DRAGON FRUIT CULTIVATION IN SRI LANKA
DR. C. D. JAYAWEERA BANDARA
Scientific Name: Selenicereus undatus
The painting below was done by me and shown in My Paintings of Fruits -3: post, on 28.04.24Dragon fruit was introduced to Sri Lanka in 1997. It is an ideal new crop for dry
areas.
Dragon fruit is a vine Cactus species. Its fruit is the most
beautiful in the Family Cactaceae with a bright red skin studded with green
scales and white or red flesh with tiny black seeds. The juicy flesh of the
fruit is delicious.
The flower is so beautiful that it is nicknamed as ‘Noble
woman’ or ‘Queen of the Night’. The red skin Dragonfruit,
Scientific name Selenicereus un datus (earlier name was Hylocereus undatus),
is the type grown in Sri Lanka. Of the red skin type the white pulp one is that
mostly grown in Sri Lanka.
The main constraint is that the establishment cost is high
due to the use of trellises for climbing. Concrete posts with a tyre or similar
structure on top are being used. The biggest advantage of this crop is that
once planted it will grow for about 20 years and one Hectare could accommodate
about 800 Dragon fruit plants.
A single plant yields 20 to 90 fruits per year. Each fruit
weighs 350 to 550 gms.
There was a Fungal attack on the Dragon fruit cultivation in
Sri Lanka in 2009 which affected it drastically. This was confirmed by the
Director, Fruit Research and Development Institute, Horana.
Following are the places where Dragon fruits are grown, as given
by The Economist.
Fruit Research Institute, Horana, Anuradhapura, Gampaha,
Ratnapura, Matale, Kurunegala, Hambunthota, Kandy, Kalutara, Galle and
Puttalam.
(The above is according to the number of Hectares where
Dragon fruit is grown. The highest is Anuradhapura, and the lowest is Puttlam.)
The above information was obtained from the Internet and also from the book 1 “Unutilised Fruit Trees In Sri Lanka” (details below), Chapter 4 Dragon fruit authored by Prof HPM Gunasena and Prof DKNG Pushpakumara of The Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya.
1 References:- “Unutilised Fruit Trees In Sri Lanka” Vol. 1. World Agroforestry, South Asia Office, New Delhi, India. Sri Lanka Council for Agriculture Research Policy Sri Lanka pp 110-141, Easy access-- World Agroforestry Dragon fruit Sri Lanka---Dragon fruit—Chapter 4
PHOTOGRAPHS OF DRAGON FRUIT FLOWERS
PHOTOGRAPH CACTUS WITH DRAGON FRUITS
Thanks again Chira. The facts you gave us are fascinating. I also found out it was believed that During a battle, whenever a dragon breathed fire, the last thing to emerge was a dragon fruit. When a dragon was slain, the fruit was collected by the soldiers. This became a symbol of victory and the soldiers would proudly present it to the Emperor. Although it is a species of cacti that is native to Central and South America. It is now grown in tropical regions all over the world. Although it is the fruit of a cactus, it does not have any spines or needles on the outer skin. Fascinating stuff indeed!
ReplyDeleteMahendra
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for taking a lot of trouble and care to publish this article.
Also I am thankful to you for adding the above.
Let me thank Manel (Owli) for advise given on doing research and publishing such an article.
Chira
Mahendra and Manel
ReplyDeleteI found in the Internet Chapter4 Dragonfruit but couldn't find the title of the book. I rang up The Director, Fruit Research Institute, Horana and was advised to call the author Prof. Pushpakumara and ask him. I called him and he sent me an E mail giving the name etc.
Chira
All credit to you Chira for taking your time and effort to gather the material on Dragon Fruit cultivation in Sri Lanka. Your patience and commitment is commendable as much as your beautiful paintings of this exotic fruit. Mahendra, I was unaware of the fascinating tale behind the name!
ReplyDeleteThank you both for enriching our knowledge.
Manel
Manel (Owli)
DeleteThank you very much for your comment. Much appreciated.
Let me thank you for the advise given on research and publishing such an article.
You know how frustrated I was on trying to get the title of that book. I nearly gave up getting this article published without the title of that book. Sheer determination won the day when I was able to get the name of the book.
Chira
Chira
ReplyDeleteThank you for the beautiful paintings of the Dragon Fruit and the descriptive notes to go with it. As I was growing up in Sri Lanka this was not a fruit I knew. I was introduced to it on my travels in the Far-East. They indeed have a lovely taste. Glad it is popular in SL and is also cultivated there.
I must thank you and Mahen for keeping the blog alive and active.
Nihal
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your comment. Much appreciated.
Mahendra and you should be thanked for keeping the blog alive and not Mahen and myself.
I have not tasted the Dragonfruit. It is supposed to be like the Kiwi fruit.
Chira
Thanks Chira. super information. You have gone to great extent to find all the relevant information ee Cultivation of dragon fruit. it truly looks beautiful but personally i don't care for the taste.
ReplyDeletesuper job again Chira. well done
pramilla
Pram
DeleteThank you very much for your comment. I appreciate greatly.
When I was painting Dragonfruit I got interested in the cultivation of Dragonfruit in Sri Lanka, which made me do research.
I felt others too will be interested.
Chira
Hi Chira , I read your interesting article on Dragon Fruit. Your commitment to inform and educate us is truly commendable. Thank you for the trouble you have taken . I must confess though it's not a fruit I eat frequently.
DeleteSuri
Suri
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your comment. Much appreciated. I am glad you gathered information.
I was interested to find about Dragonfruit cultivation and felt that others too might be interested which made me go forward. I am glad that I was able to get all the information though with difficulty.
Chira
Chira, thank you very much for providing a wealth of information regarding the Dragon fruit, which is greatly appreciated
ReplyDeleteLama
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your comment. I value it greatly. I am glad you appreciate it.
If you read through the comments you will understand how difficult it was to get the information leaving alone the umpteen number of calls I had to take.
In the end I am happy that I was able to achieve my goal
Chira
Another master piece from Chira.
ReplyDeleteDetails have come out very clearly and the colour selection is fantastic. Thanks.
Puvana and Shanti
Puvana and Shanti
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your comment. I appreciate greatly.
I think you are commenting about the paintings of fruits. I enjoy painting and I do by looking at a photo on the Internet. I am happy when they end up looking natural.
Chira
Dear Chira, Thank you for this fascinating account of dragon fruits and their cultivation. Thank you also for the beautiful paintings in your previous post. I am leaning a lot from these botanical details. I will watch out for this fruit on my next trip to Sri Lanka. (I will have to find someone to peel and cut it before I taste it - Haha!). The plant and the flowers are beautiful too!
ReplyDeleteMahen, thanks for sharing the mythological details which are also fun.
Srianee
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your lovely comment. I value it greatly.
I am glad that you appreciated both posts. If you go through the previous posts and my replies you will understand how difficult it was to get all the details about the Dragonfruit cultivation in Sri Lanka. Determination wins the day !
When are you coming back to Sri Lanka ?
Chira