Pineapple is a popular tropical fruit. Scientific name of pineapple plant is Ananas comosus. It belongs to the family of Bromeliaceae. Pineapples are a native to southern Brazil and Paraguay. There are hundreds of pineapple cultivars available for both home gardening and commercial growing purposes. Some of the most popular pineapple cultivars are listed below for a quick reference. Smooth Cayenne or Kew Pineapples: Kew pineapples have no spines on leaves except for the needle at the leaf tip. A ripe fruit may weigh 2-5 kg. Fruit is cylindrical shaped with orange rind and yellow flesh. Fruit is low in fiber content and rich in juiciness, mildly acidic with excellent flavour. These fruits are highly suitable for canning purposes. A list of major cultivars of ‘Smooth Cayenne Pineapples’ is given below:

  1. Hilo-Hilo: It is a compact, Hawaiian variant of Kew/Smooth Cayenne pineapples. A ripe fruit weighs about 1.0 to 1.5 kg. The fruit is more cylindrical but smaller than other Kew variants. The plant produces many suckers, but no slips.
  2. Giant Kew: It is a popular pineapple cultivar in India and other tropical Asian countries. Its fruit weighs about 2.75 kg; under good cultural practices the fruit may weigh up to 4.5 kg.
  3. Charlotte Rothschild: It is another popular pineapple cultivar in India. Fruit is highly aromatic and rich in juiciness.
  4. Perolera: It is the best pineapple cultivar that can be grown for fiber-extraction. It is the smoothest cultivar of pineapple with no spines on leaves, not even at the leaf tips. Its fruit is yellow and weighs around 3-4 kg. the fruit is cylindrical-shaped.

Red Spanish Pineapples: Red Spanish cultivars are medium-sized plants with spiny leaves. Red Spanish is the best suitable cultivar for the fresh fruit market. It may be used for canning purposes as well. Fruits are square-shaped, weighing about 1–3 kg and with a yellow, flavourful flesh with pleasant aroma. Fruits are thick-skinned and withstand rough handling and transport well. Therefore these pineapples are suitable for shipping purposes. Most popular variants of Red Spanish Pineapples are Cabezona, Valera, Castilla , Cumanesa, and Morada.

Abacaxi or Eleuthera Pineapples: Abacaxi pineapples have bluish-green spiny leaves and they are disease-resistant. The plant has a vigorous growth and produces numerous suckers; however fruit yield is very low. Abacaxi pineapples produce small delicate fruits which are considered as the most delicious pineapples. The fruit weighs from 1 to 4 kg and are highly aromatic and flavourful. Fruit flesh is white or very pale yellowish in colour and are very sweet, tender, delicious, succulent and juicy with a thin, narrow core.

Sugarloaf Pineapples: Sugarloaf pineapples are closely related to Abacaxi pineapples. One popular variant is “Kona sugarloaf,” fruit of which is tender, cylindrical-shaped, weigh about 2.5 to 3.0 kg. Fruits are very sweet, juicy with high sugar content and no acid content. Fruits have a white flesh with no central core.

Queen Pineapples: Plants are of average size with spiny leaves. Queen pineapples are mainly grown for fresh fruit market. One popular variant is “Natal Queen”. Fruits are small, weigh about 1.0 to 1.5 kg. Fruit flesh is golden yellow with a mild flavour and a crisp texture.

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