Dragon Fruit, also known as Dragon Fruit, is a special fruit for the Chinese community. This fruit shape is unique. The skin is brightly colored with large scales. May be because of the presence of these scales so named as Dragon Fruit. Fruit with dragon-like scales. This fruit is considered to bring blessings following the nature of the dragon. Thus, dragon fruit is always a complementary offerings at the altar at Chinese religious events. Not just special, it turns dragon fruit also has a sense of delicious and fresh.
The flesh is soft with a blend of sweet and sour taste. In addition to delicious, nutritionists also ensure this tropical fruit has a million benefits. Unfortunately, the world's demand for this fruit is still not balanced with cultivation ability. Even Vietnam and Thailand, known as the largest dragon fruit suppliers, can only meet 50% of global market demand. This gap should be utilized by Indonesia to take an active role in dragon fruit exports. Moreover, these plants thrive in tropical countries. How to plant dragon fruit is fairly easy and does not require any particular skill.
To start the cultivation of dragon fruit, the thing worth noting is the requirement to grow dragon fruit plants. This plant is classified into the cactus family. Therefore medim planted in the lowlands, exactly at an altitude of 20 to 500 meters above sea level. The soil to grow dragon fruits must be loose, porous and also contains many organic materials and nutrients. More optimal if the soil pH 5 to 7. Make sure the land is a bit dry because if the water content is more, this plant will rot. Another important thing is the level of solar radiation. Make sure the plants are exposed to full sunlight during the day because dragon fruit is like the hot heat.
In addition to medium planting, the initial preparation stage also includes the provision of plant support. Dragon fruit trees do not have a solid primary rod. Usually it grows and climbs on the support. Therefore, the availability of a growing support pole is important. You can use wooden or concrete poles. The right size is 10cm x 10cm with a maximum height of 2 meters. Plug in the ground with a depth of approximately 50 cm. Around the point of pile pole, make a planting hole of 3 to 4. The size of each hole is 40 x 40 x 40 cm with a spacing of approximately 2 m x 2.5 m. Available holes are given a 10 kg organic fertilizer that has been mixed with the soil.
Process Planting
Once the planting medium is ready, the seedlings can already be planted. In general, how to grow dragon fruit is done through two ways namely steak and seeds. But in the field, the most widely used way is by cuttings. Stems of plants that become good seeds have a length of 25 to 30 cm. The initial process of stem cuttings begins with a polybag medium consisting of a mixture of soil with sand and also manure. The comparison is 1: 1: 1. After about 3 months of age, the seedlings can already be transferred in the actual way.
After the seedlings are planted on the land, the next process is a maintenance step that includes irrigation, fertilization, pest / weed and weeding. The process of irrigation is done as much as 1 to 2 days in a day. This process must be careful because dragon fruit plants do not like excess water. Next is fertilization. The best type of fertilizer is manure with spacing of 3 months. the amount of fertilizer is about 5 to 10kilogram.
Another thing that is not less important is the control of pests and weeds. During this time, pests that attack dragon fruit plants are still rarely found. The main breeder is a weed that is known to inhibit the growth of plants, therefore control is done regularly in order to grow crops more optimal. The next maintenance process is pruning. The step begins with trimming the main or primary stem at a condition where the height has reached the top of the pole. After pruning, will usually grow new shoots so that the stems have secondary branches. After the stems grow perfectly, trim again until the tertiary rod appears. This tertiary rod is then functioning as a production font.
After all the process is complete, farmers are just waiting for the dragon fruit harvest. If observed, how to grow dragon fruit is quite easy. Its high economic potential certainly offers a satisfying advantage. Therefore, do not hesitate to move to start the cultivation of dragon fruit.
Happy farming!
