Charles Yearwood, age 13, of Doraville, Ga., for his question:
HOW ARE PINEAPPLES GROWN?
Scientists believe that pineapples probably originated in Brazil. When Columbus explored the West Indies in 1493, he and his men were probably the first Europeans to taste the fruit since they were plentiful in Central America and parts of the Caribbean area. Large scale plantings and production of the pineapple in Hawaii didn't start until the early 1900s.
Juicy and fragrant pineapples grow well in tropical locations. The name was given to the fruit because it looks very much like a large pine cone.
Pineapples grow on plants that are about two to three feet tall. Each piece of fruit can weigh between four and eight pounds. When ripe, it has a yellowish brown shell. At the top of the fruit is a cluster of small leaves called the crown.
Most widely grown variety of pineapple is called the smooth cayenne. It is seedless and grows with blue green, sword shaped leaves around a thick stem. The edges of some of the leaves have sharp spines. The plant has underground roots, with a network of small roots that grow above the ground.
When a plant is about 14 to 16 months old, a flower stalk called the inflorescence appears in the center. After the inflorescence has grown about two inches high, blue violet flowers begin to open. Each flower blooms for only one day. It takes between 20 to 30 days for all of the flowers to open. Each flower develops into a fruitlet, with the fleshy parts of each uniting with the stalk to which they are attached. This combination of fruitlets and stalk forms the yellow center of the pineapple. The fruit's shell develops from the thick, hard, leaflike structure called floral bracts.
Pineapples thrive in a warm climate and well drained soil. Irrigation is necessary in some dry regions, but too much water can harm them.
About 20 months after planting, the pineapples are ready to be harvested. A plant will bear one fruit for the first harvest and may bear two for the second and third. Most planters replant the field after two or three harvests.
Machines are used to cultivate a field where pineapples are to be planted. Then strips of plastic are rolled out which conserve moisture, keep the soil warm and discourage weeds. Planting is done by hand through the plastic, and shoots, slips or crowns are inserted into the ground with special plastic planting tools.
Hawaiian pineapple growers use a machine called the harvester conveyer to simplify harvesting. Workers pick the pineapples by hand and drop them onto a conveyor belt.