- Author: Ben Faber
UC Cooperative Extension advisor Ramiro Lobo has found that the unusually beautiful fruiting cactus - pitahaya or dragon fruit - thrives in Southern California's mild climate. Pitahaya do well in regions where avocados are produced, but use much less water. They can also make excellent landscape plants, adding interest to the garden while producing healthful fruit.
Pitahaya fruit begin as large, showy, nighttime-blooming flowers, each of which contain male and female parts. In many of the most-desirable varieties, the anthers (the male part with pollen) and the stigma (the female part that needs to be pollinated) are separated by a distance that prevents night-flying pollinators, such as moths, from consistently making the connection.
For a uniform and bountiful crop, Lobo suggests hand pollination. Pollen can be collected by shaking a bloom over a bowl or trimming the anthers into a cup with a pair of scissors. He stores pollen in the freezer until the night or early morning hours when cacti bloom. He dabs up pollen with an inexpensive makeup brush and lightly swishes it onto the flowers' stigma.
“It's easy and takes just a few seconds per flower," Lobo said. "If you don't hand pollinate, you end up with fruits that are very small. And uniformity isn't there."
Hand pollination also allows farmers to accurately project their pitahaya harvest and work in advance with fruit marketing companies to sell the crop. Lobo said he carries a mechanical counter to click as he pollinates flowers. Forty days later, that precise number of fruit will be ready for harvest.
And here's his chart of the characteristics of different selections.
- Author: Ben Faber
A recent workshop was held in Florida for pitahaya growers. The presntations are on line now
AGENDA
Speaker |
Topic/title |
Time |
Jeff Wasielewski, Commercial Tropical Fruits |
Introduction – background on the industry |
10 minutes |
Daniel Carrillo, Entomologist-Tropical Fruits |
Pitahaya pests and beneficial insects |
25 minutes |
Romina Gazis, Plant Pathologist/Dir. Plant Diagnostic Clinic |
An overview of diseases affecting dragon fruit production |
15 minutes |
Tiago de Paula Lelis, Plant Pathology Postdoc |
Stem and fruit canker of dragon fruit: management strategies |
15 minutes |
Jonathan Crane, Tropical Fruit Crop Specialist |
Cultural practices and environmental factors that affect dragon fruit production |
20 minutes |
Q&A |
|
15 minutes |
Jonathan H. Crane, Tropical Fruit Crop Specialist
UF-IFAS-Tropical Research and Education Center
18905 SW 280 Street
Homestead, Florida 33031 U.S.A.
Office 786-217-9271
Cell 786-255-5878
Email jhcr@ufl.edu
TREC main website https://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/
Faculty webpage https://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/faculty/jcrane/
Tropical fruit production & research HOS5555 class https://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/teaching/tropical-fruit-production- and-research-hos5555/
FruitScapes https://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/fruitscapes/
- Author: Ben Faber
Just When You Thought You Could Take the Week Off from Webinars
Here's a two-day conference on Dragon Fruit
September 22 and 23, 2020 (you have an option of viewing it live or later recorded).
Note Taiwan is 15 hours ahead of California.
https://sites.google.com/fftc.org.tw/dfnet-workshop-en/home
To register for this conference follow the link: FREE registration.
https://sites.google.com/fftc.org.tw/dfnet-workshop-en/home?fbclid=IwAR1bE79iCEaBvauKQMW-iPNwlIQNNSH88YVxcBDARd_jVQKbsO7s1q1GIXM
Please use the following link for the agenda
https://sites.google.com/fftc.org.tw/dfnet-workshop-en/program
Besides the presentations on export there will be presentations on:
- Good agricultural practices
- Nutritional and functional traits of dragon fruit
- From production to consumption-the missing links
- Value-added programs
In addition: There is a lot of information on dragon fruit production through the
- Dragon Fruit Network (https://dfnet.fftc.org.tw/Page/Home.aspx)
- You can view previous conferences at:
- (https://www.fftc.org.tw/en/activities/detail/129) and (https://www.fftc.org.tw/en/activities/detail/116)
- Author: Ben Faber
The 2019 Pitahaya/Dragon Fruit Festival/Field Day
Saturday, September 14, 2019
Located at the UC South Coast Research & Extension Center
1601 Irvine Boulevard, Irvine, CA 92618
6:30am - 2:30pm
Please join us as we discuss how to grow a pitahaya from a seed, irrigation and design considerations, weed management strategies without glyphosate, nematode issues, and much more! To view the entire agenda, click here. We expect this Festival to sell out, so register early!
Registration is $40.00 per person if paid online or postmarked by Monday, September 9, 2019. The price will be $50.00 after this date or at the door, if space allows (checks only at the door). Register early as attendance is only limited to 100 participants. Click here to continue on with registering.
Registration fee includes continental breakfast, lunch, pitahaya or dragon fruit ice cream tasting, and an informational packet.
Please Note: refunds will not be issued, but substitutions are allowed.
For questions regarding registration and substitutions, please contact Erin Spaniel at 858-822-7919. For general program information, please contact Ramiro Lobo at 858-243-4608.
- Author: Ben Faber
2018 Pitahaya/Dragon Fruit Production Seminar
San Diego County Farm Bureau
420 South Broadway, Suite 200 | Escondido, CA 92025
Friday - August 24, 2018
7:00am – 4:30pm
TOPICS TO BE COVERED:
- San Diego County Agriculture – Water, Policies and Regulatory Update
- Pitahaya Research Update – Variety Evaluation and Performance, Genetic Characterization
- Irrigation Water Management Strategies and Pitahaya Irrigation
- Pitahaya Post Harvest Management & Sensory Evaluation
- Pitahaya or Dragon Fruit Markets and Marketing - An Overview and Global Perspective
- Pitahaya Orchard Establishment & Economics Considerations
- Pitahaya Fertility Management & Soil Analytical Reports (Tentative)
- Nematode Issues and their Impact for Pitahaya Production
- Insect Pest Management & Pesticide Use Safety for Pitahayas and Other Specialty Crops
- Weeds and Weed Management Strategies for Specialty Crops, including Pitahaya
- Diseases – Diagnosis and Management Strategies for Pitahaya Production
- Hydroponics – An Evaluation of Soilless Substrates for Pitahaya Production (Tentative)
2018 Pitahaya/Dragon Fruit Festival/Field Day
UC South Coast Research and Extension Center
7601 Irvine Boulevard | Irvine, CA 92618
Saturday - August 25, 2016
6:30am – 3:30pm
TOPICS TO BE COVERED:
- Review of Pitahaya Varieties and Hand Pollination Demonstration
- Integrated Pest Management Strategies for Specialty Crops Production
- Pitahaya Irrigation Research and System Design Consideration
- Pitahaya Trellis Systems Demonstration
- Pitahaya Production for Home or Backyard Growers
- Pitahaya or Dragon Fruit and Ice Cream Tasting
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
-PLEASE READ-
REGISTER EARLY. This event has sold out in the past!! Attendance is limited to 60 participants for the seminar on August 24th and 100 for the festival/field day on August 25th. This would also help us plan for handouts and cuttings. No refunds will be issued, but substitutions are allowed.
PRICINGincludes continental breakfast, refreshments, lunch, (Catered by Phil's BBQ on 8/24), pitahaya/dragon fruit ice cream, smoothie tasting, and an information packet:
- Package Registration for Seminar & Festival/Field Day: $80.00,
If paid online with a credit card or post-marked by Friday - August 17, 2018.
No package registrations after this date.
- Seminar Registration ONLY: $60.00,
If paid online with a credit card or post-marked by Friday - August 17, 2018
$70.00 after this date or at the door, if space allows*
- Festival/Field Day Registration ONLY: $ 40.00,
If paid online with a credit card or post-marked by Friday - August 17, 2018
$50.00 after this date or at the door, if space allows*
*Walk-ins will be allowed if space is available, but you MUST have exact change or checks. Credit cards will NOT be accepted day of.
Please be aware that you WILL be turned away if space is not available! NO EXCEPTIONS.
TO REGISTER,please complete the online registration form at:
https://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=25236
For registration questions, please contact
Erin Spaniel
Administrative Assistant II
858-822-7919