When is the latest time to plant dragon fruit?

Dragon fruit is a tropical and subtropical fruit. Under natural conditions, the fruit ripens in summer and autumn. It is sweet and juicy, rich in nutrients, and has unique functions. It contains plant albumin, anthocyanins, and abundant vitamins and water-soluble dietary fiber, which are rare in ordinary plants, and has extremely high cultivation value. Let's take a look below at when dragon fruit is planted!

When is dragon fruit planted?

Dragon fruit can be planted all year round, but it must not be planted deeply. Planting it about 3 cm deep is enough, and the soil should be kept moist in the early stage. After planting, it begins to bloom and bear fruit after 12 to 14 months. It can bloom 12 to 15 times each year, and the fruit-bearing period is from April to November. The fruit ripens 30 to 40 days after the flowers fade. A single fruit weighs 500 to 1000 grams. In the second year after planting, each column produces more than 20 fruits, and in the third year it enters the full fruit-bearing period. With a relatively high level of management, the yield can reach 2500 kg per mu.

What conditions are needed to grow dragon fruit?

1. Temperature: Dragon fruit is not afraid of high temperatures but is afraid of low temperatures. It requires an annual average temperature of no less than 18 degrees C, an average January temperature of no less than 8 degrees C, and an extreme low temperature of -3 degrees C with a duration of no more than 6 hours. The most suitable growing temperature is 25 to 35 degrees C. Growth stops when the temperature is below 10 degrees C or above 38 degrees C.

2. Soil: Dragon fruit has extremely broad adaptability to soil and can grow well in mountainous land, dry land, semi-dry land, rocky mountainous land, wasteland, and waterlogged low-lying land. In particular, dragon fruit grafted onto local night-blooming cereus has even broader adaptability.

3. Water: Dragon fruit is a drought-tolerant plant, but its growth requires relatively abundant water. If the dragon fruit planting site lacks water for a long time, it will cause the growth of dragon fruit to stagnate, and even the original thick fleshy stems will slowly wither.

4. Light: Dragon fruit is a typical sun 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 dark green, and there will be many flowers and large fruits with high yield. Conversely, the amount of fruit will decrease significantly.

5. Fertilizer: Dragon fruit grows quickly, and the fertilizer needed throughout the entire growth cycle must be sufficient. 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 application of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers should be increased to enhance the plant's photosynthesis.

Dragon fruit planting and management techniques

1. Planting method: There are many ways to plant dragon fruit. It can be grown climbing on walls or in sheds, but column-type cultivation is the most common. Its advantages are low production cost and high land utilization.

2. Planting spacing: For dragon fruit using double-season columns, the plant and row spacing is 1.5×2 m. Calculating 4 seedlings planted around each column, 750 plants can be planted per mu. But note that it must not be planted deeply. Planting it about 3 cm deep is enough, and the soil should be kept moist in the early stage.

3. Light fertilizer applied frequently: Dragon fruit has a long harvest period. Every year, organic fertilizer should be heavily applied, and nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium compound fertilizers should be applied in a balanced way over the long term. During the flowering and fruiting period, potassium and magnesium fertilizers should be supplemented. During the fruiting period, the soil should be kept moist, and the tree disk should be covered with grass or mushroom residue.

4. Pinching and pruning: When the branches of dragon fruit grow to 1.3 to 1.4 m long, pinch off the growing tips to promote branching and let the branches droop naturally. After fruit harvest each year, cut off the branches that have already borne fruit and let them send out new branches again to ensure the yield for the coming year.

5. Reasonable interplanting: Red-fleshed dragon fruit has poor self-compatibility, a low fruit set rate from self-pollination, small fruit, and poor market quality. It needs pollination from white-fleshed dragon fruit. Interplanting about 10% white-fleshed dragon fruit can significantly increase the fruit set rate.

6. Artificial pollination: When planting dragon fruit, artificial pollination should be carried out in rainy weather. Pollination can be done in the evening when the flowers are open or in the early morning before the flowers have closed, using a writing brush to directly apply pollen to the stigma of the female flower.

7. Pest and disease control: Dragon fruit has relatively few pests and diseases. Seedlings are easily harmed by snails and ants, which can be controlled with insecticides. In hot and humid seasons, it is prone to diseases, with partial branch necrosis and mold spots appearing, which can be controlled with triadimefon, strong copper oxide, and the like.