DRAGON FRUIT

Abhinash Moirangthem, Punabati Heisnam, Kalkame Ch. Momin and B.N. Hazarika
College of Horticulture and Forestry, Central Agricultural University
Pasighat -791102, Arunachal Pradesh
Introduction
Dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.) is a tropical fruit that belongs to climbing cacti
(Cactaceae) family. The plant is native to Mexico. They were transplanted to Central
America, probably by Europeans. These cacti are cultivated in Southeast Asia mainly
Thailand and Vietnam, the United States, Israel, Australia, Cyprus and Canary Islands. In
India, commercial cultivation of this fruit is picking up and market price of this fruit in India
is 200 to 250 Rs / kg. This fruit plant is treated as an ornamental plant as well as fruit
producing plant. Hylocereus are the tall cacti species with flowering fruit. It is a vining,
terrestrial or epiphytic cactus with fleshy stem. The plant grows climbing the support pole or
other tree using aerial roots. Dragon fruit stems are scandent, creeping, sprawling or
clambering and branch profusely with generally three ribs and undulating horn-like margins
with areoles, bearing spines.
Description
The plant is a climbing cactus vine that grows well in dry areas. Because of its
epiphytic nature, it grows best in soil with high level of organic materials. It is a long day
plant with beautiful night blooming flower that is nicknamed as “Noble Woman” or “Queen
of the Night”. The flowers, which bloom for only one night, are white and large, measuring
30 cm long or more. The fruit is also known as Strawberry Pear, Dragon fruit, Pitahaya,
Night blooming Cereus, Belle of the night, Conderella plant and Jesus in the Cradle. Fruit is
named as pitahaya because of the bracts or scales on the fruit skin and hence the name of
pitahaya meaning “the scaly fruit”. The fruit comes in three types, all with leathery, slightly
leafy skin: Hylocereus undatus - white flesh with pink skin, Hylocereus costaricencis or
Hylocereus polyrhizus - red flesh with pink skin and Hylocereus (Selenicerus)
megalanthus - white flesh with yellow skin. They are bell-shaped and produce a sweet
fragrance when in bloom. Pitahaya plants can have between four to six fruiting cycles in one
year
Climatic requirement
The tropical weather conditions are better for the Dragon fruit cultivation. Dragon
fruit requires 50 cm rainfall and 20 ˚C to 30˚C temperature. The high sunlight is not friendly
for the Dragon fruit crop. Use of shade net or any other shading method for protecting the
Dragon fruit crop from high sunlight is found beneficial.
Soil requirement
Dragon fruit could be grown in a wide range of soils. The most important factor is
that the soil should be well drained as it does not tolerate water logging. It prefers slightly
acidic soil. The best soils are loams with plenty of organic matter. The soil pH range should
be 5.5 to 7. It can tolerate some salt in the soil, although the extent of tolerance will depend
on the cultivars.
Propagation
There are two methods of propagating Dragon fruit plants: (i) seed propagation and
(ii) vegetative propagation.
Seed propagation: Seed propagation involves the collection of seeds from selected fruits of
mother plants, washing them with water and germinating them on wet blotting papers or a
sand clay mixture. Seeds starts germination in 3-4 days and seedling can be potted 4-5 weeks
after germination. They are ready for field planting by 9-10 months. However this method is
not commonly practiced as it takes 3-4 years to reach the bearing stage.
Vegetative propagation: The easiest and cheapest method of propagating Dragon fruit
vegetatively is by cutting. Dragon fruit plants established from cuttings starts flowering after
one to two years of planting. Cuttings can be obtained throughout the year, however it is
preferable to collect the cuttings after fruiting season of mother plants. In propagation by
cuttings, the entire stem segment or 15-60 cm cuttings could be used. The longer the cutting,
faster is the regeneration rate of new shoots
Dragon fruit can also be propagated vegetatively by grafting. Grafting is however not very
common as cuttings are easy and convenient method of propagation. However, the grafting
method is beneficial when using selected rootstocks and scions.
Preparation of nursery:
The nurseries are preferred as they give much more and easier control of soil, water,
light and nutrient factors. The nursery can be started 3 months before the onset of the rains
and located close to the planting site to avoid transport costs and damage to plants. Shade is
used for cuttings establishment. In general, 1,100 plants could be accommodated in 10 x 10 m
of nursery space. Therefore, the size of the nursery is dependent on the number of plants
required. Not all cuttings will root, so it is better to prepare a slightly larger area for the exact
number of plants required.
Field Establishment:
Dragon fruit plants prefer full sunlight; hence open areas are most suitable for
planting. They should not be planted under heavy shade or in boggy patches. The land should
be free draining and not subject to flooding.
Land preparation:
Weeding is required on all Dragon fruit planting sites, up to 1 m in diameter around
the planting hole. If planted on grassland, the grass needs to be removed to 1 m in diameter
around the planting site. If a site is over-run with woody growth and shrubs, some clearance
will be necessary.
Spacing:
The spacing for field planting varies depending on the size and slope of the plantation.
In small-scale plantings no proper spacing is required. Wider spacing will provide adequate
air circulation and fewer chances for occurrence of diseases. The spacing will also depend on
the type of posts used for trellising. The common spacing used is given in Table 1.
Table 1: Common Spacing of Dragon Fruit Plants
Spacing (m) No of plants/ha
Between rows Within rows
3.0 3.0 1,100
4.0 3.0 833
4.9 3.0 680
3.7 3.7 730

Trellising:
As the Dragon fruit is a climbing cacti, the vines have to be train to climb concrete or
wooden posts, fences, walls, and trees for support. There should be a post for each vine and a
structure to support it at the top. The life of a Dragon fruit vine is as long as 20 years; hence
the durability of the post is of considerable importance. The post has to be strong as a 3-4
year old vine may weigh about 100 kg, hence only concrete or hard timber posts will be able
to bear the weight. The suggested post size is 100-150 mm diameter and 2 m high and should
be buried 40 cm in the ground (Figure 1).
 Figure 1: Trellises made of concrete post and rubber tyre
Planting:
The planting of seedlings or cuttings in a well-prepared hole is the commonest
method for establishing a Dragon fruit plantation. The hole should be about 30 cm deep and
20 cm wide. The soil should be loosened on the sides of the hole-walls and base as this will
help the development of roots systems. The supporting post is planted at the centre of the
planting hole, well in advance by embedding it on concrete to make it firm to enable the vine
to climb. The hole should be filled to ground level with the soil that was removed. It is
important to flatten the soil around the base of the plant to ground level. The plant should be
watered daily if rains do not occur. If water is constantly available, planting may be done
throughout the year. However, the best time for planting is at the beginning of the rainy
season, particularly in seasonally dry regions. The best time of day is late afternoon to early
evening.
Training to trellises and pruning:
The plants grow fast and reach the trellis in a short period. As the vines grow they
may fall to the ground and severe damage could occur. Tying the vines loosely to the trellis
could prevent this. The lateral branches should be pruned when the vines grow toward the
trellis and only the outer leader vines should be allowed to grow. Once the vines reach the
trellis free branching is allowed (Figure 2). Removal of the tip of the main stem will induce
lateral branching. This pruning is referred to as structural pruning. The excess stems and
those are dead and diseased are removed. This will maintain healthy and vigorous stems.
After harvest there should be about 50 main branches with one or two secondary branches on
a main branch. The tertiary and quarterly branches should be removed. Once pruned, the
pruning cuts should be treated with fungicide. Training operations are easier at midday when
vines become soft.

Figure 2: Training of a Dragon fruit plant from establishment to production

Irrigation:
Dragon fruit, although a member of the family Cactaceae requires plenty of water for
their growth because they have originated from tropical rainforests. Their root system is
distributed in the top 15-30 cm of the soil; hence irrigation is required to ensure the needed
soil moisture content particularly during the dry spells. The rainfall requirement is 1145-2540
mm per year. Excessive irrigation is not desirable as it may promote bacterial and fungal
diseases. If there are frequent dry periods without irrigation, fruit production will be less and
vines will produce small fruits. Micro-irrigation systems will be very useful to control soil
moisture. Mulching is necessary to reduce moisture loss and maintain moisture status in the
soil.
Nutrient requirement:
Dragon fruit can be grown organically without applying in organic fertilizers, or
pesticides, hence it has market potential as a healthy organic fruit. Organic manures such as
cattle or poultry manure or well decomposed compost could be used. The current trend in
many countries is to use organic manures without any chemical fertilizers due to the high
international demand for organically produced fruits.
Weed management:
Weed management is important as they could compete with the crop for water and
nutrients, and provide shelter for other pests such as birds and ants that may eat the stems.
Weeds could also grow easily as the crop is widely spaced. Special care should be taken to
control creeping weeds, as they will entangle with the vines making removal very difficult.
Ring weeding and mulching is practiced for weed management and moisture conservation.
Pests:
Dragon fruit is comparatively free of pests. The common pests reported are ants, scale
insects, mealy bugs, beetles, slugs, snails, borers, caterpillars, termites, nematodes, fruit flies,
bats, rats and birds. These pests should be monitored regularly and controlled when observed.
Harvesting:
The ripening time is usually from June- December. The fruits have to be selectively
harvested as they ripen in different times. Most often harvesting is done twice a week. The
harvesting is done carefully using knives without damaging the fruits. After harvesting, the
fruits should be kept in cool shady place before transferring them for storing.
Yield:
Dragon fruit bears within six to nine months and yields could be obtained from
second year onwards. The average yield is about 10-12,000 kg/ha at the end of the third year.
The proper management of the vines and fruit thinning improves the size of the fruits and
yield. The average fruit weight is about 350 g. The flowers and fruits can be thinned to
improve and maintain fruit size and quality.