FARMERS have been urged to plant pineapple on slopes as it minimises soil erosion.
Principal agricultural officer North John Cox said the pineapple rooting system enabled the plant to reduce soil loss, especially the topsoil which was rich in soil nutrients.
“If you look at the rooting system of pineapple, it has lateral roots. It’s shallow when planted close together and it assists in reducing soil losses,” he said.
“It is ideal because not only will it assist in soil erosion but also be a good source of income for farmers.
“It is a very good soil retainer plant so it would be a perfect plant for slope land.”
Mr Cox said people should utilise ways to preserve seasonal crops such as pineapple.
“We are focusing on the local market and I say this a lot that we should not be focusing on the fresh market alone,” he said.
“If there is sole focus on the fresh market, then whenever these crops go out of season, we run into problems.
“We need to go into some form of processed pineapple, crushed, sliced, canned, used as a baking ingredient topping or whatever; we need to move out of the regular box.”
