Dragon Fruit – The ‘Wonderous Fruit’ of The 21St Century also known as pitaya fruit, pitahaya fruit is commonly known as Dragon Fruit and is among the most nutritious and wonderful exotic fruits. It is native to Central Americas and has been successfully grown commercially in Israel, Australia, Mexico, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa and now knocking at our door in Kenya. A dragon fruit tree is a cactus vine and belongs to the genus of “Hylocereus” and family of “Cactus”. Usually its flowers are white or pink, are showy and large sized with bellshape and tubular. Dragon fruit plant blooms flowers only at night and these flowers have an excellent fragrant smell. The Dragon Fruit is a fast growing climbing cactus vine which requires a vertical pole support to grow on and then a ring to fall like an umbrella. It has a life span of more than 25years , up to 50 years, hence proper selection of poles & rings is important. Normally four plants per pole are planted to give maximum yield.

Dragon fruit is a favourite to many, particularly people of Asian and south American origin.

The fruit possesses medicinal properties: and it is known to prevent colon cancer and diabetes, neutralises toxic substances in the body such as heavy metals by scavenging free radicals, reduces cholesterol and high blood pressure. It is also reported to control high sugar levels, prevent internal bleeding, and promotes dental health. Dragon fruit also helps to improve digestion, relieves arthritis and reduces body fat. It reduces acne and slows ageing as it removes wrinkles on the skin. It also improves eyesight and boosts immunity.

There are 3 types dragon fruit based on their colour.

• Red colour fruit with white colour flesh. (Hylocereus undatus)
• Red colour fruit with red colour flesh (Hylocereus polyrhisus)
• Yellow colour fruit with white flesh (Hylocereus megelanthus)

THE DEMAND AND POTENTIAL FOR DRAGON FRUIT

Dragon Fruit has great potential as a new crop for Kenyan growers since it adapts well to the local climate with high temperatures and consumes little water. Moreover, the local and global market trends show an ever increasing demand for new, healthy exotic fruits. The fruit of this crop is appreciated worldwide as a super fruit for its positive health benefits, high nutritional value and other nutraceutical benefits. A nutraceutical is defined as any substance that is a food or part of a food and provides medical or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease.

Further, a Dragon fruit makes a great landscape plant Kenya imports 99% of dragon fruits from Vietnam and South Africa. Apart from the domestic market, there is a great potential for exports of this new fruit to the traditional markets in the European Union as well as new ones like the Gulf, and USA.

DRAGON FRUIT CLIMATE AND SOIL REQUIREMENTS

Dragon fruit adapts very well to most climatic conditions found in Kenya. It prefers a dry, tropical climate with average temperatures between 21 to 30 degrees Celsius and rainfall of 500-1500mm per annum. Nonetheless , it can still put up with high temperatures up to 40 Celsius and as low as 0 Celsius though for short periods. The plant will still grow and fruit in the cooler highland areas that experience lower temperatures for some times of the year, only that the farmers will have delayed fruit maturity as the crop will grow slowly. It therefore means that farmers in all climatic zones can plant this crop.

Dragon Fruit plants can tolerate any type of soil, however they grow best in well draining soils that are high in organic matter. Dragon fruit are moderately to highly tolerant of salt in the soil. They prefer a rich, mildly acidic to neutral soil, within the pH range 5.0 to 8.0. Water retaining soils can cause root rot, and therefore in mitigation soil may be mixed with sand or tiny stone gravels to facilitate water drainage or planting on raised beds

GROUND PREPARATION

The plants should be planted in full sun and free from shading obstacles such as buildings for optimal fruit production. Therefore the rows should be in an East-West orientation. Clear the ground by weeding up to 1 metre to 1.5 metre diameter around the individual sites which are mounded to 150 mm and dig a with 600mm post hole in the ground. The plant supporting poles should be no more than 2m long. Poles can be anything from concrete, timber to PVC, with a frame attached to the top to allow the plant to hang down. The frame can be easily and cheaply be made from cutting in half used tyres and holding them to the post with 2 D12 size rebar rods in a cross shape. Care should be taken when selecting the post as the same should last upwards of 25 years and carry a weight of up to 200 kilos.

SPACING DENSITY

Plant spacing depends on production system and trellis used Single post trellis with 4 plants per post in a 3metre by 3 metre spacing configuration is common and accommodates 1800 plants/acre). The Dragon fruit stems are planted right next to the post to enable them climb. The plant rib with flatter side is oriented to the run parallel to the post as the aerial roots that cling to the post emerge from this side. The plants are loosely tied to the post to train them upwards to the trellis canopy. Other production systems include bench-type trellis and wire trellis.

IRRIGATION AND PRUNING

Dragon fruit being a cactus requires much less water as compared to other crops/fruits. When fully established, it can survive without water for weeks or sometimes months. Approximately 1 to 2 litres of water per week per plant is sufficient during the dry days. Water requirement may increase or decrease depending upon your soil type, moisture holding capacity, plant age and climatic conditions.

It is necessary to regularly prune the dragon fruits plants to obtain an open, manageable, and productive umbrella shape canopy. Also, it is advised to prune right after harvesting the fruits. Regular pruning will induce new shoots for the next cropping season.

PESTS/DISEASES

There are no serious or particular pests and diseases found in dragon fruit farming. Nonetheless fruit should be protected especially from birds and other predators. Fruit flies are the commonest pest in a dragon fruit plantation but these can be suppressed by use of pheromone traps. Apart from this there a chance that it may be affected by fungal or root rot diseases due to overwatering or heavy rains. Soil must have good drainage and overwatering should be avoided

Other known pests and diseases include: Moles, squirrels, and rabbits can feed on and kill plants and become a significant problem.

Scale, Ants, aphids and snails can cause problems, damage young shoots and flower buds

Weeds can be a problem, increase production costs - Mulch helps with suppression

HARVEST

The best time to harvest Dragon Fruit is 35 to 40 days after flowering (anthesis). The maturity of fruit is normally identified by changes in fruit skin colour which changes from bright green to red or pink at maturity. The fruit is non climacteric, which means it does not ripen further once removed from the plant. For this reason it is important for the farmer to choose carefully the most optimal time to harvest, usually 3 to 5 days after the start of skin colour change.

STORAGE

Dragon fruit will last for up to three months if stored at 7 to 10 degreesCelsius and 90% to 98% relative humidity. In ordinary room temperature conditions, the dragon fruit will remain fresh for upward of 2 weeks.