GROWTH, YIELD, AND QUALITY OF PINEAPPLE, cv. JOSAPINE, ON SANDY TIN TAILINGS.

The physical and chemical properties of sandy tin tailings are unsuitable for agricultural purpose without proper fertilizer and crop management practices. Malaysia has a vast area (200,000 ha) of abandoned, barren sandy tailings. An attempt was made to convert these lands into a sustainable production by planting of pineapple using fertilization and irrigation techniques. Therefore, the objective of the study was to determine the optimum rate of fertilizer for the growth and the production of high quality pineapple, cv. Josapine, for fresh consumption. The fertilizers used were prepared from mixture of urea, triple superphosphate, muriate of potash, gypsum, kieserite, and copper sulfate, and the respective rates (in oxide form) of fertilizers in kg ha[SUP-1] were (i) Plot 1L: 872, 24, 400, 108, 24, and 2, (ii) Plot 2L: 750, 48, 266, 84, 36, and 3, and (iii) Plot 3L: 600, 72, 798, 108, 24, and 3.2. For each plot, a similar quantity of Fe, B, Mn, Zn, and Mo was added. There were 32 plants in each sub-unit (for the three classes of ground suckers used -- A, B, and C) in each treatment. The plant parameters, soil and plant analyses were determined during this period. There were significant (p ≤ 0.01) differences in the plant height, number of leaf and "D"-leaf area for each sub-unit with time. The fruits in sub-unit "A" showed significant (p ≤ 0.05) increases of fruit diameter and length and total acidity. The optimum rate of fertilizer used for growth and production of pineapple, cv. Josapine, on sandy tin tailings was for plot 1L. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]