Dragon Fruit Philippines
Dragon Fruit Philippines
Pitaya Fruit, Pitahaya Fruit or commonly known as the Dragon fruit is
among the most nutritious and wonderful exotic fruits. It is a favorite
to many, particularly people of Asian origin. It features a mouth
watering light sweet taste, an intense shape and color, not forgetting
its outstanding flowers. In addition to being tasty and refreshing, this
beautiful fruit boasts of a lot of water and other vital minerals with
varied nutritional ingredients.
Due to its vital nutrients, the
Pitaya fruit is suitable for all diets as it supplements fiber which is
best for laxative and the liver. Similarly, people who have high blood
pressure, diabetes and obesity have attested to the fruit’s goodness.
Recent findings show that if an obese person eats a Pitahaya fruit on a
regular basis, it naturally reduces the weight considerably, creating a
well balanced body without compromising on the individual’s health
POLLINATION OF THE DRAGON FRUIT
The dragon fruit is precisely of
the Hycocereus undatus family, thus making it one of the widespread red
dragon fruit. Typically, the fruit has red pulp, or red flesh if you
like. The fruit originates from the dragon fruit cactus plant, which
usually appears like vines. Unlike day pollination done by bees, it is
surprising to note that this nutritious and tasty fruit blooms at night
where pollination is caused by nocturnal living things such as bats and
moths. What is more, it blooms a few times annually, blossoming with
the now synonymous huge aromatic buds.
Despite the fact that people
avert and dislike bats, they play a very important role in the
pollination and formation of these dragon fruit cactus plants. This is
because the dragonfruit cactus plant will only come out successfully
after a complete pollination process. Note that even dragonfruit plants
that carry out self pollination fail to create a dragonfruit cactus if
they don’t get the assistance of the bats. In simple terms, the bats
carry out a successful and proper pollination process of the dragonfruit
cactus plant to bring out the delectable fruits that we relish.
You can stay healthy by eating a
dried or fresh Pitaya. For the people suffering from diabetes, a dry or
fresh Pitaya guarantees one of blood glucose control. Basically, a dry
dragonfruit has about 10 times the punch of a fresh one, with an amazing
chewy feel. To get a simple, healthy chewy texture, blend in a dried
pitahaya into your salads. On the other hand, a fresh dragon fruit
features a soft creamy feel.
That said, you can eat
dragonfruit as a desert, raw, of you can make its juice and use in
cocktails. Cocktails of ice cream are an example, or you can even
ferment the cocktail into a mouthwatering healthy alcoholic beverage. In
Taiwan for instance, the Pitaya fruit is used by diabetics to
substitute food for rice and to enhance the fiber content of the diet.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF A TYPICAL DRAGON FRUIT
Pitahaya fruits are highly
concentrated with Vitamin C, minerals and boasts of high fiber content.
The following table shows a characteristic nutritional value of the
dragonfruit.
Equally available in affluent in a
dragonfruit is phytoalbumins. Basically, these nutrients are vital and
known world over for the antioxidants they possess which usually help in
the prevention of the formation of free radicals that cause cancer.
| Fiber | 0.9g |
| Fat | 0.61g |
| Ashes | 0.68g |
| Carotene | 0.012g |
| Water | 83.0g |
| Phosphorus | 36.1mg |
| Ascorbic Acid | 9.0mg |
| Protein | 0.229g |
| Riboflavin | 0.045mg |
| Calcium | 8.8g |
| Niacin | 0.430mg |
| Iron | 0.65mg |
IMPORTANCE OF EATING A PITAYA FRUIT
- Carotene helps maintain and equally improve the health of the eyes
- The fiber enhances digestion in our bodies
- The fiber equally reduces fat
- The protein component of the pitaya fruit enhances the body’s metabolism
- Calcium reinforces bones and aid in formation of healthy teeth
- Vitamin B2 acts as a multi vitamin to recover and improve loss appetite
- Vitamin B1 assists in production of energy as well as metabolizing carbohydrates
- Vitamin B3 lowers bad cholesterol level and enhances the appearance of the skin by moisturizing and smoothening it
- Vitamin C ensures bruises and cuts heal faster and improves the general immune system of our bodies
- Phosphorus aids in tissue formation.
COMPONENT STATISTICS OF DRAGONFRUIT
As mentioned above, eating a
dried pitaya fruit equals eating 10x the punch of a fresh pitaya fruit,
constituting essential vitamins such as Vitamin C, micro nutrients and
fiber. Thus, consumption of 1.5 oz of a dried dragonfruit, equates to
almost eating a full pound of the fresh dragonfruit. Note that all the
necessary and important dietary fiber, micro nutrients and vitamin C are
still in abundance in a dried dragonfruit.
While a fresh pitahaya fruit
contains lots of water, justifying the soft creamy texture you feel when
eating it fresh, a dry Pitahaya fruit features a chewy feel, and
generally appears darker than the fresh fruit. This then explains the
phrase “color your diet” for this amazing fruit rich in all vital
nutrients that your body requires, and what is more, it is very easy to
eat.
SPECIES OF PITAYA FRUIT
Misrahi Y. and Nerd A. have
written an outstanding piece of work about the dragonfruits entitled
“Climbing and Columnar Cacti: New Arid Land Fruit Crop”. Because of the
apparent confusion while naming the species in different parts of the
world, the two authors have tried to demystify the confusion.
Botanical and common names of a number of the Climbing Cacti
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Botanical and common names a number of columnar cacti
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THE HISTORY OF THE DRAGON FRUIT
The dragonfruit is native to
Central America. According to Aztec literature, Pitahaya fruits date
back to the 13th century. In Vietnam, where it is extensively grown,
Pitaya fruit is known as thang loy. It is believed that the fruit was
introduced to Vietnam by the French and today, the average yield per
hectare is 20-25 tonnes.
Malaysia is another region where
you are sure to find the dragonfruit. It was first introduced in 1999 in
the Sitiawan, Johor and Kuala Pilah regions. Colombia and Nicaragua are
other places where pitahaya fruit is grown for commercial purposes.
These regions attest to the fact
that Pitaya cactus fruit requires a warm climate thus prospers well in
semi-arid areas. Planting the fruit has very high prospects since it’s
industrially used in juices, making wine and flavorings, not forgetting
its medicinal value which a lot of people have grown to trust.
GROWING THE DRAGON FRUIT
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By and large, it requires a
tropical climate, especially when growing for commercial purposes to
have successful and fruitful plantation. Red dragon fruit featuring red
skin and red flesh, pitaya fruit featuring white flesh and yellow skin
and the red pitaya fruit featuring white flesh and red skin are the
three most common varieties cultivated for commercial purposes.
Additionally, they all feature the pitaya fruit pulp or flesh filled up
with tiny black seedlings, normally eaten together with the fruit.
On the other side, if you want to
grow the pitaya fruits for non commercial purposes, you can easily do
that at home by using the seedlings found in the fruits that you eat,
since you aren’t growing them large scale.
Getting started is quite easy,
but you maybe required to learn a bit more about how to grow the fruit
to mellowness to produce pitaya cactus fruit successfully. Basically,
both commercial and non commercial growers may find short blossoming
durations and night blossoming makes pollination of your Pitaya fruit
difficult. As mentioned above, successful pollination is by nocturnal
creatures such as bats and moths, and a set back maybe you aren’t living
in an area where these creatures are many.
The biggest challenge for the
hobbyist is getting recurring successful fruitings of mature pitaya
fruit cactus. Nonetheless, wherever part of the world you are, it can be
fun to grow pitaya fruits. You can use cuttings or seeds; beware though
that the seeds may take a bit longer.
You are likely to spot the Hylocereus undatus/ocamponis/polyrhizus in Malaysia and Taiwan and the Hylocereus, Selenicereus and Cereus genera in Vietnam, Israel and Central America. Since the demand for the dragon fruit is high, the projections of it becoming a plantation crop are very high.
You are likely to spot the Hylocereus undatus/ocamponis/polyrhizus in Malaysia and Taiwan and the Hylocereus, Selenicereus and Cereus genera in Vietnam, Israel and Central America. Since the demand for the dragon fruit is high, the projections of it becoming a plantation crop are very high.
While cultivating the climbing
cacti, one may need wooden posts, trellis, metal rods and concrete posts
to support the plants, which is not necessary while cultivating the
columnar cacti. The climatic conditions of the area you are cultivating,
in addition to the cultural and economic criteria will basically
determine the supporting structures that you will use.
HORTICULTURE
RAINFALL
As mentioned above, the optimal
rainfall of the cacti should be between 600-1300mm since excess rainfall
will cause the flowers to drop, definitely reducing the fruit set. The
biggest enemy of the cacti is waterlogging as it kills it. Equally,
excess humidity causes proliferation of soft rot caused by the Erwina
Carotovora bacteria. A dry rot on the other side is caused by extreme
soil moisture.
LIGHT TOLERANCE
In conditions that have excessive
light intensity, it is advisable to provide shade. There are species
that are susceptible to bleaching when exposed to high radiations. Thus,
such species should be grown under net houses. These are species that
originate from tropical and subtropical America, while other species
like the H. polyrhizus withstands high light intensity, thanks to their
thick waxy skin.
TEMPERATURE TOLERANCE
Just like the rainfall, excessive
temperature can damage the Pitahaya fruit. Optimal temperatures should
be between 38-40 degrees Celsius. Some species like the Hylocereus
undatus are extremely sensitive to high temperature. The effects include
abnormal browning and the stems of the affected plants may end up
liquefying. Flowering is equally affected by excessive temperatures.
SELECTING AND STORING PITAYA FRUITS
Selecting the fruit is very
simple, simply look for full-bodied, full colored fruits which are free
from any moldy spots. You can store the Pitaya fruits in refrigerators,
unwashed for up to five days.
EATING THE DRAGON FRUIT
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Ways
of eating the dragon fruit are as many as the medicinal values of the
fruits. If you relish eating them fresh, you can peel off the skin by
spooning it, just the same way you do to a papaya. Equally, you can
slice the pitaya, blend in a smoothie and eat with lime or lemon or
better still add to your fresh fruit salad. You can eat it chilled or
cold, the choice is all yours but what you should know is that it is
mandatory to eat the pitahaya fruit!
CUTTINGS FOR SALE!! (Red Flesh)
Free Delivery (Zambales and Pampanga Philippines)
7 inches cutting, no roots.
Minimum 30 pcs, 25 pesos each.
If more than 100pcs price is negotiable.
