Pineapple crop management in Brazil in response to market demands.

Brazil has been one of the three largest pineapple producers in the world over the past ten years, reaching a volume of 1.4 billion fruits or about 1.9 million metric tons, in 2002, from 61,000 hectares harvested, according to the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics). Ninety-nine % of this production is consumed inland, mostly on fresh fruit markets located at long distances from the main production areas. Consumer preferences may be influenced by regional habits, but usually the demand is for large (>1.5 kg), sweet and juicy fruits, with a good external appearance, including a partly yellow rind. Lower volume of fruits offered from February to April has determined higher prices on farmer and consumer levels. Those demands and market characteristics have influenced pineapple crop management in Brazil, resulting in adjustments of traditional cultural practices and the introduction of new ones, which will be addressed in this work. Emphasis will be given to aspects of planting systems and their interaction with fruit sizes, strategies to reduce natural flowering and get off-season fruit harvest and to the selection of genotypes and cultural practices related to fruit quality.