Influence of different N application levels on yield and fruit quality of pineapple

For the status quo that over-fertilization of N was universal in pineapple cultivation, which leads to resources waste and environmental pollution, we carried out the field trial to study the effects of five different N rates (0, 150, 300, 450, 600 kg/hm2) on the yield and fruit quality of pineapple. The trial was located in Leizhou Peninsula, which was one of the major pineapple production areas. The aim was to estimate the proper N rate required to reach maximum values. Results showed that the pineapple yield increased firstly and then decreased with the increase of N rate. A maximum of 96.76 t/hm2 of fresh fruit was attained with N fertilizer level at 300 kg/hm2. And it was 25.24% more than CK. For the fruit quality, a decrease on titratable acid and vitamin C content and an increase on sugar content were observed as the rate of N fertilizer increased from 150 to 450 kg/hm2, while the differences were not significant. The results suggested that 300 kg/hm2 was the best N rate to attain high yield and good quality for pineapple.