Where does dragon fruit grow?
When you cut open the plump and juicy dragon fruit, have you ever thought about the secret of this tropical treasure? The fruit, with its bright skin, does not hang from the branches like an apple or crawl on the ground like a watermelon. This article will take you to explore the unique growth mode of pitaya, the distribution of core production areas, and the related planting knowledge. Analysis of the growth characteristics of dragon fruit The special climbing growth structure dragon fruit plants belong to the genus Tiantu in the family Cactus and have typical triangular pillar-shaped fleshy stems. These green stem nodes will climb onto the support and grow upward, up to 7 meters long. The fruit is not grown in a "tree" in the traditional sense, but hangs at the end of the fleshy stem node with developed aerial roots. Each fruiting branch can produce fruit continuously for 20 years. The unique flowering and pollination mechanism dragon fruit flowers are called the "beauty under the moon" and only bloom at night. White flowers with a diameter of 30 centimeters exude a faint fragrance and are pollinated by bats and nocturnal insects. The flowers themselves are rich in mucus protein, which can be mixed on cold or stewed, and have the effect of clearing lung and moistening dryness. Global distribution of dragon fruit production areas and distribution routes Dragon fruit is native to Central American tropical rainforests. Archaeological evidence shows that it was artificially cultivated during the Mayan civilization. It was introduced to Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Thailand during the Great Navigation Era in the 16th century. It was introduced to my country's (T-W) provinces by French missionaries at the end of the 19th century. It has now formed a "dragon fruit industry belt" centered on Guangxi and Hainan. The average annual temperature of high-quality production areas needs to be stable between 25-30℃ and the annual rainfall is 1,200 - 2,000 mm. Vietnam's Binh Thanh Province accounts for 35% of global production, and my country's Long 'an County, Guangxi has built a 10,000-acre standardized plantation. Using pillar cultivation technology, 1100 plants can be planted per mu, achieving annual results. Nutritional Analysis and Edible Guidelines Nutritional Composition Decoding Red heart dragon fruit contains 28.3mg of anthocyanins per 100 grams, while white heart varieties are rich in water-soluble dietary fiber. The unique plant albumin can bind to heavy metal ions, and (T-W) research found that its antioxidant capacity is 2.3 times that of kiwi fruit. Diabetes patients are recommended to choose the white heart variety, with a daily intake of no more than 200 grams. Scientific eating recommends avoiding eating with high-calcium foods, and it is recommended to keep them apart for 2 hours. Those with cold constitution can be balanced with ginger tea. Recent research shows that washing the peel and juicing the juice will contain three times that of the flesh, making natural food pigments.
From tropical rainforests to modern orchards, the cultivation landscape of dragon fruit continues to expand. The "Jindu No. 1" variety independently developed by my country has achieved a breakthrough in cold resistance, advancing the northern boundary of planting to 28 degrees north latitude. This "Dragon Pearl" not only carries tropical customs, but also contains the infinite possibilities of modern agricultural technology.