Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Close Planting of Dragon Fruits


The normal or conventional planting density in dragon fruits is 2 meter X 3 meter (6 ft.X 9 ft.).This means that for an acre only 2,000 plants could be planted.It is a good idea if the planting density could be increased so that many plants could be plant per unit area.
I have seen close planting of dragon fruits in Chiangmai. However, during my visit it was not fruiting season. I think their planting density is 1 ft X 10 ft.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Dragon Fruits Adds Another Niche



Since the last ten years we hardly see dragon fruits grown in tropical conditions. It has been known that dragon fruits are long day plants.Meaning that it makes food at night. However, lately we can see it has emerged as a newcomer in the tropical fruit industry. It is been liken by everybody from different walks of like. I believe that climate change has something to do with the adaptations of the crop in the hot and humid tropics like Malaysia.

In the pic above, dragon fruit outshines guava,mangosteen, 'buah tampoi' and rambutan.These fruits make a beautiful basket of fruits.