rapid fruit development can
increase yield and a high dosage of K fertilizers improved fruit quality also (Table 2).
Fertilizers not only provide nutrient substance for the pineapple growth, but also
influence the content of chlorophyll and endogenous hormones, the activities of
peroxidase and superoxide dismutase, the rate of photosynthesis as well as the synthesis
and accumulation of carbohydrates in the plant (Qi et al., 2009).

Physiology of Fruit Quality

The results of our experiments show that the dominant sugars in pineapple fruit
were sucrose, glucose and fructose. In mature ‘Comte de Paris’ fruit, the
sucrose:glucose:fructose ratio was 3.71:1.11:1, while this ratio was 3.13:0.75:1 in mature
‘Tainung 11’ and 2.67:0.74:1 in mature ‘Smooth Cayenne’ fruit. This showed the sugar
component varied with different cultivars. The sucrose content in all cultivars had a
significant or highly significant correlation with the activities of sucrose synthase (SS)
and sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS). The activity of neutral invertase (NI) had a highly
significant negative correlation with the sucrose content and the correlation between the
sucrose content and acid invertase (AI) activity was significantly different between the
cultivars. At the early stage of fruit development, sucrose accumulation was low
accompanied with high NI and AI activity and low SS and SPS activity. It was possibly
caused by the young fruit metabolism and higher material and energy consumed by cell
division. With fruit development, the activity of invertase decreased while that of SS and
SPS increased. These changes would favor sucrose accumulation. The content of different
sugars was low at the earlier development stage, but increased rapidly as fruit growth
slowed. Sucrose began to dramatically accumulate in fruits and the timing varied with the
cultivar. Sucrose became a main sugar of fruits of ‘Comte de Paris’ at 30 d after anthesis,
of ‘Tainung 11’ at 50 d after anthesis and of ‘Smooth Cayenne’ at 80 d after anthesis.
This suggests that the periods of rapid sucrose increase after anthesis could be important
times for improving fruit quality by increasing sucrose accumulation (Zhang et al., 2006,
2008).
The main organic acids in pineapple fruit were citric, malic, tartaric, acetic, oxalic
and maleate. The content and ratio of organic acids were different in different pineapple
cultivars with the fruit development. Concentration of citric acid gradually increased
during fruit development and peaked 20 days before harvest and then declined slightly,
while the other acids declined gradually. In ripe fruit, the order of organic acid content
from high to low in ‘Comte de Paris’ was citric (65.7%), malic (24.9%), acetic, oxalic and
maleate while in ‘Smooth Cayenne’ it was citric (62.2%), malic (14.4%), acetic, oxalic
and maleate. There was a significant positive correlation between the content of citric
acid and the activities of CS and PEPC at the first and second stages of fruit development
(10 to 70 d after anthesis). The activities of PEPC and CS showed no significant
correlation to the changes in citric acid after the green maturing stage, indicating that acid
accumulation might also involve actions of other factors. There was abundant vitamin C
in pineapple fruit and the content of vitamin C in different cultivars was quite different. It
was the lowest in ‘Tainung 11’ (0.11 mg/g) and highest in ‘Comte de Paris’ (0.49 mg/g)
(Zhang et al., 2007, 2008).
The aroma components in ‘Yuecui’ pineapple fruits that ripened in summer and
autumn were analyzed and compared. There were 21 kinds of aroma components
belonging to 5 categories including ester, alkene, acid, acetate and ketone in the fruits that
ripened in summer. There were only 8 kinds of aroma components belonging to 2
categories in the fruits that ripened in autumn (Liu et al., 2009). This result shows that
aroma components in pineapple fruit are highly affected by environmental conditions.
Foliar spraying of amino acid, humic acid and potassium sulfate enrich aroma

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compounds, and the aroma contents in the amino acid treatment were the highest (Wei et
al., 2009).
Color and pigment contents in fruit flesh were analyzed for pineapple cultivars
‘Comte de Paris’ and ‘Smooth Cayenne’ at different maturity stages. The results showed
that flesh color changed to orange as the fruit matured. The chlorophyll content in flesh of
the two pineapple cultivars gradually increased before processing maturity stage and
came to its peak at processing maturity stage and decreased quickly thereafter. The
contents of carotenoid, anthocyanin and flavonoid were increased gradually from
processing maturity stage to full-ripe stage. Moreover, β-carotene, zeaxanthin and β-apo-
δ’-carrotenal increased in flesh of the two pineapple cultivars, especially â-carotene
content was accumulated sharply from green fruit stage to full-ripe stage, being
accompanied by a gradual decrease in amount of lutein. The β-carotene content was
significantly higher than the other three carotenoid components in flesh of the two
pineapple cultivars, and the β-carotene content at full-ripe stage in ‘Comte de Paris’ was
about twice that in ‘Smooth Cayenne’. There were significant differences in carotenoid
and flavonoid between the two pineapple cultivars, but no significant difference in
anthocyanins (Table 3). All these results indicated that β-carotene was one of the major
carotenoid components affecting carotenoid accumulation and color levels in flesh of the
two pineapple cultivars (Yang et al., 2009, 2010).

Utilization of Leaf Fibre

Pineapple leaf fibre, with its hollow fibre structure and longitudinal cracks on the
surface, has excellent properties of air permeability, high moisture absorbency and good
evaporation. Since the leaf fibers have longitudinal cracks and holes with large specific
area and hence easily absorbed oxygen, which broke the survival environment for
anaerobic bacteria, contained a lot of phenols in lignin which could inhibit the
metabolism and physiological activities of microorganisms, it has the abilities of killing
Aerococcus and Escherichia coli, and expelling acarids (Huang et al., 2009; Wang et al.,
2009). Test result showed that pineapple leaf fibre can reduce 89.7% ammonia, 94.5%
aldehyde and 97.5% acetic acid. So, it has the function of eliminating unpleasant smells.
Now, techniques have been developed on leaf fibre abstraction, degumming and
processing. Textile technology for making hose, T-shirt and matting have also been
developed.

CONCLUSIONS
Pineapple is one of the most important tropical fruits in China. Due to lack of
cultivation techniques and low organization, the yield is low and the industrial
competitive ability is weak compared to other main producing countries in the world. It is
certain that with the efforts on technique research, growers being well organized and
extending on standardization production, the Chinese pineapple industry will be better
and better.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Funded by Industry (agriculture) Commonweal Research Project of China.

Literature Cited
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Structure and thermal property of pineapple leaf fiber. Shanghai Textile Science &
Technology 37:9-12.
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Comparison of aroma components in pineapple fruits ripened in summer and autumn.
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 concentrations of boron on the seedling growth and enzyme activity of pineapple.
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Tables
Table 1. Total amount of NPK uptake (kg/ha).

Cultivar N P K
Comte de Paris 212.4 19.7 438.7
Smooth Cayenne 299.1 32.2 606.9

Table 2. Effects of N and K fertilizers on fruit sugar and vitamin C (Vc) content.

Fertilizers dosage Fruit weight Sugars Vc content

(kg/ha) (g) (%) (mg/100 g)
Control 874.1b1 13.38 a 17.42 a
22.5 860.2b 14.42 a 21.26 a
Urea 67.5 881.2b 13.03 a 18.06 a
112.5 1111.3a 13.81 a 18.05a
Control 907.1b 13.21 ab 17.35 b
90 925.2b 12.08 b 19.10 ab
Potassium
180 997.2ab 15.11 a 22.91 a
sulfate
270 1168.8a 13.40 ab 19.43 ab
1
Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different.

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Table 3. Pigments content in fruit flesh of two cultivars.

Cultivar Carotenoid Anthocyanin Flavonoid

Comte de Paris 0.6892A1 1.3750A 0.7686A
Smooth Cayenne 0.2566B 1.1667A 0.5366B
1
Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different.

Figures

100000 Area 1000

90000 Yield 900
80000 800

Total yield/thousand tons

70000 700
Total area/ha

60000 600
50000 500
40000 400
30000 300
20000 200
10000 100
0 0
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007

Fig. 1. Pineapple planting area and total production (yield) in China.

41.7, 27.1,
5% 3% 233.1,
70.6, 26%
8%

Hainan
Guangdong
Guangxi
535.5,
Fujian
58%
Yunnan

Fig. 2. Main pineapple production areas in China and production (t) and percentage of
total production.

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 50
NPk increasing amount (mg/d)

40

30

20

10

0
0 20 111 201 277 352 393 433 453 483 493
-10
The days after planting(d) N P K

Fig. 3. Trends of nutrient accumulation in ‘Comte de Paris’ plants.

amount per day(mg/d)

40

30
20
forcing period
10

0
0 20 111 201 277 352 397 488 564 655 685
-10 12.24
The days after planting N P K

Fig. 4. Trends of nutrient accumulation in ‘Smooth Cayenne’ plants.

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