Patent Application
20050283863
Botanical/commercial classification: Ananas comosus/“Gold-type” pineapple variety.
Varietal denomination: cv. P-1972.
The invention refers to a new plant variety of pineapple (Ananas comosus) family Bromeliaceae, subclass of Monocotyledons, and named ‘P-1972’. This new variety has a distinctly oval shaped fruit, with a very thin shell, higher carotene content, which gives a darker color to the pulp. It also has higher soluble solids and acidity, and distinct flavor and aroma profiles compared to other varieties.
In 1975, a new pineapple variety was selected as an individual plant from a segregating population produced from seed from a cross made in Hawaii in 1972. The new variety was known as ‘75-80.’ ‘75-80’ contains at least 50 % genetic base from Cayenne pineapple. The parental lines included two clones previously developed by the Pineapple Research Institute (PRI), namely ‘64-337’ (C12Q2SG1P1)ב59-443’ (C9P3SG2R2). Testing and selection of individual plants took place in Honduras, Central America.
Parental Description: Flower parent hybrid ‘64-337’ was originally developed in the Pineapple Research Institute in Hawaii, from where it was introduced into Honduras for field evaluation. Genetically ‘64-337’ is composed of ¾ Cayenne, ⅛ Queen, 1/16 Smooth Guatemala, and 1/16 Pernambuco. ‘64-337’ is not patented. This hybrid clone is less susceptible to premature flowering (NDF) as compared to Cayenne variety. It has also shown greater tolerance to the internal brown spot disorder (IBS). IBS is internal brown spotting of the pulp. The plant has spineless leaves of a light green color. Fruit pulp shows yellow color with high carotene content.
Pollen parent 59-443 is a hybrid clone developed at the Pineapple Research Institute in Hawaii, and it was introduced to Honduras during the early 1970's. ‘59-443’ is not patented. Under Montecristo conditions, (Montecristo Farm, property of Standard Fruit de Honduras, located in the North coast of Honduras) ‘59-443’ is resistant to natural differentiation of flowers (NDF), it develops a semi-erect plant habit, produces one to two slips per plant and is susceptible to lodging. Compared with Smooth Cayenne, leaves are narrower, longer in shape and spineless. Leaf color is dark green with reddish along the margins. Petal color is purple in the tip and whitish at the base. Fruit peduncle is medium, shape is long conical to cylindrical with broad fruitlets and fruit size is smaller than Cayenne. Flesh color is golden yellow. ‘59-443’ Hybrid clone is susceptible to Phytophthora parasitica, but has shown tolerance to IBS disorder.
This breeding effort aimed to produce a fresh fruit variety with good fruit size and shape as well as high canning potential. Year round production, a reduced propensity to premature flowering (NDF resistance), lower incidence of internal brown spot disorder (IBS), high carotene, higher Vitamin C, stable crown type and good flavor relative to the commonly grown ‘Smooth Cayenne’ variety, were a few of the key selection parameters.
The development of the new variety started in Wahiawa, Hawaii. Flowers of clone ‘64-337’ were cross-pollinated with pollen taken from plants of clone ‘59-443’ in 1972. Seeds from this cross were taken to Honduras in 1974 for germination and subsequent selection of promising individuals. Since then, the variety has been under cultivation at the Montecristo Farm, property of Standard Fruit de Honduras, located in the North coast of Honduras. Different methods of asexual propagation were used for variety multiplication, i.e. stem cuttings, slips, suckers, propagules, fruit crown and tissue culture derived plants.
The selected hybrid showed unique characteristics such as distinctive fruit aroma and deep yellow color in both shell and flesh, as well as a very symmetrical, oval fruit shape. The plants were further propagated using slips, hapas, crowns, and stem cuttings and augmented over the years in number. The new hybrid was designated ‘75-80’. Elite individuals showing shorter peduncles and larger fruit were selected in 2001 from the original population of ‘75-80’ and designated ‘P-1972’. The present description covers the new population of elite plants with improved characteristics designated as ‘P-1972’. The new cultivar is stable and has reproduced true to type in three successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The new pineapple (Ananas comosus) variety, ‘P-1972’, differs from its parents in having higher carotene content, improved aroma, distinct fruit and flesh colors, and very symmetrical, oval fruit shape. It also shows low incidence of fruitlet core rots, and marbling. The plant is characterized by long, spineless leaves with piping, pale to grayish green in color, with veins protruding from the leaf surface. Fruit has a smooth and thin shell and flat fruitlets or eyes.
‘P-1972’ has shorter peduncles and larger fruit than ‘75-80’ and it is less prone to shell cracking. ‘P-1972’ has much higher levels of carotene than ‘Mayan Gold 1’ and ‘Mayan Gold 3.’ ‘Mayan Gold 1’ is an unpatented hybrid resulting from crosses between Pineapple Research Varieties ‘57-293’ and ‘59-443.’ ‘Mayan Gold 3’ is an unpatented Pineapple Research Institute hybrid designated ‘73-114’ resulting from a cross between PRI ‘58-1184’ and PRI ‘59-443’. The ‘P-1972’ fruit shape is egg (oval) shaped as compared to square shouldered or cylindrical shape of ‘Mayan Gold 3.’ ‘Mayan Gold 1’ has red pigmentation on the leaves, whereas Mayan Gold 3 and ‘P-1972’ do not. ‘P-1972’ is lighter green than ‘Mayan Gold 3’ under a variety of growing conditions. In addition, ‘P-1 972’ has higher carotene, Brix and acid than ‘Mayan Gold 3,’ under a variety of growing conditions.
The accompanying photographs depict some of the differences between ‘P-1972’ and ‘75-80’.
The following detailed description of the new plant variety is based on observations of well-fertilized specimens at the vegetative stage (314 days after planting) and inflorescence development (384 days after planting) and fruit harvesting (468 days after planting) in the months of October to December, 2003, grown in two different locations. First at Montecristo farms, in the Northern coast of Honduras (15 degrees 44 minutes latitude north, and 86 degrees 53 minutes longitude west). Also included are observations from plants grown in the Atlantic slope in Costa Rica (El Bosque farm, 10 degrees 52 minutes, latitude north; and 84 degrees 73 minutes, longitude west). Average temperature in Montecristo is 26° C., and 3542-mm average annual precipitation, whereas temperature in El Bosque averages 25° C., with annual rainfall of 3217-mm.
The color of plant specimens and tissues are referred to the terminology and designations reported in the Munsell Color Charts for plant tissues, published by Gretag Macbeth LLC, New Windsor, New York. Color chart and colors were reported in terms of hue value and chroma notation.
The following is a description of a population of plants of the new variety grown at Montecristo, and El Bosque Farms, in Honduras and Costa Rica respectively (numbers in parenthesis are for plants grown in Costa Rica).
Name: Ananas comosus (L.) Merr. Var. P-1972, family Bromeliaceae, subclass Monocotyledons.
Peduncle: fruit develops from the apical meristem of the plant on a peduncle, usually 20.6±3.9 cm in length and 3.3±0.7 cm in diameter. Peduncle bract number is 8.1±1.4 cm, and the length of the longest bract is 20±4.6 cm.
brevipes)
