Dragon fruit cultivation: A manageable and profit providing Agri-enterprise in India

Dragon fruit, as the name suggests, resembles a dragon. It grows on climbing cactus known as Hylocereus, which can be found in tropical regions. The outer covering of dragon fruit is in shades of red and pink or yellow. Their leaves resemble a dragon and have spikes that shoot up like a flame around the fruit. Hylocereus originally grew in Southern Mexico, South & Central America. The inside of a dragon fruit is white, semi-solid fruit that can be eaten with a spoon and has nutty seeds sprinkled all over it. It is juicy with a slightly sweet taste, whereas the seeds have a nutty flavour. Farmers are enthusiastic in dragon fruit farming as a new and promising crop that offers both difficulties and potential. Dragon fruit, pitaya or strawberry pear (Hylocereus spp. and Selenicereus spp.) or Kamalam is emerging as a super crop worldwide, even in the marginal lands, owing to its health and medicinal benefits. It is basically a climbing cactus vine, tolerant to the abiotic stresses and resistant to pests and diseases. It has many advantages including low water and nutrient requirements, relatively less requirement of resources for establishing the orchard and maintenance; multiple harvest of fruit in a year; potential to sustain high yield up to 20 years; high benefit to cost ratio; and high nutraceuticals and functional properties (e.g. rich in antioxidants and fibres). All these qualities are attracting the growers worldwide to establish and expand dragon fruit farming, provide opportunity for global export and encourage for high quality produce to meet the market demand. Being a crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant with xerophytes’ characters, it has got ability to grow in a wide range of agro–climates including areas of high temperature and water scarcity regions. Furthermore, the fruit has a higher profit margin than other field crops. Weeds, bird invasions, high labor expenses, lack of technical knowledge of farmers on dragon fruit farming were recognized as major obstacles to fruit production. More government support, and fixing the issues described above could increase the fruit’s future prospects in the country.