ABSTRACT The production of healthy pineapple seedlings for commercial plantations has been one of the main limiting factors of the species, and the search for improvements to meet this demand has been constant. Therefore, the present study aimed to compare different propagation strategies (natural tillering, stem sectioning, and micropropagation) in three commercial cultivars 'BRS Imperial', 'Pérola', and Gold 'MD-2' of pineapple. Three methods of vegetative propagation were evaluated: conventional, stem sectioning, and micropropagation. The evaluations consisted of the number of seedlings produced by each method and the period for their development until planting in the field. According to the conventional propagation technique results, the young seedling type in the cultivar 'Pérola' was more abundant. In the propagation by sectioning the stem, the 'BRS Imperial' cultivar presented the highest number of seedlings. Regarding the micropropagation technique, the highest production of shoots was observed in the third subculture for all cultivars, especially for ‘BRS Imperial’, which presented the highest total number of shoots in all subcultures. It was concluded that the micropropagation technique proved efficient in producing uniform seedlings on a large scale, in addition to having an advantage in the greater number of seedlings produced compared to the other methods studied.

RESUMO A produção de mudas sadias de abacaxizeiro para plantios comerciais tem sido um dos principais fatores limitantes para a cultura e a busca de melhorias para atender essa demanda tem sido constante. Diante disso, objetivou-se neste trabalho comparar diferentes estratégias de propagação em três cultivares comerciais de abacaxizeiro ‘BRS Imperial’, ‘Pérola’ e Gold ‘MD-2’. Foram analisados três métodos de propagação vegetativa: convencional, seccionamento do talo e micropropagação em relação as características número de mudas produzidas por cada método e o período para o seu desenvolvimento das mudas até o plantio em campo. De acordo com os resultados da técnica de propagação convencional, a muda tipo filhote, na cultivar ‘Pérola’, foi a que produziu em maior quantidade. Na propagação por seccionamento de talo, a cultivar ‘BRS Imperial’ foi a que apresentou o maior número de mudas. Em relação à técnica de micropropagação a maior produção de brotos foi observada no terceiro subcultivo em todas as cultivares, principalmente a ‘BRS Imperial’ que apresentou o maior número total de brotos. Concluiu-se que, a técnica de micropropagação de abacaxizeiro foi eficiente para a produção de mudas uniformes em larga escala, além de apresentar maior número de mudas produzidas em comparação aos outros métodos estudados.

Abstract Cryopreservation of pineapple shoot tips has been established from various protocols, including droplet vitrification. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the morphoanatomical conditions of the starting material over different times (30, 45 and 60 days) of culture before freezing and its correlation with the survival percentage of the cryopreserved shoot tips. Four accessions, Ananas comosus var. comosus (BGA-009); var. bracteatus (BGA-119); var. parguazensis (BGA-376), var. erectifolius (BGA-750) from the Pineapple Active Germplasm Bank (BGA Pineapple) and two hybrids from the Embrapa Genetic Breeding Program, FIB-ROX1 (var. bracteatus X var. erectifolius) and FIB-ROX2 ( var. erectifolius X var. bracteatus), recently introduced in the field from in vitro storage, were used. Histological sections before freezing and the percentages of survival after freezing were obtained taking into account the different times of cultivation of the donor plants. The results showed a significative interaction between genotypes (accessions and hybrids) and the culture period. The accessions BGA-009 and BGA-119 showed the highest survival rates, with 95% and 90% respectively for the 30-day culture time. Different results were obtained for each genotype, showing the need for improvements in the standardization of starting material, which would allow better repeatability of the protocol.

ResumenLos compuestos volátiles tienen un papel vital en el ciclo de vida de las plantas. Poseen actividad antimicrobiana y anti-herbivoría biológica y una gran importancia en la industria de alimentos, cosméticos, perfumes, productos químicos y farmacéuticos. Este estudio tuvo como objetivo identificar los compuestos volátiles de trece flores de especies, pertenecientes a cuatro géneros de Bromeliaceae utilizando microextracción en fase sólida mediante cromatografía de gases hifenada con espacio de cabeza acoplada a espectrometría de masas. Se han identificado setenta y un diferentes compuestos volátiles pertenecientes a nueve grupos. Los compuestos identificados representaron más del 97 % de los componentes principales en Aechmea bicolor, Ae. bromeliifolia, Ae. distichantha, Ae. fasciata, Vriesea friburgensis, 99 % en las variedades de Ananas y 90 % en V. Simplex. V. friburgensis mostró la mayor diversidad de compuestos volátiles con 31, mientras que en Al. nahoumii se han encontrado sólo 14 compuestos. Las tres variedades de Ananas presentan los mismos 28 compuestos en cantidades relativamente similares, lo que se confirmó por el análisis de componentes principales. Estudios taxonómicos y síndromes de polinización disponibles podrían explicar la variación de los compuestos volátiles entre especies.

Abstract:Volatile compounds play a vital role in the life cycle of plants, possessing antimicrobial and anti-herbivore activities, and with a significant importance in the food, cosmetic, chemical, and pharmaceutical industry. This study aimed to identify the volatile compounds emitted by flowers of thirteen species belonging to four genera of Bromeliaceae, using headspace solid-phase micro-extraction and detection by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A total of 71 volatile compounds belonging to nine chemical groups were identified. The compounds identified represented more than 97 % of the major components in Aechmea bicolor, Ae. bromeliifolia, Ae. distichantha, Ae. fasciata, and Vriesea friburgensis. In the Ananas varieties, over 99 % of the components were identified, and around 90 % in V. simplex. V. friburgensis presented the largest diversity of volatiles with 31 compounds, while Alcantarea nahoumii presented only 14. All three Ananas varieties presented the same 28 compounds in relatively similar abundance, which has been confirmed by principal component analysis. Current taxonomy and pollination syndrome studies available can adequately explain the variation in volatile compounds among species. Rev. Biol. Trop. 64 (3): 1101-1116. Epub 2016 September 01.