Influence of foliar application of nutrients and growth regulators on yield and quality in pineapple (Ananas comosus L.)

The efficacy of plant nutrients and growth regulators were investigated in the field of summer pineapple (Ananas comosus) cv. Kew to improve the post harvest quality and shelf life of fruit in a subtropical, subhumid and acidic soil of Nagaland during 2018-19 at SASRD, Nagaland University. Calcium chloride (0.5% and 1.0%), borax (0.5% and 1.0%), 100 ppm GA3 and 200 ppm NAA were taken to carry out an experiment following randomized block design with nine treatments and three replications. Plant nutrients and growth regulators were sprayed separately two times in plant population at 15 days interval right after fruit set and the integrated approach showed a significant response in fruit growth, yield and quality. The plants treated with 1.0% CaCl2 + 200 ppm NAA showed a quite better results in physiological matrix of fruit volume (825.5 cc), fruit weight (1.5kg), juice content (67.7 ml 100g -1 pulp), yield (60.8 t ha-1) and fruit firmness (23.0 lb) while the highest pulp recovery percentage (73.0%) was noticed in 1.0% borax + 200 ppm NAA. The maximum TSS (17.6 0Brix), total sugar (13.0%), TSS:acid ratio (51.9), less acidity (0.34%) and maximum shelf life (12.7 days) was observed in pineapple treated with 0.5% CaCl2 + 100 ppm GA3.