To solve this problem, spray as for mealy bugs. It takes ten to twelve months for a seedling plant to come into bearing. The commercial method is by means of suckers, slips, crowns, and stumps. A sucker is a shoot or small plant that develops in the axil of a leaf below the fruit stem. When these occur near the ground they quickly develop into strong plants.
Slips are small plants that form just below the fruit.
They require a year longer than suckers to mature a crop. Crowns are the topknots of leaves on the fruits. They are obtainable only when the fruit is used nearby for canning. For market purposes the fruit is shipped with the crown on it. Plants grown for crowns require two years to mature as fruit.