Growth of ‘Sugarloaf’ Pineapple on Mine Tailings Amended with

Mineral Soil and Palm Mesocarp Fiber 

L.K. Tanga and L.H. Ang
Ecophysiology Unit
Biotechnology Division
Forest Research Institute Malaysia
Malaysia

Keywords: organic amendments, ex-tin mine, cash crop, agroforestry

Abstract
An agroforestry trial was conducted at an ex-tin mine located at Tin Tailings
Afforestation Center at Bidor. ‘Sugarloaf’ pineapple (Ananas comosus), the fruits of
which are in high demand in the market, was planted in untreated sand tailings
(control), or sand tailings amended with good mineral soil, oil palm mesocarp fiber
or mineral soil and mesocarp fiber. At 18 months after planting pineapple plants
grown in mineral soil treated plots had significantly greater leaf length and total leaf
area than plants in the other treatments. Growth of plants in plots treated with
mesocarp fiber was not different from those grown in mineral soil alone or on sand
tailings (control). Plants grew significantly better in both mesocarp treatments than
they did in the control plots. The results indicate that sand tailings treated with
mesocarp fibers alone is more cost-effective as transportation of soils is an expensive
endeavor in site preparation for pineapple growing.

INTRODUCTION
Tin mining was a main contributor to the economic development of Malaysia in
the 1930’s. Large tracts of tin tailings covering about 80,000 ha remain idle in the
peninsula (Ang and Ho, 2004). These idle ex-mining lands, which were formerly tropical
natural forests of high biodiversity, are now landmarks of ex-mining towns such as Ipoh,
Kampar and Bidor in the state of Perak. Idle tin tailings comprise three distinct groups of
soils, namely sand, slime and sandy slime. Sand tailings have more than 95% coarse soil
texture (particle size exceeding 2 mm), are porous, have high soil temperature and poor
soil water retention capacity (Ang et al., 1999). The natural vegetation colonizing ex-
mining sites are limited in species and they are site specific. Natural succession of tin
tailings reported by Palaniappan (1974) does not apply to isolated ex-mining sites
surrounded by agriculture plantation such as oil palm estates. Such barren islands have
virtually very little regeneration of natural species. Successful tree planting techniques
developed for greening sand tailings (Ang et al., 2006) show that the big-hole planting
technique with addition of 60 kg slime or good mineral soil prior to planting or addition
of 100 to 120 kg of empty fruit bunches (EFB) favor the establishment of the species.
Timber tree planting alone on the degraded site is not economically viable, hence an
agroforestry approach is preferred. The selected cash crop, potentially inter-planted with
the timber species before crown closure, is pineapple (Ananas comosus) ‘Sugarloaf’, as it
is in high demand in the local market. Empty fruit bunch (EFB), an organic agricultural
waste produced from palm oil mill, was used for site improvement (Ang and Ho, 2004).
Soil organic amendments increase the organic matter content (Luce, 1997) and help to
establish soil microbe community (Claassen and Zasoski, 1993). In addition, organic
amendments increase not only organic matter but enrich the site with macro- and
micronutrients. Hence, this study aims to determine the effects of soil enrichment on the
vegetative growth of ‘Sugarloaf’ pineapple planted in agroforestry practice. Specifically,
we: (1) determined the vegetative growth of pineapple grown in sand tailings treated with
various treatments and (2) recommend a cost-effective treatment for growing pineapple
a
tlkuen@frim.gov.my

Proc. 7th International Pineapple Symposium 319

Eds.: H. Abdullah et al.
Acta Hort. 902, ISHS 2011
on sand tailings.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Study Site
Bidor is located at 4°06’N longitude and 101°16’E latitude, and was a famous
mining town during the 1940s. FRIM’s substation covers about 120.4 ha of 50-year-old
ex-mining land. The substation is comprised of sand, slime and sandy slime tailings
interspersed with mining pools. This experiment was conducted on sand tailings.
Meteorological data were obtained from a nearby station established by JICA in their
multistory project site at Chikus Forest Reserve (Fig. 1). The climate of the study site
(Fig. 1a-c) has two distinct short dry periods from January to March, and June to July.

Study Design
A completely randomized design was used in this study to examine the effects of
mineral soil, mesocarp fiber and a combination of mineral soil with mesocarp fiber on the
pineapple. Each treatment was applied in triplicate prior to planting pineapple suckers.
Each plot was 10×10 m and with a plant spacing of 0.5×0.3 m contained 660 pineapple
suckers (66,600 point ha-1). Oil palm mesocarp fiber, an oil palm fruit residue after oil
extraction, is both a cost-effective source of a slow-release organic fertilizer and also a
medium for increasing moisture retention of sand tailings. The pineapple plants were
planted in April, which was the beginning of the wet season. The planting was treated
with 0.5 kg chicken manure per planting pint at six month-intervals.

Vegetative Growth
Thirty plants were randomly selected from each treatment and measured at 8 and
18 months after planting. Each sampled plant’s height, diameter, length and width at the
middle of the blade of the longest leaf were enumerated. Leaf number of the sampled
plants was also counted (Fig. 2). Relative growth of plant diameter and height were
computed from data collected in month 8 and 18 after planting using ln Growth18month- ln
Growth8 month/(18-8) month. The first fully matured leaf was traced on a piece of paper
and the area of the traced leaf (AL) was measured using DELTA Leaf Area machine.
Total green leaf area per plant was estimated from AL × leaf number per plant.

Soil Sampling and Chemical Analysis

A 0.25-ha plot was established for soil sampling on a 5×5 m grid. Soil
composition at the 40-60 cm depth was more than 90% sand but 60% of the sampling
points at the depth of 0-20 cm were sandy slime tailings. The selected major chemical
properties of three composite samples of sand, slime and original mineral soils were
determined for available P, pH, total C and N, and ionic Ca, Mg and K according to
Bernard et al. (2004). The pH of each sample was determined with a pH meter in wet
suspension.
Statistical analysis was carried out using Minitab 13.1 for Windows. Comparison
between means by least significant difference (LSD) was carried out as described by
Parker (1979).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Chemical Properties
The dry pH ranged from 4.6 to 6.5 in the three soil types (Fig. 3). The order of
available P in the three soil types is mineral soil > or equal to slime tailings > sand
tailings (Fig. 3 a-e). A similar order was also observed for cation exchange capacity
(CEC), total nitrogen (%) and total C (%). Mineral soil and slime were found to have
greater concentrations of exchangeable K+ and Mg2+ than sand tailings. However, sand
tailings and mineral soil had similar concentrations of exchangeable Ca2+, which was

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significantly higher than in slime tailings.

Vegetative Growth
Pineapple growth in plots treated with mesocarp fibers and soil+mesocarp fiber
were significantly taller, had greater diameter, relative height and diameter growth at
18 months after planting (P<0.05) followed in decreasing order by those grown in soil and
control treatments (Table 1). Pineapple plants grown in plots where good mineral soil was
incorporated with sand tailings were not significantly different from the control in all
growth parameters. Better growth in height and diameter in plots treated with both
amendments was most probably attributable to the mesocarp fiber instead of soil as
pineapples grown on soil treated plots were not significantly different from the control but
significantly shorter and smaller in diameter than plants grown in plots amended with
mesocarp fiber. Pineapple plants grown in plots treated with mesocarp and soil+mesocarp
had longer leaf blades but only the soil+mesocarp treatment had significantly wider leaf
blades (P<0.05). Leaf number was not significantly affected by treatments but plants
grown in the mesocarp fiber+soils plots had the greatest total green leaf area (GLA).
Despite not sustaining good growth of the pineapple in the mineral soil treatment,
the plots had higher ionic N, P and K than sand tailings (Fig. 3). The study site is a typical
sand tailing, which is poor in soil nutrients and has harsh micro-environments (Ang,
1994). Topsoil is a better growth medium than mine spoils for plants because of its
preferable soil properties (Schoenholtz et al., 1992; Kost et al., 1998). Additional mineral
soil in sand tailings has several advantages namely the improvement of cation exchange
capacity and as a buffer to reduce the leaching of nutrients in pure sand tailings. It also
introduces microbes to the site that promote biodegradation of organic matter like
mesocarp fiber. This study shows that agricultural waste such as mesocarp fiber can thus
be used as an effective and low-cost fertilizer. Our finding therefore agrees with Holmes
(2001) and Claassen and Zasoski (1993) that addition of mineral soil with organic matters
in a degraded site favors the growth and establishment of plants.

CONCLUSION
The study showed that pineapple plants grew significantly better in treatments
with added mesocarp fiber and soil+mesocarp when compared to soil and control
treatments. However, the growth in the two mesocarp-treated plots was not different.
Hence, planting of pineapples with application of mesocarp fiber alone on sand tailings is
more cost-effective as an application of soil normally involved expensive rental of heavy
machinery.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to thank the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Unit (AKECU) for
supporting the study.

Literature Cited
Ang, L.H. 1994. Problems and prospects of rehabilitation of sandy tin tailings in
Peninsular Malaysia. JTFS 7(1):87-106.
Ang, L.H. and Ho, W.M. 2004. A demonstration project for afforestation of denuded tin
tailings in Peninsular Malaysia. Cuadernos de la Sociedad Española de Ciencias
Forestales 17:113-118.
Ang, L.H., Ho, W.M., Tang, L.K., Hui, T.F., Theseira, G.W., Baskaran, K. and Lee, D.K.
2006. Effects of soil amendments on survival and early growth of three timber species
grown on sand tailings in Peninsular Malaysia. Forest Science and Technology
2(1):57-68.
Ang, L.H., Seel, W.E and Mullins, C. 1999. Microclimate and water status of sand
tailings at an ex-mining site in Peninsular Malaysia. JTFS 11(1):157-170.
Bernard, A.Z., Che Fauziah, I., McLaughin, M.J. and Cozens, G. 2004. Heavy metals in
soils and crops in Southeast Asia-Peninsular Malaysia. Environmental Geochemistry

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Claassen, V.P. and Zasoski, R.J. 1993. Enhancement of revegetation construction filled
by fertilizer and topsoil application: effect on mycorrhizal infection. Land,
Degradation and Rehabilitation 4:45-57.
Holmes, P.M. 2001. Shrubland restoration following woody alien invasion and mining:
effects of topsoil depth, seed source, and fertilizer application. Restoration Ecology
9(1):71-78.
Kost, D.A., Vimmerstedt, J.P. and Brown, J.H. 1998. Topsoiling, ripping and fertilizing
effects on tree growth and nutrition on calcareous mine soils. Forest Ecology
Management 103:307-319.
Luce, C.H. 1997. Effectiveness of road ripping in restoring infiltration capacity of forest
roads. Restoration Ecology 5(3):149-154.
Palaniappan, V.M. 1974. Ecology of tin tailings areas: plant communities and their
succession. Journal of Applied Ecology 11:133-155.
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 Tables

Table 1. Vegetative growth parameters of ‘Sugarloaf’ pineapple grown on sand tailings or sand tailings amended with palm mesocarop
fiber, mineral soil or mineral soil and mesocarp fiber at 18 months after planting.

Blade
Relative height Relative plant diameter Total green leaf
Leaf Height Blade length mid-
Treatment N growth1 growth1 area
no. (cm) (cm) width
(cm cm-1) (cm cm-1 month-1) (cm plant-1)
2
(cm)
Control 30 20.4± 75.7± 0.03± 0.05± 61.4± 2.6± 3240±
4.5a2 8.4b 0.02b 0.01b 5.0ab 0.2a 907ab
Mesocarp fiber 30 19.8± 90.5± 0.04± 0.06± 53.9± 2.6± 3195±
5.4a 17.8a 0.02a 0.02a 14.8a 0.8a 2657ab
Soil 30 18.7± 74.2± 0.03± 0.05± 52.6± 2.7± 2709±
2.6a 8.6b 0.01b 0.01b 4.4a 0.4a 998a
Soil + mesocarp 30 19.5± 95.5± 0.05± 0.06± 67.9± 3.0± 4075±
fiber 5.3a 12.3a 0.01a 0.01a 5.1b 0.3b 1522b
P-value P<0.05 P<0.05 P<0.05 P<0.05 P<0.05 P<0.05 P<0.05
1
Denotes the relative growth rate from 8 to 18 months after planting. N- number of sample plants randomly selected for vegetative growth monitoring.
2
Means within a column followed by the same letter are not significantly different from each other.
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Figures

Fig. 1. Climatic data of the site: (a) total monthly rainfall, (b) number of dry days and (c)
maximum and minimum air temperature.

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Fig. 2. Measurement of plant height, crown (plant) diameter, blade length and mid-width
of pineapple leaf.

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Fig. 3. The mean with standard deviation of available phosphorus (a), pH (b), cation
exchange capacity (c), total nitrogen and carbon (d), and calcium, magnesium and
potassium content (e) in sand tailings, slime tailings and mineral soil.
 

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