Next, is a study about the yellow dragon fruit of the Central University of Ecuador:
Morphology of the yellow dragon fruit
Estate
They are shallow up to about 15 cm deep in the ground. The growth of the roots is parallel to the surface. It develops supporting roots that sprout from the pods and adhere to the dead or alive guardian.
Pods
• They are triangular or edges that surround the woody stem.
• They are fleshy, succulent, the size and their color are variable.
• Characteristics used to differentiate the existing types of yellow dragon fruit.
Flowers • They have a tube or trumpet shape.
• They are showy, aromatic, and individual.
• Open between 7pm, staying open all night.
• Its length ranges from 26 cm to 36 cm in diameter; its weight ranges from 138 to 286 g.
The fruit is green before ripening.
• In the maturity stage of some varieties, the peel and pulp turn purple-red, while in others, the fruit of the yellow dragon fruit, in the ripened stage, the skin is yellow, and the flesh is white.
• The fruit of the Palora type yellow pitahaya has thorns, which are easily detached when ripe, those thorns are removed with a brush or brush.
• The fruit weighs approximately 300 to 500 grams and contains many seeds (650 seeds per fruit).
¿How to cultivate Yellow Dragon Fruit´s Plant ?
• Environment temperature: between 18 to 25 centigrade
• Amount of rain: 1,300 and 2,200 mm of water per year
• Altitude: between 800 to 1850 m
• Solar lighting grows at full sun exposure
Selection of pods and stems
• Select a healthy yellow pitahaya orchard
• Select pods or stems of healthy, vigorous and productive plants
• Be sure it is the selected variety
• Pods free from attack by pests and diseases
Pod cuts
• Once the pods are selected, they are cut with pruning shears in the internode they present.
• Pruning shears or other cutting tools must be disinfected before each cut.
• Use 5% chlorine, preparing a mixture of 50 ml of chlorine dissolved in 1000 ml of water (1 liter).
• Carefully collect pods or stems to avoid damage from the thorns they present.
• Move the cut pods in the field to a safe and airy place.
Stablishment of Yellow Dragon Fruit Plantation
Selecting the floor area
• The Pitahaya prefers sandy loam soils and well-drained for its development.
• Avoid selecting heavy or clayey soils because it easily puddles when it rains or cracks in the dry season.
• Make sure that the grounds where the fruit is going to be planted are clean of stones, trees, and weeds that do not let the roots and the plant itself grow.
Land clearing
• For Pitahaya planting, the soil must be free of weeds, stones, logs, and trees.
• Start the work of preparing the soil (cleaning, plowing) in April.
• Avoid burning stubble or debris, you can use them in the preparation of organic fertilizer.
Marking and setting of tutors
• If the soil is clean and hard, it makes it difficult for the plant to penetrate its roots and carry out an ox or tractor plow pass.
• Proceed to mark the points putting stakes where the hole will be made to plant the guardian.
• The distance between tutor and rows will depend on the selected cultivation system.
Example: Individual tutor system, trellis system, etc.
Steps to carry out the landmarking
• Pull a long rope at one end of the garden (line A-B).
• Measure the distance between plants and place a stake at the point where the guardian’s hole will be made.
• Use methods 3, 4, and 5 to make a line perpendicular (line A-C) to the initially drawn line (line A – B).
• Measure a distance of 4 meters long online AB, from a stake placed at the end of the line.
• Locate one end of the rope at the point where the stake is and stretch it 3 m in length, then move at that distance by making a semicircle pointing at it on the ground.
• Take the same rope, locate the end at the initially measured 4m distance, stretch the line to 5m in length, and move in a semicircle pointing at it on the ground.
• You will see that the two arches made on the ground meet at one point, which means that the perpendicular line will pass.
• Pull a rope so that it passes over it in the direction indicated.
• Measure the row spacing by locating stakes. The site where the holes will be made for putting the tutor.
• 10. Finally, do the same procedure at the other end of the first AB line, performing the steps outlined above.
Guardians of Yellow Dragon Fruit
Dead guardians
• They can be made of wood, quarry stone, concrete posts.
• Characteristics of the dead guardians
• A useful life similar to or higher than the productive life of the crop.
• Resistance to support the weight of the vegetation of the Pitahaya plant.
• The adventitious roots of the plant adhere without difficulty.
• Living Guardians
• They can be from tree poles with the ability to catch in the garden. In this case, it is necessary to periodically eliminate new shoots through pruning.
• Characteristics of living guardians
• Be quick to find, or produce roots in the shortest time.
Fast growth in a short time.
• The soft bark, which allows adhesion of adventitious roots to the crop.
• Tolerance or resistance to attack by harmful insects or diseases.
• Not be hosts of harmful insects and diseases that attack the plant.
Most used tutors
• Blackwood (Gliricidia sepium)
• Helequeme (Erythrina sp)
• Jocote (Costa Rican Spondias purpurea)
• Chilamate (Ficus globata)
Length and diameter of the guardians
• Guardians must be 1.70 m long, with an appropriate width of 4 to 6 inches.
• The tutor is buried about 40 to 50 cm deep so that 1.20 to 1.30 m protrude.
• In the case of deadwood guardians, it is recommended to apply black oil to the part buried to avoid early rot.
• For cement posts, they must be used with a diameter of 4 inches.
What does the Pitahaya contain?
In 100 g of the edible part of fresh pitahaya you will find:
• Humidity (g) 85.4
• Total carbohydrates (g) 13.2
• Ashes (g) 0.4 Ethereal extract (g) 0.1
• Protein (g) 0.4
• Fiber (g) 0.5
• Phosphorus (mg) 16.0
• Calcium (mg) 10.0
• Iron (mg) 0.3
• Vitamin C (mg) 4.0
• (Santacruz et al., 2009, p. 18)
If you require more information, you can review the following link in more detail.
- jlopez@www.nankyfoods.com