Get to understand dragon fruit

Dragon fruit, often referred to as pitaya, is local to southern Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica and El Salvador. It grows on a number of other species of cactus. In spite of its origins in Southern The us, it’s most generally produced and fed on in Asia, with China the sector’s greatest client.

Vietnam is recently the sector’s greatest manufacturer and exporter of the fruit. Right here, it is named ‘thanh lengthy’, which interprets to ‘dragon’s eyes’, and is thought to be the beginning of its not unusual English title.

‘Dragon fruit’ has been used because the early Nineteen Sixties to explain the fruit, most probably because of its leather-like pores and skin and distinguished spikes. In some areas, the fruit could also be referred to as a strawberry pear. The fruit typically weighs between 150g and 600g. The perfect fruit is unblemished and overripe.

Sorts
Stenocereus fruit (bitter dragon fruit) is a wide range this is usually eaten within the arid areas of the Americas. They’re reportedly sourer and refreshing, with juicier flesh and a more potent style, than the Selenicereus selection.

Selenicereus undatus (white-fleshed dragon fruit) is possibly probably the most well known selection, and has pink-skinned fruit and white flesh. Selenicereus costaricensis (red-fleshed dragon fruit) is red-skinned with pink flesh. Selenicereus megalanthus (yellow dragon fruit) has yellow pores and skin and white flesh.

Cultivation
Dragon fruit seeds develop neatly in compost, and will even be grown as potted indoor crops. The seeds desire a shallower planting, with the cactus germinating after round 11 days. The cactus of the dragon fruit is a mountain climbing plant.

As soon as the cactus reaches round 4,5kg, it should start to undergo fruit. Vegetation can take as much as 60 months to come back into complete industrial manufacturing, at which level timber can yield between 20t and 30t.

Plants generally tend to bloom in a single day and wilt by means of the next night. The cactus depends on bats and moths for pollination. Pass-pollination with a 2nd, genetically distinct plant of the similar species typically will increase fruit set and high quality. This boundaries the potential of house growers to provide the fruit. On the other hand, the crops can flower between 3 and 6 instances in line with yr relying on rising prerequisites.

Like different cacti, if a wholesome piece of the stem is damaged off, it should take root within the soil and grow to be its personal plant.

Selenicereus has tailored to are living in dry tropical climates with a average quantity of rain. In a large number of areas, it has escaped cultivation to grow to be a weed and is assessed as an invasive weed in some international locations.

Pests and illnesses
Stems and fruit are at risk of a number of illnesses led to by means of fungi, micro organism, a nematode, and a plague. Overwatering or over the top rainfall may cause the plants to drop and fruit to rot. The bacterium Xanthomonas campestris reasons the stems to rot. Dothiorella fungi may cause brown spots at the fruit. Different fungi identified to contaminate pitaya come with Botryosphaeria dothidea, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Bipolaris cactivora.

Pitayas are not unusual in world business and so pests are continuously moved with the end result. Pitayas are much less hospitable to larval building, retarding complete dimension.

Meals and seed oils
The fruit’s texture is infrequently likened to that of the kiwifruit on account of its black, crunchy seeds. The seed oil comprises the fatty acids linoleic acid and linolenic acid. Dragon fruit is used to flavour and color juices and alcoholic drinks. The plants can also be eaten or steeped as tea.

The fatty acid compositions of the seed oils of S. costaricensis, syn. Hylocereus costaricensis (red-fleshed pitaya) and S. undatus, syn. H. undatus (white-fleshed pitaya) are an identical: myristic acid (negligible), palmitic acid (17%), stearic acid (5%), palmitoleic acid (about 1%), oleic acid (22%), cis-vaccenic acid (3%), linoleic acid (50%), and alpha-Linolenic acid (1%).

South Africa
In South Africa, dragon fruit manufacturing is at the building up, with produce typically exported to Northern Hemisphere international locations in Europe. The nice and cozy local weather in South Africa is perfect for dragon fruit manufacturing, because the fruit favours average temperatures of round 21°C to 29°C.

On the other hand, it additionally calls for prime rainfall of between 650mm and 1 200mm yearly. The fruit could also be delicate to an excessive amount of daylight and frost, and is more likely to develop highest in areas in South Africa the place bananas, avocados and macadamias nuts are produced.

A few of these areas come with the Midlands in KwaZulu-Natal, Mbombela in Mpumalanga, and Tzaneen in Limpopo. Dragon fruit will also be produced in some portions of the Western and Jap Cape.

These days, South Africa produces round 100t of dragon fruit in line with yr on round 50ha. As new plantings come into manufacturing, on the other hand, manufacturing is predicted to extend, with new marketplace alternatives opening up for native farmers.

Dragon fruit is harvested in South Africa from November to March. Dragon fruit from the Western Cape and Mpumalanga can produce into Would possibly and June, however the season of inland South Africa concludes in April.