Pine Apple Cultivation in the lands of Malabar

Introduction.Though the soil and climatic conditions obtained in Malabar are ideal for the cultiva -tion of pine apples even on the proverbially poor modan lands.yet its cultivation was untill recently- confined to a few isolated plants of the local wild variety along the fences of house compounds.The introduction of the kew and the West Indian variety of pine apple a few years back through the Agricultural Deparments of Madras and Cocbin State.coupled with the demonstration of the profitableness of its cultivation has given a fillip to the growing of this valuable fruit crop on planta -tion scale throughout the West Coast.The Cultivation of Kewpine was taken up in 1930 as an alternate crop for paddy in the modan land area of the Agricultural Research Station.Pattambi. Encouraged by the success of the first plantation on the station.a comprehensive study of the crop in all its bearings is in progress.Somee of the useful observations made during the six years of its cultivation on this station are embodied in this article.