A Few Interesting Facts about Pineapple Seeds
Have you ever wondered where the pineapple seeds are? If you cut open an apple, a pear, a peach, or a pumpkin you can be assured of finding a handful of seeds. These seeds can then be used to grow new plants. However, if you cut open a pineapple you usually just find more fruit. So where are the pineapple seeds?
A lot of our popular fruits are considered seedless. Some seedless fruits include naval oranges, bananas, seedless watermelon, certain kinds of figs and persimmons, seedless grapefruit, and seedless grapes.
Pineapples originate from South American and that is pretty much the one place that you are guaranteed to find a pineapple that has seeds. In pineapples that are grown commercially, such as those you can generally find in your grocery stores, it's difficult to see the pineapple seeds. This is because, much like bananas, a pineapple is chosen for its vestigial seeds.
When pineapples are grown commercially, they are planted from a part of the plant that is vegetative instead of being grown from their seeds. This can include the tufts at the bottom or top of the fruit.
In order for seeds to appear, the pineapples have to go through cross-pollination. This is prevented from happening by encouraging self-pollination. Importing hummingbirds to Hawaii is discouraged, for instance, since hummingbirds can pollinate pineapples and pineapples are commercially grown in Hawaii. In addition, because the pineapples in the field are still the same genetically, even if the pollen is moved it is still considered self-pollination. In order for it to be considered cross-pollination, the plants transferring the pollen would need to be genetically different.
Although pineapples will produce seeds if you cross-pollinate them, the seeds would be very hard and the fruit would not have a taste that was as desirable. In fact, some people even compare eating a pineapple full of seeds to eating a lush fruit full of tiny rocks.
The pineapple does not necessarily need the seeds in order to grow and be healthy, as seen from commercially grown pineapples. The crown of the pineapple is able to root and therefore produce a different plant so the plant does not require seeds in order to be able to reproduce.
Even when a pineapple has been able to cross-pollinate, you might not actually be able to see the seeds if it is harvested before it is mature. Still, when a pineapple does contain seeds, you can find them within the flesh of the fruit. They are mostly located near the lower part of the fruit.
The seeds are sometimes used by commercial farmers for the breeding of the pineapples, but not for the overall growing purposes. They are only useable for 6 months and even then they are very hard to germinate, which makes them difficult to use.
If you were to get your hands on some pineapple seeds and were able to get them to germinate successfully, then be prepared for the fact that the pineapple that you grow will probably not resemble the delicious fruit that you're used to buying at your local market. Plus, it will typically take it around 2-3 years to even mature. However, if you do wish to try growing your own pineapple at home then it could be some fun. Just make sure that you keep it in moist potting soil and place the entire pot inside of a plastic bag. It will take up to 6 months for it to germinate and you must keep it warm during that time.