Morphological changes in in vitro propagated pineapple varieties (‘MD-2’ and ‘Champaka F-153’) during the growth phase under field conditions

Abstract

In vitro multiplication is a feasible technique for the accelerated propagation of pineapple (Ananas comosus var. comosus), particularly when introducing new varieties at a commercial scale. This study was conducted at the “Pineapple Production” Base Business Unit, part of the Ceballos Agroindustrial Company, to compare the field performance of two micropropagated pineapple varieties, hybrid ‘MD-2’ and ‘Champaka F-153’, under the edaphoclimatic conditions of Ciego de Ávila, Cuba. Plants were established at a density of 68,000 ha⁻¹ in double rows on raised beds covered with plastic mulch. A randomized complete block design with three replications per treatment was used. Every 90 days, 20 homogeneous plants per plot were randomly selected and evaluated for: survival rate, plant fresh mass, plant length, number of roots, number of leaves, and fresh mass, length, and width of the “D” leaf. Results indicated that ‘Champaka F-153’ reached 99 % survival after 90 days, while ‘MD-2’ reached 96 %. During this period, fresh mass increased by 226 g in ‘Champaka F-153’ and 156 g in ‘MD-2’, with significant differences between varieties. However, at 270 days, no significant differences were observed in the number of leaves, the number of roots, or the fresh mass of the “D” leaf. These findings suggest initial differences in adaptation and growth that tend to level off during later vegetative stages.