Dragon Fruits (DF) In Melaka (Still Haze in Malaysia)

I have brought one of my visitors to see and have a look at DF planting in Malaysia.

Mr. Vishal and  me visit one of DF farms in Melaka

DF grown for more than five years without much diseases.

DF sorting machine which sort for six weights

Eventhough, Malaysia was badly hit by haze from Indonesia, the DF plants seems to survive. It is quite difficult to measure how haze  caused  effects on plants. However, physiologically plants cannot trap lights for energy to be converted and manufacture carbohydrates. Although DF are Crassulacean Acid metabolism (CAM),   there is  a carbon fixation pathway that evolved.  In a plant using full CAM, the stomata in the leaves remain shut during the day to reduce evapotranspiration, but open at night to collect carbon dioxide (CO₂). Haze will cause heat to be trapped in the atmosphere that caused temperature to  rise which caused  growth rates increase with time resulted in less accumulation of dry matter. This in turn, which cause the plants will reduced in yield.

Dragon Fruits in India

India is vast continent . And its climatical conditions varies. Dragon fruits is a cactus plant that can survive in many climatical situations. Be it dry or wet. Unlike like Malaysia is tropical country where rainfall is very high  annually, dragon fruits suffers a lot of disease problems. This is especially when the plants have grown bigger with excessive water shoots.

Someone from India has approached  me about dragon fruit planting in India. To be exact the planting is  in Bombay, where dry weather persists. From the picture they sent, the farm is quite big and clean.Plants are quite young and did not encounter much problems.

A newly establish dragon fruit farm in Bombay India

From my comments is that the farms will anticipate many problems in future if necessary actions is not carried out.

Namely;

1. Surveillance
2. Pruning
3.Expertise
4.Fertilization
5.Post harvest handling
6.Planting materials for reselling.
7.Agricultural inputs.
8.Etc

I hope this farm will become a model farm in India, There are very big market in India especially for fresh consumption and planting materials supply.