Dragon Fruit Hand Pollination Methods and Technical Key Points
Plant reproduction is inseparable from the pollination of male and female flowers. Originally, pollination was carried out by insects and animals such as bugs, ants, birds, and butterflies. However, to increase the fruit set rate of plants and improve fruit quality, hand pollination came into being. Yet the floral morphology and structure of each plant species differ, so the pollination methods and techniques also differ.
Dragon Fruit Hand Pollination Methods
1. Pollen collection: Dragon fruit is hermaphroditic (male and female parts in the same flower), and more than 95% of the flowers must be retained to ensure yield. Therefore, you cannot pick the flowers, nor can you collect pollen by shaking the tree. Instead, after the flowers open in the evening or before they wither in the early morning, use a sterilized brush or bristle brush to gently brush the anthers of different dragon fruit varieties (a mixed pollen from multiple varieties is better) and the pollen that has fallen on the petals into a sterilized watch glass. Collect and use immediately to avoid loss of viability, which would affect pollination results. If there is a special reason and the pollen truly must be stored, it must be put into a glass bottle, the stopper sealed with wax, and kept in a refrigerator at 0-5°C. The white-fleshed dragon fruit begins flowering one month later than the red-fleshed type. If conditions permit, you can collect and store pollen for later use when there is plenty of it.
2. Pollination method: This mainly refers to manual spot pollination, that is, fully and evenly mixing the collected pollen, dipping a brush in the pollen and dabbing it onto the stigma, so that the pollen is evenly spread on the center of the stigma.
Dragon Fruit Growth Characteristics
Dragon fruit is a tropical and subtropical fruit. It is drought-tolerant, heat-tolerant, and light-loving, and has no strict soil requirements. It can be planted on flat land, hillsides, and sandy or gravelly land. The most suitable soil pH is 6-7.5, and it is best to choose land rich in organic matter with good drainage for planting. Dragon fruit is not frost-tolerant. In areas where the winter temperature is below 0°C, simple greenhouses are used for cultivation.
Precautions for Growing Dragon Fruit
1. Dragon fruit likes fertilizer and can be directly watered with fermented raw urine.
2. When the branches grow to 1.3-1.4 m long, pinch off the growing tips to promote branching and let the branches droop naturally.
3. Pruning branches: After harvesting the fruit each year, cut off the branches that have already borne fruit so they send out new shoots again, ensuring the yield for the coming year.
4. The pruned branches can be rooted as cuttings to grow new dragon fruit plants. Usually, cuttings planted in the same year can bear fruit in the same year.
5. If the dragon fruit flowering period encounters rainy weather, hand pollination is best.
6. Dragon fruit tender shoots are vulnerable to ants and snails, because both will eat the tender shoots.
Common Types of Dragon Fruit
1. Red-fleshed dragon fruit: The flesh of red dragon fruit is red or purplish red, with excellent fresh-eating quality. In Taiwan, China, Guangdong, and Guangxi, the production period is from May to November, while in Hainan the production period is even longer. Red-fleshed dragon fruit has poor self-compatibility, a low fruit set rate with self-pollination, small fruit, and poor marketability, so it needs pollination by white-fleshed dragon fruit to achieve a high fruit set rate and large fruit. At present, the variety names of red-fleshed dragon fruit are chaotic, with no fixed variety names, and each grower decides according to their own preference.
2. White-fleshed dragon fruit: White-fleshed dragon fruit has red skin and white flesh, with average fresh-eating quality. In Taiwan, China, Guangdong, and Guangxi, the production period is from June to October. It has good self-pollination compatibility, a high fruit set rate, strong disease resistance, and high yield, and can be processed into juice, fruit powder, and jam. At present, among white-fleshed dragon fruit, Vietnam No. 1 is the best variety and is the main cultivated variety in Vietnam. It has strong adaptability, fast growth, large fruit, and a surface without spines. The average single fruit weight is 420 g, with a maximum of 1000 g. The soluble solids content is 18.1%. It is high-yielding, with a yield of 16,500-27,500 kg per hectare.
3. Yellow-fleshed dragon fruit: Yellow-fleshed dragon fruit has yellow skin and white flesh, with excellent fresh-eating quality, and large, fragrant flowers. It takes 45-60 days from bud appearance to flowering, 90-100 days from flowering to fruit maturity, and in autumn and winter it takes 110-150 days to mature. The fruit does not split. It takes 1 month (in winter) to turn from green to yellow. After turning yellow, it can be left hanging on the tree for more than a month without affecting quality. It is the type with the best quality and the best taste and sweetness among dragon fruits. It has a fragrant aroma, and the seeds in the flesh are large but soft and not at all bothersome to eat. The soluble solids content is above 18%, but its fruit is slightly small, generally around 200 g. The main fruiting period (autumn and winter fruit) is around the Spring Festival, while summer fruit goes on the market at the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Dragon fruit pollination is divided into two steps. In order to produce dragon fruit of better quality, every small detail must not be overlooked. In addition, to improve the yield and quality of dragon fruit, besides pollination, scientific planting techniques and methods are also very necessary. Be sure to adapt measures to local conditions and create an environment suitable for dragon fruit growth.