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Pineapple scouting sits between rice and oil palm. You are looking at 50,000 to 70,000 plants per hectare on plastic mulch, on a 14 to 24 month cycle, so you cannot inspect every plant like an oil palm scout, and the crop does not change week to week like paddy. Use this protocol as the checklist for a routine bi-weekly walk, a follow-up on a satellite alert, or a targeted inspection at forcing or before harvest.

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When to run this protocol

  • Every 2 weeks during vegetative growth (months 3 to 12)
  • Weekly during forcing to fruit set (months 12 to 15) and again during ripening
  • Immediately on any block flagged by a satellite alert or when neighboring blocks report an outbreak
  • Within 48 hours of heavy rain (heart rot is the fastest killer on pineapple)
  • Before and after every foliar spray or forcing application
  • Monthly nematode / symphylid check on all replant blocks in the first 6 months

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What to bring

  • Block map with bed IDs and the planned walk transect
  • Plant-level record sheet or mobile app tied to the field data model
  • Sharp knife (heart-pull test for Phytophthora)
  • Trowel or hand pick (root inspection and nematode sampling)
  • Hand lens (10x) for thrips, mites, mealybug crawlers
  • White tray for beat sampling
  • Sample bags for leaf (D-leaf), root, soil, and fruit samples
  • Camera or phone (photograph every anomaly)
  • GPS for stop-level records
  • Thick gloves and long sleeves (pineapple leaf spines cut)
Pineapple leaves have sharp spines and can carry Phytophthora, Fusarium, and nematodes between blocks. Wear gloves, wash tools between blocks, and never move soil on boots from a diseased block to a clean one.

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Choose a walk pattern

Inspect the block along a fixed pattern so results are repeatable cycle to cycle. At each stop, inspect 20 consecutive plants along one row. Always keep the same stop count on the same block so the trend is comparable.
Always include the block edge and the two beds nearest the road or headland. Fusariosis and mechanical injury cluster there, and mealybug wilt often enters from block boundaries.

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The 5-step inspection sequence

Run each step at every stop, in this order. Skipping a step is the most common cause of missed diagnoses.
1

Bed and block from standing height

Look at the stop from standing height first. This tells you about whole-block uniformity and recent (days to weeks) stress before you get close.
  • Rosette uniformity - even height and green color, or patchy? (Establishment failure, nematodes, chronic nutrient)
  • Wilted or collapsed plants - grouped or scattered? (Heart rot cluster, mealybug wilt focus)
  • Red-yellow patches - circular and expanding? (Mealybug wilt)
  • Gap count - how many missing or dead plants in the 20-plant sample? (Baseline for later comparison)
  • Weed pressure - open ground between plants covered by weeds? (Weed competition, mulch failure)
  • Standing water in furrows - present after 24 hours? (Drainage risk, heart rot risk)
  • Mulch integrity - torn, blown, or uplifted? (Weed and nematode risk)
2

Leaf whorl color and D-leaf (nutrient decision)

Bend down and inspect 5 representative plants. The D-leaf (tallest, most-erect fully-expanded leaf) is the reference for nutrient assessment and sampling.
  • Whole rosette pale green - Nitrogen
  • Older leaves yellow-orange, tips die back - Potassium
  • Older leaves interveinal yellow with red-purple margins - Magnesium
  • Center whorl yellow, green veins - Iron
  • Center whorl small, pale, distorted (crookneck) - Zinc
  • Young leaves cracked, corky, or brittle - Boron
  • Older leaf tips brown-red edge burn - Calcium or salinity
  • Bleached upright leaves on the sun-facing row - Sunburn
  • Silver flecking on leaf surface - Thrips
  • Fine yellow stippling - Mites
On every 5th walk, cut a D-leaf sample from 20 plants across the block for laboratory nutrient analysis. Bag, label, and record the sampling GPS points.
3

Heart pull, base, and mealybug check

Grasp the center whorl of 5 plants and pull gently. Inspect the base of every plant in the sample. This is where the biggest killers show.
  • Center whorl pulls out with foul smell - Heart rot (Phytophthora). Flag and destroy.
  • Plant tips over, base black and rotted - Root rot (Phytophthora cinnamomi)
  • Basal white rot, pink or brown stain when cut - Fusariosis
  • Waxy white or grey insects at leaf axil - Mealybugs. Count colonies per plant.
  • Ants trailing the base - Mealybug or scale tending; treat as an early warning.
  • Small tan or brown bumps on lower leaf undersides - Scale
  • Yellowing older leaves + pink flush + leaf tip die-back - Early Mealybug wilt
Any confirmed heart rot: mark the plant with tape, note the GPS, and continue. Do not touch other plants with the same glove.
4

Roots and soil (only every 4 weeks and on all replant blocks)

Dig up 1 to 2 plants at every 3rd stop with the trowel. Wash the roots briefly and inspect.
  • Roots thick, twisted, with knots - Root-knot nematodes
  • Roots stunted, short, and dark - Lesion or reniform nematodes
  • Roots black and mushy - Phytophthora root rot
  • White centipede-like arthropods in the topsoil - Symphylids
  • Very few feeder roots for the plant’s age - Chronic waterlogging, compaction, or nematodes
  • White threads or rhizomorphs on roots - Fusariosis or other soil fungi
Take a soil sample (top 20 cm) from every 5th walk for nematode extraction, especially on second-cycle and ratoon blocks.
5

Fruit and crown (only from forcing onward)

Once forcing has been applied, check fruit development at every stop.
  • Multiple crowns / fasciated crown - Cold at forcing (variety-dependent)
  • Small, misshapen, knobby fruit - Boron, Calcium, thrips at induction
  • Bleached, sun-scalded fruit shoulders - Sunburn (fruit exposed to direct sun)
  • Sap-oozing tunnel or frass in the fruit - Fruit borer
  • Water-soaked black lesions after harvest handling - Black rot
  • Fruit collapsing at the base, pink stain - Fruitlet core rot
  • Chewed fruit at ground level - Rat or bandicoot damage
Photograph any anomaly. Record the GPS point of the stop.

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What to record per stop

Minimum record at every stop, whether the block is normal or not:

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Block-level summary to record

After walking a block, record:
  • Number of stops inspected and total plants inspected
  • Total gap count across all stops and estimated block-level stand percentage
  • Number and location of heart rot plants (destroyed vs pending)
  • Mealybug colonies per plant, averaged across stops
  • Pattern (scattered, edge, wet-spot cluster, expanding focus, whole-block)
  • Recent weather, irrigation, forcing, or spray events
  • Recommendation (treat, resample, escalate, or continue monitoring)

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Pattern reading (what it likely means)

Use the walk-wide pattern to decide which pillar to open in the Pineapple Diagnosis guide.

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Linking to satellite alerts

If you were sent to this block by a satellite alert:
  1. Confirm the alerted zone on the ground. Walk into it and take at least 3 in-zone stops + 2 control stops outside the zone.
  2. Record whether the pattern matches (whole-block, gradient, wet-spot, cluster, or edge).
  3. Cross-check the index that moved (NDVI, NDRE, NDWI) against the Pineapple Diagnosis decision flow. Remember that NDVI lags water stress by 2 to 4 weeks in pineapple.
  4. Use the Pineapple Diagnosis tables to move from the field pattern to a specific cause.
  5. Set a follow-up alert on the same block or zone via the Alerts page.

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Safety and hygiene

  • Wear gloves and long sleeves. Pineapple leaf spines cause cuts that can become infected in wet field conditions.
  • Wash tools and boots between blocks to avoid moving Phytophthora, Fusarium, and nematodes.
  • Never move suckers or slips between blocks without disinfection.
  • Do not smoke in the field (dry leaves burn very easily near harvest).
  • If forcing chemicals have been applied recently, follow the re-entry interval on the product label.