Knowledge Nugget: What makes Tripura’s gi-tagged ‘Queen’ pineapple unique?

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Ahead of the Tripura Global Pineapple Festival, to be held in New Delhi from June 27 to 29, 2026, farmers are hopeful that the GI-tagged fruit is taking a step towards making ‘Tripura Pineapple’ a global brand.

Let’s learn more about Tripura pineapple and its varieties, and the efforts the government has taken to promote it.

1. The ‘queen’ pineapple was declared the state fruit of Tripura in 2018, four years after it attained the GI tag in 2014. The Tripura Queen pineapple has a golden-yellow hue and low-fiber texture with a distinct aroma besides its juicy flesh laden with vitamins, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and iron.

2. Internationally, pineapple is the third most important tropical fruit after banana and citrus. Tripura is renowned for its Queen and Kew varieties of pineapple. It is cultivated in more than half of the landlocked state’s eight districts and especially by its significant tribal population, which constitutes over 30% of Tripura.

3. Besides the fruit, its ancillary products, such as thread derived from its leaves, besides chocolates, jams and jellies, will also make their debut at the three-day festival which will kick off at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium on June 27 – International Pineapple Day.

4. Tripura’s unique agro-climatic condition makes it one of India’s leading pineapple-producing regions where Queen and Kew varieties are mostly cultivated by tribal growers in four to five of our eight districts.

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Infographics by NotebookLM

5. The Queen and Kew varieties of pineapple flourish alongside paddy and sugarcane in Tripura’s remote hills, especially in Gomati district’s Killa region. A key USP of the fruit is the zero to minimal utilisation of chemicals in its cultivation almost year-round.

What makes ‘Queen’ pineapple unique?

• Exceptional Sweetness: There is a high sugar content and low acidity in the Queen variety of the pineapple.

• Golden Flesh: It has got a rich, deep-yellow flesh with a firm texture that holds up beautifully in cooking, juicing, and fresh consumption.

• Distinctive Aroma: The tropical fragrance of this variety fills the air at harvest time — one of the most recognisable scents in Northeast India.

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• Long Shelf Life: It is naturally resistant to bruising and has a longer shelf life than other varieties, which makes it ideal for transport and export.

• Compact Crown: The Queen’s characteristic small, spiky crown and cylindrical shape make it instantly recognisable at markets across India.

What are the key facts about Pineapple?

1. Pineapple (Ananas comosus), a commercial fruit crop, originated in Brazil and gradually spread to other tropical parts of the world. According to the National Horticulture Board (NHB), Pineapple cultivation was first introduced to India by the Portuguese in 1548 AD.

2. It is a herbaceous perennial, 0.75 to 1.5 m high with a spread of 1 to 1.2 meters.  It is essentially a short, stout stem with a rosette of waxy, strap-like leaves. It is mostly grown at low elevations. Pineapple is tolerant to drought because of the special water storage cells.

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3. Humid temperatures are suitable for the cultivation of pineapple. It grows well near the sea coast as well as the interior, as long as the temperature is not extreme. The favorable temperature for pineapple cultivation is 22 to 32 degrees Celsius. The rainfall requirement ranges between 100-150 cm.

4. According to the NHB, “high temperature at night is deleterious for the growth of the plant and a difference of at least 4 degree celcius between day and night temperature is desirable. It can be grown up to 1,000 meters above sea level, if the area is frost free.”

5. Pineapple is grown on various types of soils including very poor soils. The flavour and quality of fruit grown on light soils is considered to be superior. However the sandy and loamy soils rich in humus with pH between 5 to 6 is ideal for its cultivation. The plant is particularly sensitive to soil being waterlogged.

Important varieties of Pineapple:

State

Varieties mostly grown

Assam & other N.E. states

Kew, Queen, Mauritius

Kerala

Mauritius, Kew, Queen

West Bengal

Giant Kew, Queen

(Source: nhb.gov.in)

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BEYOND THE NUGGET: What is the Mission Queen Pineapple?

Infographics by NotebookLM

1. The Union Minister for the Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER), Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, together with the Chief Minister of Tripura, launched the “Mission Queen Pineapple”, in the state of Tripura on May 27.

2. The programme is implemented under the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER). The aim of the mission is to address major structural gaps in the sector, including post-harvest losses, lack of integrated cold-chain infrastructure, absence of commercial-scale processing facilities, weak branding and limited structured GI monetisation.

3. It is a ₹236 crore centrally-funded farm-to-plate programme initiative for pineapple cultivation and value chain development. The mission is designed as a three-year implementation roadmap for promoting Tripura’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP) — the GI-tagged Queen Pineapple.

4. The programme will establish a “Hub & Spoke” integrated pineapple post-harvest ecosystem. It will comprise one central Hub near Agartala airport and eight spoke collection centers across major pineapple-growing clusters of West Tripura, Khowai and Sepahijala districts.

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5. The Minister stated that nearly 60 percent of the pineapple plant, presently discarded as waste, would be converted into value-added products through Bromelain extraction, Pineapple Leaf Fiber (PALF) processing and GI-branded confectionery units.

Post Read Question

Consider the following statements about Pineapples:

1. It is a herbaceous perennial.

2. State fruit of Assam and Tripura.

3. June 27 is celebrated as International Pineapple Day.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2, and 3

Answer Key

(c)

(Sources: Make way for the ‘queen’: Ahead of pineapple festival in Delhi, Tripura eyes global status for its state fruit, nhb.gov.in, tripurapineapplefestival.in

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