Seven pineapple varieties were tested in field trials in Cordeirópolis, State of São Paulo, from May 1991 to February 1994, in four experiments, each one using different planting materials: sucker or shoot, slip, crown and stem section plants (developed from bud stem in sand box). The varieties were: Rondon (RD), Roxo de Tefé (RT), Turi Verde (TV), Natal Queen (NQ), Guiana (GN), Pérola (PR) and Smooth Cayenne (SC).The followings characteristics were evaluated: the periods for natural inflorescence emission, the time between the emission until the flowering completed, and from then until the ripped-fruit; also, the fruit diameters (the base, the top and the largest diameter), the mass production (fruit and crown), and in the pulp, the soluble solid content (Brix), texture, acidity, ascorbic acid content and pH. The main results were: (1) RD and PR had the earliest uniform natural inflorescence emission, and SC and TV had the latest ones; (2) NQ had the shortest and SC and GN the longest period from the emission to the harvest; (3) SC and GN yielded fruits with mean weight (g) 52% and 24% higher than the mean weight of RD, PR and TV together. NQ had the lowest mean weight; (4) GN had the highest number of slips and suckers, and SC had the lowest number of slips; (5) The plants from bud-stem had lower number of slips and suckers than from the other three planting materials; (6) The pulp soluble solid content (Brix) of SC and NQ and the acidity of TV had higher values, and NQ had the highest value for the Brix and acidity ratio; (7) PR had the highest ascorbic acid content and RD had higher content than SC. It was concluded that some of the varieties cultivated in Brazil may replace the Smooth Cayenne and Pérola, what is desirable, because SC and PR are highly susceptible to Fusarium subglutinans.
pineapple; Ananas comosus (L.) Merrill; varieties; technological evaluation; types of planting material
