Privi Life Sciences - Crop Journal

Dragon Fruit

Crop Category

Fruits

Applicable Product

Description

Dragon Fruit also known as Pitaya or Pitahaya and is grown for its edible fruit.

It is a fruit from Central America, South America and Asia.

The Dragon Fruit plant has also been nicknamed Belle of the Night, Cinderella Plant, Night Blooming Cereus, Queen of the Night, and Moonflower, as its flowers only bloom for one night each year.

Dragon Fruit is cultivated in Southeast Asia, Florida, the Caribbean, Australia and throughout tropical and subtropical world regions.

In India less than 100 acre area is under Dragon Fruit cultivation.

In India it is grown in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka & Tamil Nadu.

Taxonomic Classification

Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Angiosperms
Class: Dicotyledonae
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Cactaceae
Genus: Hylocereus
Species: undatus

Economically Important Part

Fruits are the most economically important part of Dragon Fruit.

Conditions for Cultivation

Tropical climate is ideal for Dragon Fruit cultivation.

This fruit requires minimum annual rainfall of 50 cm and temperature about 20˚C to 30˚C.

Too much of sunlight is not good for its Dragon fruit cultivation.

This fruit can be grown on a wide range of soils from sandy loam to clay loam.

Soil pH of 5.5 – 7.0 is best for Dragon Fruit cultivation

Major Challenges

The major challenges involve Biotic and Abiotic causes.
Biotic Causes:
- Major Pests: Mealybugs, Aphids, Beetles, Mites and Thrips.
- Major Diseases: Blotchy Red Spot, Anthracnose, Stem Soft Rot and Stem Rot.
Abiotic Causes:
- Chilling injury
- Splitting

Crop Schedule

Crop Stage	Products	Dosage	Method Of Application	Benefits
Inorganic Fertilizer	Geoxol.COM	50-100 g / plant	Soil Application	Rejuvenates soil for sustainable growth of crops
Organic fertilizer after stress	Mycoxol4G	10 g per liter of water	Soil Drenching	Reduces incidence of soil borne diseases, improves availability of phosphorous and other micronutrients
Deficiency of Zinc	Nutrin Zn	650 g / hectare / application, if soil Zn (less than 0.6ppm),repeat application is recommended based on deficiency	Foliar Application	Corrects Zinc deficiency
Deficiency of Iron	Nutrin Fe	650 g / hectare / application, if soil Fe (less than 4.5 ppm),repeat application is recommended based on deficiency	Foliar Application	Corrects Iron deficiency
Bud break	Nutrifight	2 g per liter of water	Foliar Application	Reduces incidence of diseases
Vegetative sprouting	Silixol	2 ml per liter of water	Foliar Application	Triggers metabolic activities
Pre flowering	CalSi-B++	1 g per liter of water	Foliar Application	Optimizes nutrient requirement
Fruit Setting	Silixol	2 ml per liter of water	Foliar Application	Reduces physiological fruit dropping
Fruit Development 2	CalSi-B++	1 g per liter of water	Foliar Application	Facilitates fruit development
Fruit Development 2	Nutrifight	2 g per liter of water	Foliar Application	Reduces incidence of diseases
Fruit Development 2	Nutrin Combo	1-2 ml per liter of water	Foliar Application	Optimizes nutrient requirement
Fruit Development 2	CalSi-B++	1 g per liter of water	Foliar Application	Facilitates fruit development
Fruit Ripening	Silixol	2 ml per liter of water	Foliar Application	Improves quality and quantity of produce
Pruning (after harvest)	Nutrifight	2 g per liter of water	Foliar Application	Reduces incidence of diseases
Deficiency of Iron	Nutrin Fe 12%	650 g / hectare / application, if soil Fe (less than 4.5 ppm),repeat application is recommended based on deficiency. Suitable for foliar sprays for crops grown on all types of soil.	Foliar spray	Corrects Iron deficiency
Deficiency of Iron	Nutrin Fe EDDHA 6%	2.5-5.0 kg / hectare / application, if soil Fe (less than 4.5 ppm),repeat application is recommended based on deficiency. Suitable for calcerous soils with pH above 7.5	Soil application	Corrects Iron deficiency
Deficiency of Boron	Nutrin Boron 20%	650 g / hectare / application, if soil Fe (less than 25 ppm),repeat application is recommended based on deficiency	Foliar spray	Corrects Boron deficiency
After 15-20 days of crop establishment	Mycoxol 4G	500 g/hectare/application, if soil pH (less than or equal to 7.5) and availble P (more than 15 kg/ha) - if fertigation is available	Soil application	Reduces incidence of soil borne diseases, improves availability of phosphorous and other micronutrients
After 15-20 days of crop establishment	Mycoxol Granules	10-20 Kg/ha/application, depending upon soil properties - if crop is on flood irrigation	Soil application	Reduces incidence of soil borne diseases, improves availability of phosphorous and other micronutrients

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