Abstract
The year-round production of pineapple (Ananas comosus var. comosus) is often interrupted by natural flowering during winter in Taiwan. A stable and promising technique for preventing natural flowering is required. In this study, we have tested the effect of shading and urea application on the flowering of pineapple. Shading 90% of sun light(s) before mid-November delayed the natural flowering of pineapple and the delay was affected by the plant age. For pineapples planted less than 11 month before mid-November, applying 1% urea plus shading treatment (SN) completely inhibited natural flowering. All the flowering-inhibited plants could be forced to flower by applying calcium carbide. Long-term shading might result in a decreased number of fruitlets within a fruit. However, 6 weeks of recovery before forcing flowering was sufficient for plants to produce fruits with quality equal to that of the control plants. In winter, pineapple plants that were prone to flowering tended to accumulate more leaf starch and increase their C/N ratio. The SN treatment increased the leaf nitrogen concentration and thus effectively maintained a low leaf C/N ratio. Furthermore, flowering-inhibited plants exhibited a constantly low level of leaf starch during the winter and their flowering forced by calcium carbide did not accompany with leaf starch accumulation.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Bartholomew, D.P. and S.B. Kadzimin. 1977. Pineapple, p. 113–156. In: P.T. Alvim and T.T. Kozlowski (eds.). Ecophysiology of tropical crops. Academic Press, New York.
Bartholomew, D.P., E. Malézieux, G.M., Sanewski, and E. Sinclair. 2003. Inflorescence, and fruit development and yield, p. 167–202. In: D.P. Bartholomew, R.E. Paul, and K.G. Rohrbach (eds.). The pineapple: Botany, production and use. CABI Publ., Wallingford, U.K.
Dubois, M., K.A. Gilles, J.K. Hamilton, P.A. Rebers, and F. Smith. 1956. Colorimetric method for determination of sugar and related substance. Anal. Chem. 28:350–356.
Goldschmidt, E.E., N. Aschkenazi, Y. Herzano, A.A. Schaffer, and S.P. Monselise. 1985. A role for carbohydrate levels in the control of flowering in Citrus. Sci. Hort. 26:159–166.
Hepton, A. 2003. Cultural system, p. 109–142. In: D.P. Bartholomew, R.E. Paul, K.G. Rohrbach (eds.). The pineapple: Botany, production and use. CABI Publ., Wallingford, U.K.
Kaiser, W.M., H. Weiner, and S.C. Huber. 1999. Nitrate reductase in higher plants: A case study for transduction of environmental stimuli into control of catalytic activity. Physiol. Plant. 105:385–390.
Kuan, C.S., C.W. Yu, M.L. Lin, H.T. Hsu, D.P. Bartholomew, and C.H. Lin. 2005. Foliar application of aviglycine reduces natural flowering in pineapple. HortScience 40:123–126.
Kubota, S. and K. Yoneda. 1993a. Effect of light on development and nutritional status of Phalaenopsis. J. Japan. Soc. Hort. Sci. 62:173–179.
Kubota, S. and K. Yoneda. 1993b. Effect of light intensity preceding day/night temperature on the sensitivity of Phalaenopsis to flower. J. Japan. Soc. Hort. Sci. 62:595–600.
Ma, T.S. and G. Zuazaga. 1942. Micro-Kjeldahl determination of nitrogen. Ind. and Eng. Chem. 14:280–282.
Malézieux, E., F. Côte, and D.P. Bartholomew. 2003. Crop environment, plant growth and physiology, p. 69–107. In: D.P. Bartholomew, R.E. Paul, and K.G. Rohrbach (eds.). The pineapple: Botany, production and use. CABI Publ., Wallingford, U.K.
Menzel, C.M. and D.R. Simpson. 1987. Effect of cincturing on growth and flowering of lychee over several seasons in subtropical Queensland. Austral. J. Expt. Agr. 27:733–738.
Min, X. and D.P. Bartholomew. 1993. Effect of growth regulators on ethylene production and floral initiation of pineapple. Acta Hort. 334:101–112.
Rabie, E.C., H.A. Tustin, and K.T. Wesson. 2000. Inhibition of natural flowering occurring during the winter months in Queen pineapple in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. Acta Hort. 529:185–190.
Rebolledo, M.A., D.E.A. Uriza, and M.L. Rebolledo. 2000. Rate of Fruitone CPA in different applications number during day versus night to flowering inhibition in pineapple. Acta Hort. 529:185–190.
Sale, P.J.M. and T.F. Neales. 1980. Carbon dioxide assimilation by pineapple plants Ananas comosus (L.) Merr. I. Effect of daily irradiance. Austral. J. Plant Physiol. 7:363–373.
Scott, C.H. 1993. The effect of two plant growth regulators on the inhibition of precocious fruiting in pineapple. Acta Hort. 334:77–82.
Sideris, C.P., H.Y. Young, and H.H.Q. Chun. 1948. Diurnal changes and growth rates as associated with ascorbic acid, titratable acidity, carbohydrate, and nitrogen fractions in the leaves of Ananas comosus (L.) Merr. Plant Physiol. 23:38–69.
Trusov, Y. and J.R. Botella. 2006. Silencing of the ACC synthase gene ACACS2 causes delayed flowering in pineapple [Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.]. J. Expt. Bot. 57:3953–396.
Van de Poel, B., J. Ceusters, and M.P. De Proft. 2009. Determination of pineapple (Ananas comosus, MD-2 hybrid cultivar) plant maturity, the efficiency of flowering induction agents and the use of activated carbon. Sci. Hort. 120:58–63.
Wang, Y.T. 1995. Phalaenopsis light requirement during the induction of spiking. HortScience 30:59–61.
Wang, Y.T. 1998. Deferring flowering of greenhouse-grown Phalaenopsis orchids by alternating dark and light. J. Amer. Hort. Sci. 123:56–60.
Wang, R.H., Y.M. Hsu, D.P. Bartholomew, S. Maruthasalam, and C.H. Lin. 2007. Delaying natural flowering in pineapple through foliar application of aviglycine, an inhibitor of ethylene biosynthesis. HortScience 42:1188–1191.
Wilkie J.D., M. Sedgley, and T. Olesen. 2008. Regulation of floral initiation in horticultural trees. J. Expt. Bot. 59:3215–3228.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lin, MT., Chen, A.M., Lin, TS. et al. Prevention of natural flowering in pineapple (Ananas comosus) by shading and urea application. Hortic. Environ. Biotechnol. 56, 9–16 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13580-015-0095-0
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13580-015-0095-0