Unlike most crops that normally grow better on soils without textural or acidity limitations, pineapple tolerates poor acid soils or gravels on sloping lands containing little clay and organic matter. However, a balanced nutrition becomes very crucial for high yield and quality pineapple production on these kinds of soils.

In order to find the optimal fertilizer recommendations for pineapple production in Guangxi, field trials including rates and combinations of needed nutrients were conducted on the terraced sloping land by the Soil and Fertilizer Institute (SFI), Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

On June 2, a field demonstration and training session on pineapple nutrition was conducted in Fangchengguang, Guangxi. Leaders from Guangxi SFI, Fangchengguang Agricultural Bureau and the township were invited to the activity. Dr. Johnston and Dr. TU Shihua, IPNI China Program Deputy Director (Southwest) were also present. In the field, all the participants witnessed and learnt about the significant effects of P and K fertilizers on pineapple growth, and after the field activity, a highly productive training course was conducted.

Demonstration plots on pineapple K fertilization. Participants in the training on pineapple nutrition.