El sistema agroindustrial de la piña en Costa Rica

The agro-industrial pineapple system (Ananas comosus var. comosus) in Costa Rica is a productive, dynamic activity of enormous socio-economic importance. Fresh ‘MD-2’ pineapple has established itself as a fruit of great acceptance and exports have maintained sustained growth towards highly competitive international markets with stable prices. It represents great benefit for the economy, generating direct and indirect jobs to people of all levels. The system includes small and large producers and their performance is driven from a socio-environmental perspective, considered as pillars of quality, sustainability and the labour and communal support, with more than 40,000 ha, densities from 60,000 to 100,000 plants ha(‑1), and average production of 100 t ha(‑1). The state trainings in Good Agricultural Practices and Integrated Pest and Pesticide Management are followed to comply with the National and International Regulations regarding maximum residue limits (MRLs). Compliance with these practices reduces the use of agrochemicals, environmental impacts and costs of production while maintaining or even opening new markets. The generation of technology is a product of the efforts of state universities, private entities and commercial houses, along with the production sector and the National Chamber of Producers and Exporters of pineapple, with research oriented to the best use of natural, human and technological resources; with challenges for the proper management of organic waste, harmful pests to third parties and the biotic and abiotic effects related to natural flowering and fruit damage, as well as erosion and soil acidification problems. The production occupies lands formerly devoted to traditional crops or grazing areas and includes different types of soil in different regimes of precipitation, dry periods and temperature; and involves significant drainage canal engineering with or without irrigation. The conventional tillage of the land requires the use of specialized agricultural equipment; it also implements minimum tillage. Blocks of different numbers of beds, drainage canal networks, and main and internal access routes for machinery are formed. The seed is selected by health and classified by type, size-weight, disinfected and distributed on beds for planting. Herbicides are applied and weeds are extracted mainly in organic pineapple operations or where polyethylene cover is used. Nutrition is based on soil and leaf analysis results, granular fertilization is not generalized and foliar fertilization is done with different sources, mixtures, intervals and frequencies, and begins at the month of planting using sprinklers. Pest control is based on integrated pest management (IPM). Forcing is carried out when plants of eight months reach a fresh mass of 2.5-3.0 kg by application of ethylene or derivatives; after about 21 weeks of development premature fruits are treated with ethephon to improve uniformity of external colour and their simultaneous harvest occurs the following week; the fruit is transferred to fresh fruit packing plants or to industrial processing plants for juice and concentrate. Up to three production cycles can be achieved without major quality loss.