Twenty pineapple "Pérola" plants were cultivated in 10L plastic pots in a greenhouse, with the objective of characterizing the visual symptoms of boron deficiency in the pineapple leaves and fruit. The pots contained river sand that was washed five times with common water and two times with deionized water. Ten plants were irrigated five months after planting with a complete nutrient solution and the other ten, without B in the solution. The plants presented regular vegetative growth and fruit formation. After the harvest of the fruit, the formation of shoot and suckers seedling types were accompanied, where it was possible to observe that plants were grown without B produced more seedling from the shoot type than from those ones grown with B. The formation of suckers was not affected by the suppression of B from the nutrient solution. Symptoms of boron deficiency were observed only in the fruiting period in plants in the second cycle of growth. Symptoms of B deficiency were characterized by deformed and smaller fruit, with formation of cork tissue or gum secretion among the fruitlets and cracks filled out with of cork tissue. Slip formed in second cycle plants had leaves with uneven borders and dry tips.
Annanas comosus; B retranslocation; B deficiency; horticulture
