We are happy to invite you to participate in the upcoming Dragon Fruit Workshop to be held at the Miami-Dade County Extension Service (Homestead, FL) during July 17-18, 2024. This is a free event, where lunch and light refreshments will be provided. This meeting is part of the grant entitled “Evaluating the Potential Expansion and Diversification of the Dragon Fruit Industry in North America” (FLA-TRC-006408). At this workshop you will learn about Dragon fruit pollination, production and post-harvest practices, insect pests and diseases, and more.
We will also visit two Dragon fruit plantings. You can find the tentative agenda at the end of this message. In order to attend in-person or online you MUST register (the link below). We will be sharing more information as the date gets closer.
https://ufl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0SpTDLWnPxRoRuJ
If you have additional questions, please contact Dr. Romina Gazis (r.gazisseregina@ufl.edu) or Shelby Weber (shelby.weber1@ufl.edu)
Tentative Agenda
DAY 1 [July 17, 2024 / 8 am – 5 pm]
8:00 – 9:00: Registration, coffee & snacks.
9:00 – 9:15: Welcome words from the organizers. Housekeeping items.
9:15 – 10:10: State Reports. Five States (FL, CA, TX, PR, HI).
10:10 – 11:00: Growing dragon fruit in a changing climate.
11:00 – 11:30: Dragon Fruit Diseases [general]
11:30 – 12:00: Dragon fruit stem and fruit canker.
12:00 – 1:00: LUNCH [included for all participants]
1:00 – 1:30: Dragon Fruit Pests and Pollinators.
1:30 – 2:00: Cultural practices related to crop health.
2:00 – 3:00: Section industry perspective.
3:00 – 4:00: Section economics.
4:00 – 5:00: Section postharvest and consumer preferences.
5:00 – 5:10: Wrap up / Housekeeping items for day 2.
DAY 2 [July 18, 2024 / 8 am – 5 pm]
8:00 – 9:00: Group meet up, coffee & snacks.
9:00 – 12:00: Visit to two dragon fruit fields (two local plantings).
12:00 – 1:00: LUNCH [included for all participants]
1:00 – 2:00: Visit to TREC's Dragon Fruit variety planting.
2:00 – 3:00: Industry brainstorming session and research priorities selection.
3:00 – 4:00: Closing Remarks and future efforts.
