A pilot-scale micropropagation plant for two commercial varieties of pineapple Ananas comosus (L.) Merr. reveals shortcuts in a complex system through the recycling of fruit

Abstract

Globally, Mexico ranks ninth among the main producers of pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.), despite its production system still relying on field-based vegetative propagation, which limits the establishment of new cultivation areas. Consequently, the primary challenge in Mexico is the implementation of in vitro cultivation protocols that enable rapid and effective propagation of pineapples. This study describes a pilot-scale production process for the Smooth Cayenne and MD-2 varieties, covering the establishment of in vitro cultures using waste plant material, the propagation of shoots from fruit crowns, acclimatisation, adaptation to the field, and subsequent fruiting in the Papaloapan Basin region, the main production area in Mexico. We evaluated the production of shoots induced with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), monitoring the shoot forming capacity (SFC) and the geometric rates of propagation up to the fourth subculture in both semi-solid and liquid Murashige and Skoog (MS) media. In the leaf culture, four types of morphogenic responses were observed: direct organogenesis, rhizogenesis, and both direct and indirect somatic embryogenesis in both varieties. During the rooting stage, we achieved 100% efficiency using indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) or activated charcoal. The follow-up extended to flowering and fruiting in the field, where pineapples were harvested with weights of 1.41 kg (13.9°Brix) and 1.27 kg (14.43°Brix). Finally, the procedure was scaled up using temporary immersion bioreactors (TIB) in both normal and double phases, alternating with closed containers.