Pineapple in Europe

[zesantos]

I have been researching about Pineapple cultivation and so far things don't fully add up in terms of the geographies where it is currently being done. Let me explain:

For the most part, we know that pineapple grows well only in tropical regions. A few exceptions that I know of are the Azores (although they do it in greenhouses there), South Africa and Australia. It's true that parts of both SA and Australia (for example, Darwin) indeed have tropical climates but let's take a concrete non-tropical example: Wamuran, Queensland, Australia (map here https://goo.gl/BjeOBC).

There is massive production going on there (http://www.pinata.com.au/our-farms/wamuran-queensland) but looking at the climate of Wamuran (http://weather.mla.com.au/climate-history/qld/wamuran) we can see that from May to October its average mean is often well below 15ºC. Just this month the place has reached a low of 5.3ºC.

In Cartagena, Spain there is ongoing research trying to cultivate pineapple outside of greenhouses (http://www.laverdad.es/murcia/20140401/local/region/garcia-carrion-prepara-salto-201404011922.html) but apparently that isn't very easy beacause their plan now is to find a way of developing the fruit to maturity in 8 months only, in order to skip the winter months.

But looking at the climate of Cartagena (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartagena,_Spain#Climate) I get the impression that the average mins are very similar to those of Wamuran.

To finish off such a long post, the question is: Why is it so hard to cultivate pineapples in mainland Europe when there are places where we can climates similar to that of Wamuran ?

[siafu]

I have been researching about Pineapple cultivation and so far things don't fully add up in terms of the geographies where it is currently being done. Let me explain:

For the most part, we know that pineapple grows well only in tropical regions. A few exceptions that I know of are the Azores (although they do it in greenhouses there), South Africa and Australia. It's true that parts of both SA and Australia (for example, Darwin) indeed have tropical climates but let's take a concrete non-tropical example: Wamuran, Queensland, Australia (map here https://goo.gl/BjeOBC).

There is massive production going on there (http://www.pinata.com.au/our-farms/wamuran-queensland) but looking at the climate of Wamuran (http://weather.mla.com.au/climate-history/qld/wamuran) we can see that from May to October its average mean is often well below 15ºC. Just this month the place has reached a low of 5.3ºC.

In Cartagena, Spain there is ongoing research trying to cultivate pineapple outside of greenhouses (http://www.laverdad.es/murcia/20140401/local/region/garcia-carrion-prepara-salto-201404011922.html) but apparently that isn't very easy beacause their plan now is to find a way of developing the fruit to maturity in 8 months only, in order to skip the winter months.

But looking at the climate of Cartagena (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartagena,_Spain#Climate) I get the impression that the average mins are very similar to those of Wamuran.

To finish off such a long post, the question is: Why is it so hard to cultivate pineapples in mainland Europe when there are places where we can climates similar to that of Wamuran ?

Hi Zé,

It's not exactly hard. It's not profitable or competitive with cheap imports from tropical regions.
I'm sure you noticed that imported pineapples are rather cheap, often costing around 70 cents per kilo, including taxes, in Portugal.


 

[zesantos]

Thanks for your reply Sérgio,

when you say that it's not exactly hard, can you point me to some link where I can read about it ?

[Majime]

Sorry, but I do not agree, let me explain.
You say they are searching a way to to bring the fruit to maturity in 8 month, to skip the cooler month.
That looks like fantasy, to grow a pineapple you need heat, lot of fertilizer and a lot of sun, with long sunny days.
A pineapple will stop growing at around 15, 16 ゜Celsius, that means no growth=no fruit.
A pineapple must have enough energy to put a fruit, the size must be around 80 cm. And even at this size, you'll end up with a bunch of small fruits. Only suckers can get that big under a year. But again you have to bring your suckers inside in winter.
A fruit needs 4~6 month to be edible that means you have only 2~4 month to bring the plant to maturity. They have to find a new variety, cause that sound impossible even in the tropics.
I'm growing Bogor and white pineapples. And only half of them made it through this winter.
Now a lot of members are growing pineapples and may not agree, but growing indoor through winter sounds like the only way as I see it.

[Pancrazio]

I think they want to develop the flower in spring, then develop the fruit during summer. The plant, prior to flowering ,must have been grown on the previous summer. Sort of what i do with bananas; you use the first summer to grow the plant, and you use the second summer  to develop and mature the fruit. Timing is the tricky part, because most of those plants don't have any idea that during winter they have to stop. But on pineapple flower induction is very easy so what the growers need is just to bring the plant to a reasonable size after the first year.
Still i wonder if pineapple are doable here on commercial scale. Well, mangoes are so i guess climate may not be an absolute obstacle. I'm gonna assume that costs may be a bigger issue.

[Don]

No expert, far from it but got two I started this year and I am just a tad south west of Brisbane Queensland Australia. Temp so far has got to 2deg c on several mornings the other week and mine at still producing growth. Will see how they go and keep you posted as we have just started our winter here. The inlaws are one k down the road and they have always had pineapples growing in the front garden and they always produce fruit of a decent size and they get down to zero and sometimes below during winter and they only get sun till about lunchtime. So its not impossible.

[Pancrazio]

I'd like to add that often average yearly temperatures should be taken in account because they determine the temperature of the soil which has an huge impact on how and how well the plants will grow. My bananas grow better in short cold days of fall, compared to the long but cold days of spring because during the fall the soil is warmer from the previous summer.