How pineapples grow

The main producing areas of pineapples in South Africa are Northern KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape and, on a smaller scale, the Northern Province. It is one of the most important subtropical crops cultivated in the country.


As it is indigenous to the tropics, the crop requires areas where the climate is warm, humid and free from extreme temperatures (25 °C being optimal). These areas have a great potential for pineapple production.
There are 5 major pineapple groups grown throughout the world. Two of these, Cayenne and Queen, are widely cultivated in South Africa.


Planting is done by hand, with or without the aid of a planting machine. Use of the latter results in uniform, neat plantations.
Harvesting should be done 7 to 14 days after yellowing. It is labour intensive because workers walk in the space between ridges to pick the fruit by hand, loading it into baskets, or onto a boom harvester.


After harvesting the crowns are broken off (not twisted) and left on top of the plants in the field or are placed in bags to be collected at a later date for planting.
Pineapples are extremely easy to grow if you live in a warm climate. Break off the top and ensure the bottom is immersed in the water of a glass bottle. Soon shoots like this will start to sprout. When they fill the jar, take it out and plant it in the garden. The trick is not to let them dry out while still in the bottle.

This is a red pineapple Ananas bracteatus and actually belongs to the Bromeliaceae (Bromelaid) family.

It gets these beautiful red pineapples on it but they are not edible.