Organic Pineapple Working Group

[Organic Pineapple Working Group <opwg AT lists.ibiblio.org>]

Saturday, February 26, 2011, at 6:09 PM, Duane Bartholomew wrote
regarding literature sources for organic pineapple production:

> ... anyone who attended the pineapple symposium in Brazil might
> remember [that] Two papers were presented there that might be helpful.
> I helped to edit the Murray paper but have not read the other one.
> See abstracts below and copies of the original may be obtainable from the
> authors and are available for a fee from ISHS.org.

David Murray is a member of the OPWG (but he hasn't authorized the
release of his email address). In any case, he should be receiving a
copy of any request posted to OPWG, and if he is willing, I'll be
glad to provide access to house a digital copy on the OPWG website,
for downloading.

> Also, once Rob has finished the summary of best practices, if he is 
> willing, I would be willing to include it in Pineapple News. That way it
> could be available to all who have computer access from the ISHS web
> site. If Rob is willing to make the copy public, the document could be
> updated as new knowledge becomes available.

And the same offer holds true for the document Rob Moss's group is
preparing:

RM> [Our] intention is to summarise our findings and summarise general
RM> 'best-practice' for pineapple growing that fit within EU organic
RN> regulations. This is nearly complete, though time constraints make
RM> it hard to specify the exact end point.

I found the project Rob referred to very interesting and believe
others here may coincide, so I'll include the following text from
the West Africa Fair Fruits Company's website:

http://www.waffcompany.com/waffcompany.php?cmsID=4&&ProjectID=00047

  VAKPO - Danyinu Organic Pineapple Outgrowers
  
  Project Summary

  The goal of this project is to increase rural income through
  export market development. WAFF together with SNV assist the VAKPO
  Danyinu Pineapple farmer association in the Kpandu District (Volta
  region, Ghana) develop a supply of Queen Victoria baby pineapples
  for export to Germany. The project also aims to build capacity at
  the district office of MOFA for value chain development for export
  crops by analysing the opportunties and competitiveness of the
  crops before selecting and also understanding the needs of the
  customer and being responsive to them.

Here in Mexico, we have established an agreement with the
Biological, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty of the
second largest University in the country and are forming a
multi-disciplinary team of researchers for the purpose of developing
Biologically Integrated Farming Systems for a number of crops,
beginning with Pineapple.

A number of details have yet to be defined so I can't tell you
exactly when the results will be available, but (as mentioned), the
agreement has been made.

And hopefully, other OPWG members will soon express their interest
in joining the Cooperative Organic Pineapple Research Project that
will allow us to make an Organic Pineapple Production Manual
available to participating OPWG members.

Douglas Hinds

------------

> Akali S., Jha K.K., Amod S. (2009) Cultivation of pineapple for 
> upliftment of rural economy in Nagaland, India. Acta Horticulturae 
> 822:99-106. Nagaland, the 16th state of India and situated in the 
> Northeastern part of the country, is known for its potential to grow a
> wide range of horticultural crops. Pineapples are one of the main crops
> supported by the government for commercialization in this state. 
> Pineapple cultivation has the potential to improve the livelihood of the
> rural people in the state. In Nagaland, pineapples have been grown 
> traditionally, however randomly and with low yields and scattered 
> production. Pineapple fruit grown in the state is of excellent quality
> in terms of size, appearance, TSS and other aspects. The soil and 
> climatic conditions are well suited for its cultivation. In addition to
> this, pineapple has been cultivated organically by default. This has
> provided a great opportunity for a more organized organic pineapple 
> cultivation, focusing on the global market. Progress has been made in
> the cultivation and commercialization of pineapples in the state and
> many rural people have shifted from paddy cultivation, an age-old 
> practice, to pineapple production and thereby improving their livelihood
> to a great extent. This has led to many districts of Nagaland having
> taken up pineapple cultivation on a commercial scale. With the 
> large-scale production of pineapple, the establishment of a processing
> unit has become viable and the state has opened opportunities to become
> a global player in the organic pineapple trade. A case study on success
> stories will be presented in this work, illustrating the potential of
> pineapples to contribute to the economic upliftment of the rural poor
> and improving their livelihood.

> Murray D.N.A., Manicom B. (2009) Development of an organic pineapple
> cultivation strategy for the Eastern Cape Region of South Africa. Acta
> Horticulturae 822:107-116. Globally, fresh and processed pineapple is
> readily available. The exotic status of pineapple is gone and suppliers
> focus on differentiating their product to maintain a competitive edge in
> the market place, such as with Del Monte's MD-2 hybrid. A lucrative 
> niche market has emerged for organic pineapple at national and 
> international levels. There even exists a sustained demand for processed
> organic pineapple. The Pineapple Growers Association, Eastern Cape, RSA,
> requested the development of a certified organic pineapple production
> strategy that could be widely embraced by commercial producers. A 
> producer friendly strategy, limiting the number of operations and 
> utilising off-the-shelf certified inputs would be ideal. An 
> observational trial to explore various approaches was initiated, 
> commencing with a two year conditioning period to maximise soil aeration
> and drainage, manipulate soil mineral levels and balances toward the
> optimum and to stimulate the inherent soil biology levels. The natural
> plant crop harvest occurred in 2005/6 with organic fruit yields ranging
> between 71 and 104 t ha-1 whilst standard inorganic production was 73 t
> ha-1. The plant crop fruit cycle coincided with an extremely wet 2005
> winter, resulting in high levels of plant root mortality. The ratoon
> harvest was in 2007/8 and organic fruit yields were 31-55 t ha-1 while
> standard practice production was 47 t ha-1.