**2. Pineapple**

Pineapple (*A. comosus* L.) is a tropical fruit native to Brazil. The ancestors called it *Ananas*, which means "excellent fruit". Pineapple is a fruit of the Bromeliaceae family, it is non-climacteric that produces small amounts of ethylene in terms of ripening [8]. It is a perennial plant with a base formed by the compact union of several leaves forming a rosette. The concavities of the leaves can give rise to shoots with small basal rosettes (**Figure 1**), which facilitate the vegetative reproduction of the plant. They have a stem after 1–2 years that grows longitudinally and forms an inflorescence at the end. Its leaves are thorny that measure 30–100 cm long, its flowers are pink and have three petals that grow in the axils of pointed bracts and hypogynous ovary. Its flowers are grouped in spike inflorescences of about 30 cm in length with a thickened stem. The flowers bear fruit without need for fertilization and from the hypogynous ovary berry-shaped fruits develop, which together with the axis of the inflorescence and the bracts, give rise to a fleshy infructescence [8].

The main varieties are classified into six groups according to their growth habits, fruit shape, flesh characteristics and leaf morphology and have spread throughout the world based on their ability to adapt to local pedoclimatic conditions: 1) Cayenne (**Figure 2**), 2) Española, 3) Queen, 4) Pernambuco, 5) Perolera and 6) Gold "Extra Sweet" MD-2 [9].

Pineapple (*A. comosus* (L.) Merr.) has been for years one of the economic resources for export in many countries, is the United States (over 95% of exports), Argentina, Arabia Saudita, Chile, Egipto, Emiratos Árabes Unidos, the European Union and now Canada especially the cultivar Gold "Extra Sweet" MD-2, which due to its content of soluble solids, aroma and color has been preferred and has remained number one in world markets. This plant is fast growing and has a shorter production cycle; in addition, the production yields very sweet and pineapple juice extraction, although it is recognized that it is susceptible to mechanical damage and Phytophthora [10].

*The Production and Marketing Issues of Pineapple (*Ananas comosus*) under Humid Tropical… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106499*

**Figure 1.** *Plant with a base formed by the compact union of several leaves forming a rosette.*

#### **Figure 2.**

*The pineapple (*Ananas comosus *(L.) Merr.) that is produced in the soil of the sabana municipality of Huimanguillo, Tabasco.*

Replacing the low-yielding cultivars with the better ones is a difficult task, considering that pineapple is one of the fruit trees with a high planting density, around 60,000 propagules per hectare for 'MD-2' and, at the same time, is the one that produces fewer propagules naturally [11].
