Crops

¿How to grow Yellow Dragon Fruit?

In this web, we will explain the method we use to produce Yellow dragon fruit.

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.

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.

Pitahaya Fruit

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 Palora yellow pitahaya fruit has thorns, which are easily detached when ripe, those thorns are removed with a brush.
The fruit weighs approximately 300 to 500 grams and contains many seeds (650 seeds per fruit).

What is the climate required by the dragon yellow fruit?

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

Reproduction of planting material for gold dragon fruit

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.

Establishment of the yellow pitahaya 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 allow the roots and the plant grow.

Land clearing

For Pitahaya planting, the soil must be free of weeds, stones, logs, and trees.
Start preparing the soil (cleaning, and plowing) in April.
Avoid burning stubble or debris, you can use them to prepare organic fertilizer.

Marking and setting of tutors

If the soil is clean and hard, it makes difficult for the plant to penetrate its roots, it is recommended to carry out a tractor plow pass.
Proceed to mark the points putting stakes where the hole will be made to plant the tutor.
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 tutor’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 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.

Tutors of yellow pitahaya

Dead guardians

They can be made of wood, quarry stone, concrete posts.
A useful life like 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 Tutors.
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 tutors.
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

Tutors 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 tutors, 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 dragon yellow fruit contain?

In 100 g of 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

Source of information (Santacruz et al., 2009, p. 18)