It is important to prepare a calendar of events or work schedule so that the agronomic practices could be followed systematically. The first consideration in planning of the calendar is the duration of the cropping cycle. As an example, The table below shows a typical calendar of events for field activities starting from land preparation to harvesting.

Calendar of events for cultivation of pineapple

For the first six months of a new planting, attention should be given to weeding. Once the pineapple plants are bigger the weeds would be shaded out and less weeding is required. Weeding should be done at least once in two months during the first six months of the plant crop, and later every three to four months. However, this depends on the performance of the crop growth and this schedule should be used as a guide only. Weeding should be done as and when it is necessary as weed spread faster during wetter months. Weed control is essential as noxious weeds can reduce pineapple yield by 50%. Not only do weeds compete for water, light and nutrients, they also harbour nematodes and other pests.

Atrazine, bromacil, diuron and fluometuron are very active pre-emergent herbicides used for land preparation. It is normal practice to use a combination of manual and chemical weeding. Ametryne, a pre-emergence herbicide, is applied at 1.7 kg a.i. per ha at planting. This is repeated 3 months later. The treatment keeps the area relatively weed-free for about 6 months. The effectiveness of the chemical is influenced by weather conditions. During dry periods, Ametryne can give up to 20 weeks control. Other pre-emergence herbicides used are Diuron, Atrazine, and Prometryne. Manual weeding at monthly intervals follows chemical control until close to harvesting.

Mulching is an effective way of weed control especially on mineral soils. It also provides other benefits such as prevention of soil erosion, reduce leaching of nutrients and reduce soil moisture loss. In some countries where manual costs for weed management is prohibitive, mulching is widely practiced using black polythene sheets. This significantly reduces manual weeding costs and increases yield by as much as 25%. Mulching with polythene sheets is especially useful on sandy soils where soil erosion and nutrient leaching are serious during wet seasons. In large operations, these sheets are laid on the ground by tractor mounted equipment. However, the covered ground makes broadcast of fertilisers inconvenient. The sheets may also be blown away if they are not securely pegged to the ground. Green manure (chopped pineapple residues) and organic matter, such as sugarcane bagasse, may also be used as mulch.