The MD2 pineapple history starts in Hawaii
The variety was bred at the Pineapple Research Institute of Hawaii. The institute did research for Del Monte, Dole and Maui Land and Pineapple. One seedling line, numbered 73-114, stood out. It was sweeter than the fruit of the day and it travelled better.
That line was later renamed MD-2. The initials come from Millie Dillard, the wife of the general manager of Del Monte Hawaii. The name stuck. It is the name on our gate today.
From Costa Rica to the world
The institute was dissolved in 1986 and its work was split between its backers. Del Monte took 73-114 to Costa Rica, where it grew well. The fruit was launched publicly in 1996.
The market changed quickly after that. MD2 now accounts for roughly half of the fresh pineapple sold worldwide. Most shoppers have eaten it without ever learning its name.
How MD2 reached Malaysia
Malaysia has grown pineapples commercially for a long time. The Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board was set up in 1957 and still oversees the crop.
MD2 itself arrived much later, around 2008, through the board and a Malaysian planter. It spread as growers saw how well the fruit sold at home and abroad.
Our own chapter, on a Changlun hillside
Our own chapter is short. The estate was planted during the 2020 lockdown, starting with ten thousand seedlings on a slope that had grown nothing in years.
It now carries more than a hundred thousand plants across six hectares. Alongside MD2 we grow madu kaca and mahkota emas. The slopes drain well, and the fruit ripens with the hills in view.
Taste it where it grows
The kitchen sits a few minutes from the field. Juice is pressed from fruit cut that morning, and the tarts are baked here.
That is the shortest version of this history you can taste. Come up for a meal, or stay the night among the rows and see the field at sunrise.
Sources
Variety history from the published record of the Pineapple Research Institute of Hawaii and Del Monte. Malaysian industry dates from the Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board.