Posts Tagged: dragon fruit
There's More to Passionfruit than Meets the Eye
Passionfruit and Dragonfruit Growers Pest Control Workshop
From: Jonathan H. Crane, Tropical Fruit Crop Specialist and Jeff Wasielewski, Commercial Tropical Fruit Agent
April 19, 2022, Time – 10AM-12PM - 1.5 CEU's applied for
Passionfruit and Dragonfruit Growers Pest Control Workshop
Insect and disease problems and control, economic issues, and cultural practices
Registration required ($25)
Eventbrite link https://www.eventbrite.com/e/passionfruit-and-dragonfruit-growers-workshop-registration-315757437997
Attendance options – a HYBRID meeting
You can attend in-person (registration list through Eventbrite or in-person on day of event) Might be nice weather
Miami-Dade County Extension Service
18710 SW 280 St., Homestead, FL 33033
Tel: 305-248-3311
or you can attend on-line through Zoom
Online participants – Zoom
Once registered you will receive a link to the Zoom meeting through Eventbrite
Agenda |
|
Jeff Wasielewski, Commercial Tropical Fruit Agent (20 min) |
Introduction, logistics and an introduction to passion fruit and dragon fruit |
Daniel Carrillo, Entomologist – Tropical Fruits (30 min) |
Passion fruit and dragon fruit pests, beneficial insects, and pollinators |
Romina Gazis, Plant Pathologist – Ornamentals/Tropical Fruits (40 min) |
Major Diseases Affecting Commercial Dragon Fruit and Passionfruit Production in South Florida |
Trent Blare, Agricultural Economist (10 min) |
Tools to determine the profitability of passion fruit and dragon fruit; cost of pest control |
Jonathan Crane, Tropical Fruit Crop Specialist (20 min) |
Cultural practices to mitigate pest problems and what conventional and organic pesticides are registered for these crops |
Questions and Answers |
passionfruit
dragon fruit pile
Know Thy Pitahaya
UC Cooperative Extension advisor Ramiro Lobo has found that the unusually beautiful fruiting cactus - pitahaya or dragon fruit - thrives in Southern California's mild climate. Pitahaya do well in regions where avocados are produced, but use much less water. They can also make excellent landscape plants, adding interest to the garden while producing healthful fruit.
Pitahaya fruit begin as large, showy, nighttime-blooming flowers, each of which contain male and female parts. In many of the most-desirable varieties, the anthers (the male part with pollen) and the stigma (the female part that needs to be pollinated) are separated by a distance that prevents night-flying pollinators, such as moths, from consistently making the connection.
For a uniform and bountiful crop, Lobo suggests hand pollination. Pollen can be collected by shaking a bloom over a bowl or trimming the anthers into a cup with a pair of scissors. He stores pollen in the freezer until the night or early morning hours when cacti bloom. He dabs up pollen with an inexpensive makeup brush and lightly swishes it onto the flowers' stigma.
“It's easy and takes just a few seconds per flower," Lobo said. "If you don't hand pollinate, you end up with fruits that are very small. And uniformity isn't there."
Hand pollination also allows farmers to accurately project their pitahaya harvest and work in advance with fruit marketing companies to sell the crop. Lobo said he carries a mechanical counter to click as he pollinates flowers. Forty days later, that precise number of fruit will be ready for harvest.
And here's his chart of the characteristics of different selections.
dragon-fruit-recommendations chart
Dragon Fruit Workshop
A recent workshop was held in Florida for pitahaya growers. The presntations are on line now
AGENDA
Speaker |
Topic/title |
Time |
Jeff Wasielewski, Commercial Tropical Fruits |
Introduction – background on the industry |
10 minutes |
Daniel Carrillo, Entomologist-Tropical Fruits |
Pitahaya pests and beneficial insects |
25 minutes |
Romina Gazis, Plant Pathologist/Dir. Plant Diagnostic Clinic |
An overview of diseases affecting dragon fruit production |
15 minutes |
Tiago de Paula Lelis, Plant Pathology Postdoc |
Stem and fruit canker of dragon fruit: management strategies |
15 minutes |
Jonathan Crane, Tropical Fruit Crop Specialist |
Cultural practices and environmental factors that affect dragon fruit production |
20 minutes |
Q&A |
|
15 minutes |
Jonathan H. Crane, Tropical Fruit Crop Specialist
UF-IFAS-Tropical Research and Education Center
18905 SW 280 Street
Homestead, Florida 33031 U.S.A.
Office 786-217-9271
Cell 786-255-5878
Email jhcr@ufl.edu
TREC main website https://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/
Faculty webpage https://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/faculty/jcrane/
Tropical fruit production & research HOS5555 class https://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/teaching/tropical-fruit-production- and-research-hos5555/
FruitScapes https://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/fruitscapes/
pitahaya
Dragon Fruit Conference
Just When You Though You Could Take the Week Off from Webinars
Here's a two-day conference on Dragon Fruit
September 22 and 23, 2020 (you have an option of viewing it live or later recorded).
Note Taiwan is 15 hours ahead of California.
https://sites.google.com/fftc.org.tw/dfnet-workshop-en/home
To register for this conference follow the link: FREE registration.
https://sites.google.com/fftc.org.tw/dfnet-workshop-en/home?fbclid=IwAR1bE79iCEaBvauKQMW-iPNwlIQNNSH88YVxcBDARd_jVQKbsO7s1q1GIXM
Please use the following link for the agenda
https://sites.google.com/fftc.org.tw/dfnet-workshop-en/program
Besides the presentations on export there will be presentations on:
- Good agricultural practices
- Nutritional and functional traits of dragon fruit
- From production to consumption-the missing links
- Value-added programs
In addition: There is a lot of information on dragon fruit production through the
- Dragon Fruit Network (https://dfnet.fftc.org.tw/Page/Home.aspx)
- You can view previous conferences at:
- (https://www.fftc.org.tw/en/activities/detail/129) and (https://www.fftc.org.tw/en/activities/detail/116)
pitahaya
Pitahaya Meeting Soon
The 2019 Pitahaya/Dragon Fruit Festival/Field Day
Saturday, September 14, 2019
Located at the UC South Coast Research & Extension Center
1601 Irvine Boulevard, Irvine, CA 92618
6:30am - 2:30pm
Please join us as we discuss how to grow a pitahaya from a seed, irrigation and design considerations, weed management strategies without glyphosate, nematode issues, and much more! To view the entire agenda, click here. We expect this Festival to sell out, so register early!
Registration is $40.00 per person if paid online or postmarked by Monday, September 9, 2019. The price will be $50.00 after this date or at the door, if space allows (checks only at the door). Register early as attendance is only limited to 100 participants. Click here to continue on with registering.
Registration fee includes continental breakfast, lunch, pitahaya or dragon fruit ice cream tasting, and an informational packet.
Please Note: refunds will not be issued, but substitutions are allowed.
For questions regarding registration and substitutions, please contact Erin Spaniel at 858-822-7919. For general program information, please contact Ramiro Lobo at 858-243-4608.
pitahaya poster