Suckering and Survival Capacity of Pineapple (Annas comosus L. Merr) Propagules in Selected Potting Substrates

Abstract

A potted experiment was conducted in the greenhouse unit of the Department of Crop Science, University of Calabar, Nigeria to determine the suckering capacity of different sizes of pineapple (Ananas comosus L. Merrill) crown suckers using different potting substrates. Three sizes of the crown suckers (Whole, ½, ¼ and 1/8) and three potting substrates (Sawdust, Topsoil and a 50:50 mixture of Sawdust and Topsoil) were laid out in a 3 X 4 factorial experiment laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replicates at five plants per replication. Growth parameters evaluated were survival percentage, number of plantlets per plant, number of leaves per plant, leaf area (cm²), number of roots per plant and root length (cm). Result obtained indicated that whole and half suckers all survived in all the media  while the mortality rates were 22.7 % for the 1/8 suckers in the sawdust substrate, whereas 11.1 and 44.5 % mortality rates were recorded for the quarter and 1/8 suckers respectively in the topsoil medium. All split crowns showed enhanced suckering capacity and produced significantly (p = 0.05) more suckers than the control. Whole crowns generated only one new sucker per crown but splitting the crown into two, four or eight portions generated 6, 12 and 17 new suckers per crown respectively. Significant propagule size X potting substrate interaction on root proliferation and elongation in the sawdust medium indicates favourable growth conditions provided by the potting substrate.

Keywords: Pineapple, potting substrate, propagule size, sucker survival, suckering capacity,