The Fyffes Gold pineapple story – Cultivation and distribution today
Pineapple growing is complex and difficult. Pineapples are grown by vegetative propagation which means they are grown by replanting a part of themselves. There are four common parts to a pineapple:
1. The slips; located on the stem below the fruit
2. The suckers; located at the start of the leaves
3. The crowns; located on top of the pineapple
4. The ratoons; located on the roots
Pineapples take about 18 months to grow from “seed” to a plant with a mature fruit. Compared to many other tropical fruits this is considerably longer (e.g. bananas in 3 to 4 months less)
The pineapple is a tropical plant needing lots of sunshine. The ideal temperature needed for growth is a range of 65 – 95 °F, anything colder can delay maturity, retard growth and make the fruit more acidic.
The exact times of flowering can be critical if market demand is to be met, and pineapple plants flower in response to climatic conditions. This is in order to have areas that can all be harvested together large areas of the farms have flowing induced so that the crop is synchronised.
Planting
The crowns of pineapples are planted and after 1 year will begin the flowering process. The flower bud is small and pink and first and looks likes a pine cone. As the flower bud grows it becomes the pineapple fruit. The whole process takes c. 18 months.
Harvesting
It is difficult to judge when the pineapple is ready to be harvested. The grower must depend a great deal on experience. Size and colour change alone are not fully reliable indicators. Fyffes Gold pineapples are harvested when they are ripe. Every Fyffes Gold pineapple that is harvested is ready to eat. To ensure the pineapple is picked at the correct time the sugar content and sugar acid ratio (flavour) is tested in the field.
The Fyffes Gold pineapple was introduced into the market in 2003. It is a supersweet variety and is instantly recognizable by its delicious sweet taste and beautiful golden flesh.
Supersweet pineapples are widely grown in the Central and South Americas. Fyffes Gold pineapples are produced in the best pineapple producing regions countries such as Costa Rica Ecuador, Panama and Guatemala. They are cultivated using the latest methods and the fruit is handled very carefully to maintain its freshness and taste along the distribution chain. Fruit is picked in the field by hand – it’s a very prickly crop and the skilled harvesters wear protective clothing – and each fruit travels by conveyers stretching out across the rows to a trailer. Trailers --- this cargo into washing baths from where the frit is selected by size and also criteria.
In many areas rainfall is not sufficient or frequent enough and measures have to be taken to ensure that the pineapples receive the correct amount of water to achieve the highest quality. This is done by using overhead sprinklers on risers and the farms follow a rotation pattern so that all areas receive a prescribed amount of water.
The Fyffes gold Pineapple has taken many years of careful development. At harvest it contains the correct balance of sugar level to acidity to ensure good shelf life coupled with exceptional taste.
