“Progressive Innovations for Natural Fibers of Aklan (PINA) 2050”

Project Overview

The Red Spanish Pineapple (Ananas comosus L.) is one of the four pineapple varieties that grow abundantly in the Philippines and is locally called as Aklan Piña. Its fruit is pale yellow, sweet, and has fibrous texture. In 2020, Vedasto and colleagues, evaluated the RSP fruit yield and quality through application of improved cultural management practices and found out that, RSP produced heavier fruits, higher fruit circumference, higher TSS reading, and higher pH. Furthermore, a high quality fiber, in terms of fiber strength was achieved through fertilizer application, spacing and leaf removal.

A verification was conducted to validate and standardize the results of Vedasto et al. (2020). Included in the study were the fertilizer application, spacing, leaf removal, fiber quality and genomic characterization. In addition, the utilization of the RSP fruit as raw material for development of functional foods will also be explored. Currently there is no applied system that can help fasten the quality checking of the textile industry especially in the Province of Aklan. It focuses on establishing a data collecting toolbox using built-in sensors on an Android phone in order to improve the textile and fabric standardization of Aklan pina and abaca. Along with the development of standardized framework on RSP, cultural management practice for fiber production, and innovative food products for value addition, sustainable livelihood is on the way as it creates income opportunities for its major industry players and stakeholders.