Research and rural extension transform Itaberaba into the largest pineapple producer in Bahia

A partnership between extension technicians and researchers managed to leverage the pineapple production chain in the Municipality of Itaberaba in the Bahian Semiarid region to the point of transforming the city into the largest state producer of the fruit. Correct fertilization, planting density, pest control and floral induction were some practices that increased productivity. Furthermore, the entire chain was organized in order to make production sustainable and even the pineapple straw was used to feed livestock, helping the Municipality to reduce losses in animal production during a period of drought.

"A find". This is how agricultural engineer Alberto de Almeida Alves, from the Bahia Superintendency of Technical Assistance and Extension (Bahiater), summarizes the importance of pineapple farming for the municipality located at the entrance to Chapada Diamantina, 264 kilometers from Salvador. The fruit has been exploited for around 40 years in the region — which has different ecological conditions than most traditional growing regions —, but it was less than 20 years ago that it became established. Cultivation grew in the same proportion as production declined in the Municipality of Coração de Maria, at the time the largest producer in the state with the majority of plantations attacked by fusariosis, the main crop disease, caused by the fungus Fusarium guttiforme, also called gummosis or resinosis.

Today, the Pérola variety pineapple is the main agricultural product in the municipality, occupying 2,3 thousand hectares of planted area. According to the most recent data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in 2014 annual production was 18,9 thousand tons, generating around six thousand direct and indirect jobs throughout the crop cycle and annual revenue above R$ 30 million. The pineapple produced in the municipality corresponded for several years to almost half of that produced throughout the state and is destined for the domestic fresh fruit market, with the State of São Paulo being the largest buyer. The high point of production occurred in 2008, with a production of 86,4 million fruits.

The crop is predominant on small properties, with average areas of less than three hectares, where family labor is employed and, in most cases, without financing. "Pineapple has a very big social role for Itaberaba and Bahia. We can say that we have a rural pineapple middle class here and at least 80% are family farmers. An interesting fact is that there are many young people because pineapple needs a lot of technology and older farmers have a certain resistance", points out Alves.

First plantings

Until the 1980s, the municipality had a tradition of extensive beef cattle, goat and sheep farming and went through a serious period of drought. "Pineapple came to cover this gap in the drop in income and number of employed workers", he recalls. "The first plantings were started by farmers from the Barro Branco community, who wanted to expand the area and made contact with the former Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company of Bahia (Emater-BA) and Agricultural Research Company of Bahia (Epaba), who had difficulty understanding the culture and did not provide adequate support. That's why we contacted Embrapa", continues Alves, who also worked as research manager at the now extinct Empresa Baiana de Desenvolvimento Agrícola (EBDA).

In 1995, after returning from his doctorate, researcher Domingo Haroldo Reinhardt was responsible for installing some demonstration courts, with the support of agricultural technician José Jorge, now retired. The team grew and included retired researchers Getúlio Cunha, Luiz Francisco Souza, José Renato Cabral and Otávio Almeida, as well as Aristóteles Matos and Nilton F. Sanches, still active, and assistants Benedito Conceição and Antônio Pereira, also retired. "At the time, there were around 50 hectares and 20 producers throughout the municipality and pineapple was planted under the shade of the cassava, with rudimentary management. Extensive livestock farming, typical of the hinterland, with low productivity, and the cultivation of cassava, which it already received the attention of the Embrapa research team", highlights Alves.

Unlike the producers in Coração de Maria, the Itaberabenses quickly adopted some fundamental technologies, such as planting density and mounding [the act of removing soil from between the rows towards the pineapples, which stimulates the development of roots in the plants, aerating the soil and giving greater support], and improved others, such as fertilization, weed and pest control, floral induction and ratoon management [rational exploitation of the second and third cycles, a practice that was characteristic in the region]. "Soon afterwards, the culture began to grow, providing very significant and very stable economic returns over the years", says Haroldo Reinhardt.

War against fusariosis

In 2008, the incidence of fusariosis grew strongly in the municipality. "As Pérola pineapple is susceptible to fusariosis, it was an uncontrolled process, the culture expanded and so did the disease. In the critical phase, we mobilized institutions and achieved several advances", reports Haroldo.

"At that time there was no systematic, more effective inspection action. We organized ourselves, built this inspection, and began to see the need for an ordinance on seedlings", explains Thais Monteiro, state agricultural inspector at Adab. "Before that, we were already working on phytosanitary inspections. We were registering producers, carrying out a kind of phytosanitary survey, and georeferencing the areas. So much so that we managed to create a small map of the areas with cultivation in the region. After this phase, the organization of the Group Pineapple Manager facilitated our action to contain the spread of fusariosis", he analyzes.

Ordinance 286, of July 23, 2008, created with the collaboration of Embrapa and EBDA established a limit of 5% infestation on the property. "Above that, we would not approve the sale and transport of seedlings. We made an estimate of the number of seedlings in that area that were inspected, entered them into the registry and started monitoring the sale. This was important. We kept this stock registered. To the extent that the producer sold it, we wrote off the stock. It was valid from the date of inspection. The seedlings with Adab's endorsement provide a guarantee. Fortunately, the producers accepted it well and the process was very smooth. We even went to settlements where there was cultivation, we mobilized the associations, as we still do, we carried out practices in the field, showing the symptoms and combined with the correct use of pesticides registered for the crop".

The data is entered into the Agricultural Integration System (Siapec) and to transport the seedlings, a document is generated — the Internal Vegetable Transit Permit (PITV) —, valid for the entire state of Bahia. About 15 days before harvesting the fruits and generating the seedlings, the producer goes to the Adab office to get the inspector to inspect the orchard.

"We have already tried to use micropropagated seedlings, but they are very tender and have difficulty adapting to the semiarid region. The problem is not the quantity of seedlings, but management. The seedlings we have here are sufficient for the region", says Alberto. Embrapa has already carried out experiments with BRS Imperial, resistant to fusariosis, but it has not adapted well to the region because it depends on irrigation. "It is essential that Embrapa's genetic improvement work continues in order to obtain a resistant variety that adapts to Itaberaba", he adds.

family agriculture

Antônio de Santana Santos was one of Embrapa's first partner producers in the municipality. "I learned how to plant pineapples with Embrapa. Some people did some field work and I was curious. I started getting excited and planting. Before pineapple we were 'hanging around', working outside. I have a tractor that was always working harder for third parties than for me. Not with the pineapple, it stays more in the garage; if I need it, I pick it up and do the job", he explains.

For him, the most important technology indicated by the researchers was spacing. "We used to adopt ten thousand trees per task, today we place 15 thousand, 17 thousand. The plantation was very spaced out. Denser it produces more and the quality of the fruit is higher because it avoids burning since the pineapple straw serves as a cover for the fruit. Spraying, fertilization, contour lines, subsoiling, a lot of things we learned."

Another technique he highlights is floral induction, which can anticipate the pineapple flowering and harvest times. "It's even better for the cooperative to stagger production, because then it will take longer to harvest and we won't be constrained," he says. "I've been in this business for 20 years and I don't know how to plant yet, there's always something new the following year. And technologies keep changing every day, especially fertilizers and chemicals, and you have to do research. You can't use them directly, you have to do some work, some experiments, waiting for the results, it takes us two, three plantings and that's it", concludes Santana.

Manoel da Cruz Santos, from the town of Couro Seco, is an example of a family farmer who is also a fan of floral induction. "We work here with three people, but during planting time we have to hire people. They are neighbors, on average 20 people, in a short period of 60 days. We here take more or less a 15-day break from one block to another. There must be around six different inductions, at different times to be able to harvest", he details. Son of a producer, Manoel credits his stay in the municipality with pineapple cultivation. "My father worked with cassava, watermelon, he had a flour mill, but it was just to survive, because it's a very hot region. If it weren't for pineapple, I might not even be in Itaberaba. My brothers left here, went to São Paulo, they stayed there for more than 15 years, but after the pineapple improved the situation here, they returned."

One of the brothers he refers to is Adriano Cruz Santos, who lived in Araras (SP) from 1992 to 2008, working in a carpentry workshop, a multinational food company and a bus company. "Pineapple changed my life. It's better than when I was there, for sure. Here, I'm close to my family and the friends I had here. Another resistant culture like pineapple, I find difficult. It brings together a lot of people, Many families support themselves through it", he emphasizes.

Monoculture

For Alberto Alves, pineapple monoculture has always been a concern. "As an alternative, I conducted research using pineapple straw as a strategic reserve for dairy cattle. Pineapple straw was as good as palm, but the producer had to plant and cultivate the palm, but the pineapple was already had. There are several advantages: another source of income, work all year round and reducing the rate of fusariosis, as it would remove the straw and destroy all the rest of the crop. During the drought, this is what kept the cattle in Itaberaba. Ruy Barbosa, neighboring municipality, lost 70% of its herd and Itaberaba only lost 15%, and the climate is much worse for pasture. There were a lot of people earning money and a lot of cattle were maintained thanks to pineapple from Itaberaba. We did a survey during the vaccination campaign and found out where was the smallest reduction", he explains. The work was interrupted with the extinction of the EBDA.

The technical recommendations developed after years of studies in partnership between Embrapa, EBDA and producers in the region were brought together in the first production system, called "Pineapple Culture in the Itaberaba Region, in Rainfed Conditions", developed in 2004 and revised in 2011. The system addresses all stages of planting, from choosing the land to harvesting and marketing the fruits, with emphasis on sustainable technologies for bush management and soil conservation and integrated management of pests and illnesses.

Read more at: Cooperative in Bahia adds value to pineapple production