How many days for dragon fruit seeds to sprout, and how many years until they bear fruit?
Everyone is surely familiar with dragon fruit; it is deeply loved by people for its good taste and high edible value. Many people now want to grow it, but before planting, you first need to sprout its seeds, so exactly how long does this take? After planting it, how long will it be before you can see its fruit?
How many days for dragon fruit seeds to sprout
Dragon fruit seeds do not need to be soaked in water; sow them directly and they sprout very easily. Generally, they will sprout 3~4 days after sowing. When sowing, no soil covering is needed, but the seeds should be in full contact with the soil as much as possible. Generally, sowing requires a film cover; just maintain humidity and temperature.
How many years for dragon fruit seeds to bear fruit
After planting, dragon fruit begins to bloom and bear fruit 12~14 months later. It can bloom 12~15 times each year, with the fruiting period from April to November. The fruit matures 30~40 days after the flowers fade, and a single fruit weighs 500~1000 grams. In the second year after planting, each column produces more than 20 fruits, and in the third year it enters the full fruiting period, with a yield of up to 2500 kg/mu.
What conditions are needed to grow dragon fruit
1. Temperature: Dragon fruit is not afraid of high temperatures but fears low temperatures. It requires an annual average temperature of no less than 18°C, a January average temperature of no less than 8°C, and an extreme low temperature of -3°C lasting no more than 6 hours. The optimum growing temperature is 25~35°C. Growth stops when the temperature is below 10°C or above 38°C.
2. Soil: Dragon fruit has extremely wide adaptability to soil and can grow well in mountainous land, dry land, semi-dry land, rocky mountain land, wasteland, and waterlogged low-lying land, especially dragon fruit grafted onto local night-blooming cereus, which has even broader adaptability.
3. Water: Dragon fruit is a drought-tolerant plant, but its growth requires fairly abundant water. If the dragon fruit planting site lacks water for a long time, it will cause dragon fruit growth to stagnate, and even the original thick fleshy stems will slowly wither.
4. Light: Dragon fruit is a typical sun-loving plant and likes warm, direct sunlight. If the light duration is long and sunlight is sufficient, photosynthesis will be especially vigorous, the fleshy stems will be thick and deep green, and there will be many flowers, large fruits, and high yields. Conversely, the amount of fruit produced will decrease noticeably.
5. Fertilizer: Dragon fruit grows quickly, and sufficient fertilizer is required throughout its entire growth cycle. In the early growth stage, enough nitrogen fertilizer should be supplied to help the plant grow taller and stronger quickly. In the middle and late stages of plant growth, balanced nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers should be applied more to increase the plant's photosynthesis.
How to shape and prune dragon fruit after planting
1. Pruning during the seedling stage: after planting and surviving, the plant climbs and grows along the concrete column. At this time, side branches sprout during seedling growth. One strong upward branch should be retained, and the other side branches should be cut off promptly, which helps concentrate nutrients to supply the strong branch so it can climb quickly.
2. When the plant grows to 1.5 m high, it can be allowed to develop more than 3 naturally drooping branches. After the branches mature and during the period from April to November, these drooping branches have the opportunity to bloom and bear fruit. According to observation, branches in the upper and middle parts, especially drooping branches, have a higher rate of flowering and fruiting, while branches in the middle and lower parts rarely bloom. From the perspective of branch distribution, the growth vigor of upper branches is usually greater than that of middle and lower branches, which may be due to apical dominance. However, because upper branches are positioned high and are inconvenient to tie, although their growth vigor is strong, the mechanical strength of their tissues is poor, and they are often easily broken by wind. Upper branches can gradually be supported, pulled, hung, and tied, and after the branches mature and begin to bloom, gradually let them droop to reduce wind damage.
3. After fruiting, 2/3 of the branches of each plant can be arranged as fruiting branches, and the other 1/3 of the branches can have their flower buds or flowers removed, narrowing their branch growth angle, promoting their current vegetative growth, and cultivating them into strong reserve fruiting branches. If some plants bear a lot of fruit, the possibility of forming a large number of concentrated flowering branches the next year is relatively small. After a large number of strong branches form at the base of the plant, thinning can be used to remove the weak and keep the strong, or weaker branches can be shortened to promote their development into strong vegetative branches.
4. After the fruit is harvested, replanting and pruning should be carried out, that is, dig out individual plants with weaker growth and replant new seedlings, and cut off the top or weak branches that have already borne multiple fruits, so that the remaining thick branches can grow new shoots again, ensuring the yield and quality of the coming year.
Dragon fruit seeds sprout quite quickly after sowing; generally, results can be seen in about three days, and the time to fruit is generally about more than a year. To grow dragon fruit well, first there must be timely temperature and light, and control of water and fertilizer is also very important.