»Commercial Dragon Fruit Farming in India.«
Dragon fruit is grown commercially in countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Sri-lanka and Israel. This fruit is cultivated in many parts of India as well.
Dragon fruit brings profits since it does not require too much for its farming. This fruit requires less water and therefore many farmers in India with less ground water are inclined towards commercial dragon fruit farming. Dragon fruit can be grown in all types of soil. However, it is better to avoid poorly drained soil and water stagnated area as well as flood prone areas. For a better crop yield, choose a well drained sandy loam soil with a good organic matter supplement.
Propagation
These plants can be grown from the seed and stem cuttings. However, growing dragon fruit from seed is not viable and and reliable.
It may take 7-8 years to get to the fruiting stage if the plants are grown from the seed. The best method is to grow them from stem cuttings secured from a certified fruit nursery or procured from an horticulture department near you.
Planting Method
Dragon fruits belong to the creeping cactus member and therefore it needs support while growing. You can accommodate poles for this purpose.
On an average, you need 500 poles on one acre of planting dragon fruit with a plant to plant and row to row distance of 9-10 feet. The land should be cleared off weed and previous crop residue before planting and farmyard manure put in your planting holes before placing the plant.
Varieties
There are about three varieties of dragon fruits in India. There is the pink dragon fruit variety, the red white variety and the yellow dragon fruit variety.
In order to grow these fruits, it is better to go for the cuttings and transplanting rather than seedling production and sowing. Seed production and sowing is time consuming and laborious process. After planting, do not water the plant too much so as to avoid root rot disease.
