Where are the latest distribution areas of dragon fruit production?
Dragon fruit is also known as red dragon fruit, green dragon fruit, fairy honey fruit, jade dragon fruit, etc. It is a perennial climbing succulent plant of the genus Hylocereus in the cactus family. The fruit is oval, 10-12 cm in diameter, red or yellow in appearance, with green rounded triangular leaf-like scales, and white, red or yellow flesh with black seeds. Let us take a look below at where dragon fruit production areas are!
Where are dragon fruit production areas?
Dragon fruit originated in Central America in places such as Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Ecuador, Cuba, and Colombia, and was later introduced to Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Thailand, and to Taiwan, China. In mainland China, it is cultivated in Hainan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Yunnan, Guizhou and other provinces and regions.
The production environment of dragon fruit
Dragon fruit is a tropical and subtropical fruit. It likes light and tolerates shade, tolerates heat and drought, likes fertilizer and tolerates poor soil. It grows rapidly in a warm, humid environment with sufficient light. During open-field cultivation in spring and summer, it should be watered more to keep its root system in a vigorous growth state. In continuous rainy weather, drainage should be carried out in time to avoid infection by pathogens that causes stem and flesh rot. Its stems can also grow attached to rocks. The plant has very strong wind resistance and can resist typhoons as long as the support is firm. It can tolerate low temperatures of 0°C and high temperatures of 40°C, and the optimum temperature for growth is 25-35°C. It can adapt to many types of soil, but neutral soil and slightly acidic soil with much humus and good water and fertilizer retention are best.
Common types of dragon fruit
1. Red-fleshed dragon fruit: The flesh of red dragon fruit is red or purplish red, with good fresh-eating quality. In Taiwan, Guangdong, and Guangxi, the production period is from May to November, and in Hainan the production period is even longer. Red-fleshed dragon fruit has poor self-compatibility, a low fruit set rate under self-pollination, small fruit, and poor marketability. It needs to be pollinated by white-fleshed dragon fruit, resulting in a high fruit set rate and large fruit. At present, the variety names of red-fleshed dragon fruit are chaotic, with no definite 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, and its fresh-eating quality is average. In Taiwan, 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. It is the main cultivated variety in Vietnam, with strong adaptability, fast growth, large fruit, and no spines on the surface. The average single fruit weight is 420 grams, and the largest is 1000 grams. The soluble solids content is 18.1%, and it is high-yielding, with a yield of 16500-27500 kg per hectare.
3. Yellow-fleshed dragon fruit: Yellow-fleshed dragon fruit has yellow skin and white flesh, with good fresh-eating quality and large, fragrant flowers. It takes 45-60 days from bud emergence 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, if left hanging on the tree, it can remain 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 and soft, not at all troublesome to eat. The soluble solids content is above 18%, but its fruit is slightly small, generally about 200 grams. The main fruit-bearing period (autumn and winter fruit) is around the Spring Festival, while summer fruit is marketed around the Mid-Autumn Festival.