Dragon fruit farm is one of the less popular fruits in the United States because they are very rare, but they are one of the most delicious and nutritious. Dragon fruit comes from South America, but it is also grown in Southeast Asia and Turkey. If you love dragon fruit, then you need to know how to grow more of them yourself.
In this article, we are going to cover everything you need to know about dragon fruit farms in the United States or Canada. Some Things You Need To Know Before Planting A Dragon Fruit Farm. When you want to grow dragon fruit, the first thing you need to do is to choose a good location. For example, it is best if you plant your dragon fruits together with an avocado tree and a lemon tree.
Contents
What is Dragon Fruit?
Dragon fruit is a tropical fruit that comes from the Cactus family. It has a scaly texture and the skin is either yellow or red. The flesh of the dragon fruit is white, pink, or red, depending on the variety you choose to grow on your farm. The flesh contains many large seeds and it has a sweet taste that resembles that of kiwi and strawberry.
9 Nutritional benefits of dragon fruit
- Dragon fruit improves bone formation and bone health
- Maintains balance in blood circulation levels
- Dragon fruit prevents constipation
- Helps to prevent hair fall
- Being rich in carotene keeps the eyes well.
- fiber also reduces body fat.
- The immunity system increases at a significant rate
- Vitamin B-3 lowers blood cholesterol and keeps skin smooth.
- Vitamin C boosts the body’s immune system and helps keep skin, teeth, and hair healthy.
Nutrition facts
Vitamin C, Minerals, and High Fiber. The fruit contains fiber, fat, carotene, plenty of phosphorus, ascorbic acid, protein, calcium, and iron.
For every 100 grams of edible dragon fruit, the nutrients found are:
- Water – 80-90 grams
- Sugar – 9-10 grams
- Protein – 0.15-0.5 g
- Fiber – 0.33-0.90 grams
- Food energy – 35-50 kcal
- Fat – 0.10-0.6 grams
- Calcium – 8-10 mg
- Iron – 0.3-0.6 mg
- Phosphorus – 18-35 grams
- Carotene- (Vitamin A thiamine, riboflavin slightly
- Vitamin-B-3 – 0.2 – 0.4 mg
About dragon farms in different countries
Dragon Fruit is found in many different countries. In Australia, the dragon fruit is called pitaya. This fruit grows around Las Vegas, Nevada, where the weather is hot year round. In Brazil, they call the dragon fruit pitanga.
In Turkey, they call this fruit patlıcan which means eggplant, because of its color and texture.
dragon fruit farm California
California is one of the best places to grow dragon fruits. The climate of this state is very favorable for growing the dragon fruit.
Florida
In Florida, it is not recommended that you plant a dragon fruit farm because they cannot handle too much heat and humidity. Instead, you can grow them in pots indoors.
dragon fruit farm in Thailand
Thailand has a hot climate similar to California and it is well suited for growing dragon fruit.
dragon fruit farm in texas
The climate of Texas is very suitable for dragon fruits during spring, fall and winter. However, the summers are very hot so you cannot grow these plants outdoors at that time. In Vietnam, they call dragon fruit ‘Long Chong’ (long meaning dragon in Vietnamese).
Dragon fruit cultivation on the roof
An additional plastic drum is required for rooftop dragon fruit cultivation. The soil inside the drum needs to be made in three layers. The next factor will be the same as the following.
The first level: Make a hole in the bottom of the brick/gravel drum. It is better to give some amount of sand. This will act as a filter. Then fill some part of the drum as the first layer of soil mixed with dung manure.
The second level: At this level, fill a 3 to 4-inch space in the drum with a layer of dung with some organic manure equal to peas. Once the layer is filled, again add some of the topsoils to the organic mixed soil. The sapling should be planted at this level.
The third level: Complete the planting of the sapling with soil mixed with organic manure and dung. Do not fill the drum with soil. Leave 1.5-2 inches of space in the drum. Otherwise, if water is given, it will leak out. The seedlings should be tied to the poles with hard jute or plastic rope by placing poles in the middle so that they do not lean in the wind. The taller the seedling, the longer the poles should be used.
How To Start dragon fruit farming?
To cultivate any fruit or vegetable one has to observe some continuity. Below are the methods and rules for cultivating dragon fruit
Selection and preparation of cultivable land
Before cultivating anything, one has to make sure that the cultivable land is suitable. Fertile-non-fertile or high-low-flat all these things are very important. Soil types such as clay soils, loam soils, and sandy soils are also to be considered.
Because not all crops grow in all soils. For the cultivation of Dragon Fruit, it is necessary to select high and medium-elevation fertile soil. Seedlings should be planted by leveling the soil with 3 to 3 tillers and after tillage with a good ladder.
Species
There are usually 3 varieties of dragon fruit or pitaya.
- Red dragon fruit: Their shells are red but their shells are white.
- Costa Rica Dragon Fruit: The shell and shell of this species are both red.
- Yellow dragon fruit: The shell is yellow in appearance but the inner scales are white.
Seedling collection
Where are the dragon fruit saplings found? There are many questions about this. It is better to plant new trees by cutting the stems than to produce seedlings by collecting seeds from dragon fruit. It takes less time as well as maintains maternal quality.
The stem cutting method is to cut some stems one foot in size from a dragon tree and put them in the ground on the seedbed. After a month they have to be picked up and planted in a certain place.
Method of planting seedlings
After a few days, mix 25 to 30 kg of decomposed dung, 250 gms of TSP and MOP, and 15 gms of gypsum and 50 gms of zinc sulfate in the soil in a hole of 1.5 m 1.5 wide 1 m. If the place is too dry, sprinkle with water. Straighten a 6-foot-high, four-cornered cement pillar in the middle of the hole and place it one to one-and-a-half feet deep under the ground.
After 12 to 15 days, keep a distance of 50 cm in each hole and plant 4 seedlings (cutting/grafting) straight on each side of the pillar in each hole. Irrigate regularly. Care should be taken so that the roots of the tree do not rot in too much water and do not dry out again.
Apply 100 gm urea fertilizer every three months from one month to 1 year after planting dragon fruit seedlings. This will allow the seedlings to grow faster and yield more.
Other care and management
As soon as the seedlings are plucked, they should be tied to poles with coconut or straw rope. At the top of the pole, according to the wheels of the motorcycle, something round should be given. If you want, you can make the poles together with cement. And stick with thick wire.
When the tree is big, take the head of the tree with the inside of the tire and hang it on the outside. According to experts, the hanging tip yields more.
Ways of disease and control
According to the farmers, it is safe to say that dragon fruit does not cause such a disease. However, the root of the decay. When excess water accumulates in the roots, the roots of the tree rot. And the only way to avoid this problem is to cultivate and drain the water on high ground.
Attacks of many aphids and Milli bugs have been observed. Aphids mainly suck the sap from the soft and young branches and leaves of the tree, in which the branches become infected and turn pale. And the tree becomes weak. When this insect defecates on the tree, a fungal vein called Gutimold appears.
This disrupts the food production process of the plant. To get rid of the fungus or when the tree becomes pale, spray 25 ml of Daisy or Malathion pesticide in every 10 liters of water.
The exact time of fruit collection
Keep in mind that fruits can be collected one to one and a half years after planting dragon fruit seedlings. Fruits should be collected only when they turn completely red. Fruits become edible within 30 to 40 days of flowering. You can collect fruits 5 to 6 times a year.
conclusion
The cultivation of dragon fruit on the roof is a wonderful method. The tree can be grown in large numbers of trees and the costs are reduced sharply. In addition, the production cost is low and even if the fruits are small, it still has a great profit margin.
Dragon fruit grows well in warm climates where the temperature does not fluctuate widely during the summer and winter seasons. Dragon fruit produces high yields because of its large number of seeds per fruit.
