History of Pineapple

History of Pineapple
Pineapples are normally seedless, and they must be propagated vegetatively. The clones are somewhat unstable, and tend to produce mutants with some frequency. As a consequence, many clones are known.

However, one clone, consisting of a number of closely similar mutants, dominates pineapple cultivation, worldwide.

This is “Cayenne” which was first take to Europe (for greenhouse cultivation) in 1820, but is believed to have originated in Venezuela many centuries earlier.

The history of the introduction of the pineapple into Hawaii is not known but it is generally believed that it was brought in by some Spaniard who had previously touched the cost of South America.

Although Don Marin records in his diary in 1813 that pineapples were growing in his garden at that tine they were probably first planted in the island of Hawaii, where they now grow wild.

A pineapple similar to the Wild Kailua pineapple also grows in Guam, Formosa and the Philippine Islands.

In the fresh state some of this half wild fruit was shipped to San Francisco before 1880, but was not received in satisfactory condition because the fruit spoiled easily and was of poor quality.

The pineapple industry was a minor importance in Hawaii until 1886, the date of the introduction of the smooth Cayenne variety. The first pineapple was canned commercially in 1892, and from that time on the industry developed until today it one of the largest industry in the island.

Modern cultivators complain that this clone is susceptible to several parasites, particularly the mealy bug wilt, which results from the destruction of the roots by the insect Dysmicoccus brevipes.

It is now thought that much of this susceptibility may result from an environment erosion of horizontal resistance, or from a loss of biological controls.

“Cayenne” dominates world production because of its excellent yield and quality, and its slightly susceptible to parasites does not prevent this domination.

Most other cultivars have considerable higher levels of resistance to the few known parasites do to pineapple.
History of Pineapple