- Author: Saoimanu Sope
Una vez que hayas visto la fruta del dragón, nunca la olvidarás. Su cáscara escamosa de un rojo brillante y a veces amarillo o púrpura tiene una apariencia impresionante. El color de la pulpa varía, puede ser blanca, rosa profundo, fucsia y hasta de un rojo intenso, en tanto que el sabor cada quien lo describe, con su toque personal, entre ligeramente parecido al kiwi, sandía y pera.
Un grupo de 60 agricultores se reunió, en la granja de fruta del dragón Wallace Ranch en Bonsall para conocer las últimas investigaciones sobre la producción de este cultivo que es especialmente tolerante a las sequías. Los participantes no solo tuvieron la oportunidad de presenciar una demostración sobre cómo cultivar la fruta, además aprendieron sobre las plagas que atacan este tipo de cultivo y cómo combatirlas y escucharon los testimonios de granjeros de pitahaya exitosos.
“No recuerdo un año en el que las entradas a este evento no se hayan agotado”, mencionó Eyal Givon, participante de hace mucho tiempo y productor de la fruta del dragón.
Los agricultores participantes, además, tuvieron acceso a variedades de plantas que no aún no están disponibles en otras partes.
“Hemos regalado alrededor de 50 mil esquejes durante nuestro festival y algunas variedades son únicas para nosotros porque nosotros las introdujimos a Estados Unidos”, dijo Ramiro Lobo, asesor agrícola de Extensión Cooperativa de UC en el condado de San Diego, quien se especializa en desarrollar nuevos cultivos, y quien ha promovido desde hace varios años este evento, como parte del aprendizaje la pitahaya, una fruta que hasta hace poco era poco conocida en California.
Neva Day propietaria de la granja agrícola Wallace Ranch, quien ha cultivado pitahayas desde el 2013 y cuenta con más de cinco mil plantas en el suelo y más de veinte variedades, habló con los participantes sobre las prácticas de cultivo que le han ayudado a obtener el éxito actual.
Eric Middleton, asesor de área para el manejo integrado de plagas de UCCE en el condado de San Diego, habló sobre las plagas a las que los productores pueden enfrentarse como las hormigas argentinas.
De acuerdo con Middleton, las galletas Pecan Sandies, conocidas también como las galletas mexicanas de boda, son una fuente balanceada de grasa, proteína y azúcar y un cebo excelente para los insectos amantes del azúcar.
Los participantes finalmente se dirigieron a la granja Dragon Delights ubicada en Ramona. Kevin Brixey, el dueño de la granja, ha cultivado pitahayas orgánicas durante seis años. Aunque en esta ocasión Brixey fungió como anfitrión del recorrido del año, hace varios años él también inició como un espectador.
“Yo asistí al Festival de la Pitahaya en el 2014 y fue allí cuando me percaté que la fruta del dragón era algo que podía cultivar. Había muy buena información, además de la oportunidad de platicar y conocer otros productores, así que fue un gran paso para mí”, dijo Brixey.
A diferencia de los productores tradicionales de pitahaya, Brixey usa la sombra para cultivarlas, eso después de que escuchó, durante uno de esos recorridos, los comentarios de otro productor sobre los beneficios que ofrece ese método.
“Me impresionó. Me gustó cómo se desarrolló la fruta bajo la sombra y ahora la utilizó como mi opción”, explicó Brixey. Además de que la sombra puede proteger a la fruta de la intensidad de los rayos solares en el área interior de los valles, también evita que los pájaros y otros animales se la coman.
En la oficina del Buró de Agricultores del condado de San Diego, los participantes aprendieron la historia de las pitahayas en California, la seguridad alimentaria, el control de plagas, y las prácticas para una mejor producción y mucho más.
Entre los presentadores se encontraban expertos como Paul Erickson de Rare Dragon Fruit, Lobo, Middleton, Johanna del Castillo del Departamento de Patología de las Plantas de UC Davis y Ariana Reyes, especialista en educación comunitaria de UCCE San Diego.
Givon, quien lleva varios años participando en este recorrido, ha cultivado la fruta del dragón casi veinte años y administra una granja de veinte acres en Moorpark, dijo que lo que más disfruta es poder dialogar con otros productores.
“Lo que otros están haciendo, podría ser mejor de lo que yo estoy haciendo”, mencionó Givon. “O lo que yo estoy haciendo podría ser mejor de lo que alguien más está haciendo. Este tiempo juntos es bueno para que aprendamos unos de otros”.
Lobo estuvo de acuerdo con Givon y agregó “espero que estos recorridos se vuelvan auto sustentables y que regresemos a un día de campo de investigación en Southcoast REC con recorridos regionales en San Diego y Ventura como lo hacíamos antes o a otros condados”.
El recorrido de la Producción de Pitahaya/Fruta del Dragon es un evento anual organizado por Extensión Cooperativa de San Diego. Para conocer más sobre los eventos de UCCE San Diego, visite visit https://cesandiego.ucanr.edu.
Adaptado al español por Leticia Irigoyen del artículo en inglés
Editado para su publicación por Norma De la Vega
- Author: Saoimanu Sope
Once you know what a dragon fruit looks like, you will never forget it. The bright red, sometimes yellow or purple, scaly skin makes for a dramatic appearance. One that will surely leave an impression. The flesh ranges from white to a deep pink and the flavor is often described as having hints of kiwi, watermelon, or pear.
Since 2007, the Pitahaya/Dragon Fruit Production Tour, has united dragon fruit growers of all levels and backgrounds. After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, registration for the 2022 tour filled up in less than 24 hours.
A group of 60 participants gathered Sept. 8 at the Wallace Ranch Dragon Fruit Farm in Bonsall to learn the latest research on growing the drought-tolerant specialty crop. Ramiro Lobo, a small farms and agricultural economics advisor for UC Cooperative Extension in San Diego County, introduced dragon fruit growers and other UC scientists.
“I can't remember a year where this event was not sold out. So, the need and demand is there,” said Eyal Givon, a long-time participant and dragon fruit grower.
The tour not only demonstrates how to grow the fruit, but it also grants participants access to plant material for varieties that are unavailable elsewhere.
“We have given out about 50,000 cuttings through our festival and some varieties were unique to us because we introduced them to the U.S.,” said Lobo.
During their time at Wallace Ranch, participants heard from the farm's owner, Neva Day, regarding the growing practices that have shaped her success today. Day has been growing organic dragon fruit since 2013 and has well over 5,000 plants on the ground and more than 20 varieties.
According to Middleton, Pecan Sandies are a balanced source of fat, protein, and sugar, making them excellent bait for the sugar-loving insects.
Participants eventually made their way to Dragon Delights Farm located in Ramona. Kevin Brixey, the farm's owner, has been growing organic dragon fruit for six years.
Although Brixey was hosting this year's tour participants, he used to be one of them.
“I attended the Pitahaya Festival in 2014 and that's where I realized dragon fruit was something I could grow. There was a lot of good information being shared and a connection to other growers, so it was a major steppingstone for me,” he says.
Unlike traditional dragon fruit growers, Brixey uses shade to grow his dragon fruit after learning about the method from another grower.
“I was impressed. I liked how the fruit performed under shade and now I use it as a management tool,” Brixey explained. In Inland Valleys, shade can shield fruit from intense sunlight and protect them from unwanted guests that eat the fruit, such as birds.
At the Farm Bureau of San Diego County offices, participants learned about the history of dragon fruit growing in California, food safety, pest management, best production practices and much more.
The presenters included experts like Paul Erickson from Rare Dragon Fruit, Lobo, Middleton, Johanna del Castillo from UC Davis Department of Plant Pathology and Ariana Reyes, a community education specialist from UCCE San Diego.
When reflecting on his time participating in the production tour, Givon, who has been growing dragon fruit for about 20 years and manages a 20-acre farm in Moorpark, said he enjoys reconnecting with other growers the most.
“What others are doing, might be better than what I'm doing,” Givon said. “Or what I'm doing, could be better than what someone else is doing. This time together is good for us to learn from each other.”
Lobo agreed with Givon and added, “I hope that these tours become self-sustained, and that we go back to a research field day at Southcoast REC with regional tours in San Diego and Ventura as we did before, or any other counties.”
The Pitahaya/Dragon Fruit Production Tour is an annual event hosted by UCCE San Diego. To learn more about UCCE San Diego events, visit https://cesandiego.ucanr.edu.
- 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)