You also don’t need to add a lot of fertiliser all at once; a little bit of fertiliser every month or so can go a long way for your dragon fruit plant. Dragon fruit can be planted as ornamental plants, but they do bare delicious fruit that is rather tasty. In fact, with a little bit of preparation, you can even grow dragon fruit right in your own backyard. As a low maintenance plant that produces delicious fruit every year, the dragon fruit plant is one of the best things you can add to your garden. Cotinus mutabilisperforates the stem and Leptoglossus zonatussucks the sap, leaving stains and some deformation. A trellis is ideal, but you can also use a wall or a wooden post if you’re short on time or resources. It can be stored for from (3 to 9) months at –18 °C to – 196 °C without risk. Four or five days later, the fruits reach their maximal colouration and leads to splitting and cause economical loss. By Great Value Maha Bachat Retails Private Limited. Remember – the key to a healthy plant isn’t soaked soil but, Once your plant’s flowers start blooming, you only need to wait around 28 days after pollination to get your hands on some sweet, delicious dragon fruit. , the fruit’s skin would be yellow when ripe. The yield depends on planting density and is around (10 to 30 t/ha). Once it’s dry, take it to your planting site and plant it 5 cm into the soil. Weeds close to the plant should be removed manually. After two weeks, the seeds should have grown into young seedlings, which you can then place in your prepared planting site. tasty treat that most people know for its fire-like appearance Dragon Fruit Also known as “Pitaya,” Dragon Fruit is sour and refreshing, with a juicy flesh and strong flavor. If you’re using a stem cutting, make sure that it comes from a productive plant and it’s at least 30 cm long. The present harvesting technique of simply move the fruit in clock wise direction and twisting the fruit cause less or no injury to the fruits. As a subtropical plant from warmer climates, the dragon fruit plant can only grow somewhere hot, so the temperature of your planting site should hover around 18 - 26 °C. We offer farm tours and host weddings and other events at our beautiful farm. DRAGON FRUIT PLANTATION For Dragon fruit plantation, plant the cured cuttings directly into the soil at a depth of at least 1½ – 2 inches. can seem a little intimidating to grow. In cases where the rot is caused by extreme weather conditions, you can safely clip away the rotting parts of your plant without much worry. They have similar textures, flavours, and even appearances as they both have tiny black seeds inside of them! The absence of a peduncle makes picking difficult. While the dragon fruit can look a little strange at first, it’s actually pretty similar to other tropical fruits. A. is ideal, but you can also use a wall or a wooden post if you’re short on time or resources. Just make sure the wood you’re using isn’t treated timber. Maui Dragon Fruit Farm is a 27-acre USDA certified organic farm. In fact, with a little bit of preparation, you can even grow dragon fruit right in your own backyard. For one, you need to watch out for pests like ants and mealybugs that feed on your plants. However, if the rot is caused by bacteria, be sure to sterilise your clippers before using them on a different plant. Even if this weight is not in itself a problem for the different types of support, bunches may not be able to withstand violent winds. (adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||[]).push({}); Hi! Sandy soil also drains water faster than other kinds of soil, which is ideal for the cactus-like dragon fruit plant. If it’s your first time growing dragon fruit, we suggest you use cuttings as they’re generally more reliable than seeds and take less time to produce fruit after propagation. In practice, the extent of pruning depends on the type of support and its strength. © Krishi Sandesh. When vertical and horizontal supports are used, pruning is important and the stems should be selected in such a way as to force the plant to climb over the entire support. Local micro-irrigation is recommended. Once your plant’s flowers start blooming, you only need to wait around 28 days after pollination to get your hands on some sweet, delicious dragon fruit. As the seedling grows, you only need to water it sparingly. However, the strange looking fruit isn’t as exotic as it looks. During the rainy season, particularly so in areas with sandy soil, the mature pitaya fruits must be harvested on time to prevent the fruits from absorbing excess water which causes them to split open. As a climbing plant, you’ll also need to provide it with some kind of support. Planting at a distance of 2.5 m each to row and between the plants with 4 cutting/ support can accommodate 6400 plants / ha and also gives good yields and quality of fruits. and Botryosphaeria dothidea), viral (Cactus virus X), and bacterial (Xanthomonassp. Dragon fruit is an exotic cactus that is found in Asia, Mexico, and parts of South America. Just make sure the wood you’re using isn’t treated timber. Any kind of well draining soil will do, but sandy soil can give you the best results as the plant needs to be in a slightly acidic environment. If you live in the warmer parts of the country, you should be able to grow the plant in your garden without too much of a problem. Rats and birds can cause serious damage, mainly to flowers  and fruits  as well as ripe fruits. Dragon fruit or pitaya comes from a special kind of cactus that climbs up plants and other structures like a vine. Dragon Fruit Cultivation Introduction of Dragon Fruit: – This fruit is famous in Thailand, Vietnam, Israel and Sri Lanka. The fruit skin colors very late in the maturation stage, changing from green to red or rosy-pink (25 or 27 days) (depending on the species) after anthesis. Success Story: Agromet Advisory Services – Boon to the Farmers in... Red colour fruit with white colour flesh. Like most fruits, dragon fruit is full of important vitamins and minerals. If you live in the warmer parts of the country, you should be able to grow the plant in your garden without too much of a problem.