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Pineapple Harvest Begins

21/11/2009

About 13 thousand pineapples per hectare being harvested in Sierra Araripe, to the delight of producers

Santana Cariri. Sierra Araripe scenario is plenty with the start of the harvest of pineapple in the region. The sweet and tasty fruit of the mountain, without the acidity produced in the Paraíba, is coming to markets in the region. The price of the unit, the plantation area ranges from $ 1.00 to $ 1.50, depending on the size of the fruit. It's called pineapple, a purely domestic variety, that produces fruits with excellent characteristics for the fresh.

The pearl variety, according to extensionist Company Technical Assistance and Rural Extension of Ceará (EMATERCE), Sergio Linhares, is an alternative to the conquest of space in the international market, although the fruit have some negative aspects, such as a conical shape presence of thorns in the crown, and above all external stains (more green than yellow) and internal (more white than yellow), making it less attractive.

In the municipality of Santana do Cariri, where he occupied the largest area (180 hectares) will be collected 13 thousand pineapples per hectare. This harvest will yield producers a total income of R $ 2.6 million. Ali, 45 small farmers participate in the project which is accompanied by technical EMATERCE.

Management adopted

Control of pests and diseases, correction of soil with lime, floral induction and fertilization are part of management. These measures implemented by the technical EMATERCE in Santana Cariri, contributing significantly to the revitalization of the culture of pineapple in the municipality. According to the agronomist Novaes Francisco Tavares, the general average of the city is 13 thousand plants per hectare of cultivated pineapple.

"The demand is very high, the market is very good," says the producer Lucíola Costa Silva, noting that its production is being directed to a large market of Crato. The farmer José Ferreira Maciel ensures that after the effective assistance of EMATERCE, its activity is much more profitable. "The agents analyze the rural land, teach us to have more zeal, more attention to planting. And this organic fertilizer makes the plant much more beautiful, well-nourished and healthy for consumption," emphasizes Maciel.

Veteran producer Cicero Soares da Silva, known as "Dad", who also plant cassava, says that the pineapple is changing the economic and social profiles of the mountain, known as a poor area, where coal was extracted, firewood and cassava . "The flow of vehicles at this time of harvest, climb the mountain to buy pineapple is a reflection of change," says the producer.

The evaluation of the producer is confirmed by the agronomist Francisco Novaes, when he says that the pineapple has "the goal of revitalizing the harvest of a fruit that can be adapted to the soil of the mountains and creates jobs and income for serranos survived before the holding of firewood and charcoal, a degrading activity.

Novaes notes that Santana Cariri already the largest producer of pineapple in Ceará, but the emergence of plant disease "wilt" virtually wiped out the areas for planting in the 70's. Moreover, damage embittered, producers had to change the culture. "Today, the reverse situation occurs in the Araripe. Some cultures in the region, for example, cassava, are being exchanged for the pineapple," said Adonijah Sobreira, regional manager of the Office Agropolos.

Disease of pineapple

The agronomist said the wilt of pineapple, caused by Fusarium subglutinans, stands by the frequency with which it occurs and the serious damage caused in the main producing areas. The losses are variable and can reach over 80% if the fruiting occurs during rainy season and mild temperatures.

The symptoms are characterized mainly by exudation (sweating) gum, which can appear on plants and fruits. The best known symptoms occur in fruits during the ripening stage. A gummy exudation occurs through the floral cavity, and the affected decreases in size because of the elimination of fluid from the internal tissues, which exhibit a reddish color. The fruit can be partially or totally affected by the organism and acquire the final stage of the disease, a mummified appearance.

OPTIMISM

"The culture should be monitored daily to prevent disease"
FRANCISCO TAVARES NOVAIS
Agronomist

"The mountain is coming back to the old days, as the largest producer of pineapple"
JOSE FERREIRA MACIEL
Farmer

"Every day you get a car up here in the mountains to buy our pineapples"
Cicero Smith

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