Agronomic Practices

Pruning is very important in dragon fruit cultivation. Besides, it provides good framework and balance for plant canopy, it allows good ventilation for plants. Small insects might live within the compact canopy making spraying of insects difficult. I have observed that farmers practise the wrong way to prune dragon fruits making it attack by insects badly.

The top pic shows how farmers pruned dragon fruits the wrong way.It has become multi layer that caused heavy load to the support stand.

Below is the correct way how to prune dragon fruit. The top part should be free from new shoot growth allowing sunshine to penetrate and good ventilation.

Blog Awards

My blog was featured in the Award Blog (http://garden-planters.com/blog_awards/index.php?id=1722). I am grateful that someone apprecciate my work. I will try to add more info to this blog coz right now I quite tight with my work.My other blog could be read at http://about-heliconia.blogspot.com/.

Visit To Brunei Darulsalam

I had spent my holidays in Brunei from 26th to 30th November.This is my first visit to the country. I crossed through Limbang, then to Temburong. What is interesting to me is that there are farmers already planting this fruits. I saw they used 2 cuttings per stake made from 'berlian' wood.
I had observed how the farmers made their own organic fertilizers and the farm was very clean. I traced out some secrets of how they control diseases using the cheapest way. The only disease I noticed was brown rust spot caused by Dothirella but it is under control.The weather was wet and dry. Brunei had a very good potential to produce dragon fruits however early works should be done such as suitable land establishment, good and reliable planting materials, management practices and marketing as well downstream activities must be well planed and worked out. The people are eager to plant if the incentives are right.

Prior going to Brunei, I was asked to go to investigate disease breakout in Johore. About 50 acres were infected. What I observed that due to flooding, but the farmers did not control the disease from spreading partly due to bad sanitation and field agronomic activities.Apart from that farmers did not practice the correct pruning techniques, the canopy was dense and crowded that harvest a lot of insects and fungus.One more thing they did not pruned at the joints, making easy infection of diseases to enter if the branches were half-pruned.

Planting Materials Specifications on Dragon Fruits (Bahasa Melayu Version)

SIRIM had already published planting materials specification in Bahasa Melayu. It can found at http://www.msonline.gov.my/catalog.php?source=production&score=checked. We are working very hard to submit the English Version and should be ready soon for approval. I hope those people down there be a little bit  patience to get a copy.

From what I noticed at MAHA 2015 not a single booth shows dragon fruits. It is completely vanished from the farm or market  or right now it is not fruiting due to rainy season?   don't know exactly. I hope this dragon fruit farming will make a comeback and makes eveybody happy.

Manual of Dragon Fruit Planting (In Bahasa Melayu)

I have just completed my write-up on Planting of Dragon Fruits in Malay language. It takes quite some to finish it . This manual is simple and practical ways of how to plant dragon fruits. I hope to publish as soon as possible so that it can be practised immediately by the growers or hobbyists alike.
This manual is of  my very own effort and much time is devoted to it. I will translate into English once I have completed my other book.

I have to race against time because there are a lot work to do. However, you will be satisfied once you accomplished something on your own. I don't rely on anybody either to type the words or sentences, take photo, arrange the contents, paragraphs and layout whats not. Writing books or articles takes patience otherwise well begun half done or Malay proverb says hangat-hangat tahi ayam (direct translation chicken dung is always warm when it is out of its butt! ..and later cool).

Manual on Dragon Fruit Planting. I will translate in English very soon.

MAHA International Is Around the Corner

For those of you who have time, don't miss MAHA International which will be started from 26 Nov until Dec.5. This year there will be a lot of shows locally and abroad. But one thing, the weather is going a bit wet so please bring the necessary items you.

For those we had not been here,  please come early and please bring enough money to buy plants, books, handicrafts, foods, etc. We expect more than 1 million visitors to come.

This is a public event so dont miss the boat.

I will be there almost all the time pls contact me if you need assistance.

Nutrient Deficiency on Dragon fruits.

Nutrient defieciency is defined as lack of nutrient. There are basically 16 elements needed by the plants. They are N,P,K, Ca, Mg,Fe, Mg,Mn,Cu ,Bo etc. Of those N is very important . There are needed by the plants for growth and metabolism.

In one case I have seen dragon fruits suffered from N deficiency symptoms. This occurred in Kelantan, in the NW state of Malaysia - the soil is of bris type i.e. sand which is lack of organic matter. The symptom is shown in the yellowing of the whole mature branch and no disease detected.

If you encounter that problem, one should give a lot of organic manure or foliar spray .

The pic above how the symptoms look like. It is not actually disease but it is lack of N. If this matter continues the branch might dies and attack by pathogen which finally caused severe disease infection. Therefore, it should be prunned and cut off.


Should you have the same problem then you can email or contact me.

Pseudohaematuria

Do you know what is Pseudohaematuria? Pseudohaematuria can be due to dragonfruit ingestion
Have you eaten Dragon fruit lately? If you gorge on the stuff, be warned. Ingestion of Dragon fruit can cause a reddish discoloration of your urine and stool. This was discussed in the Dobbs forum recently, and for the unwary I guess it could be quite alarming. A quick Google search shows that local medical bloggers have already mentioned this.

Jellio also had a similar personal encounter.

Some other foodstuff which can discolor your urine: beetroot blackberries other naturally red foods carrots

Other causes of discolored urine: Medications (e.g. some laxatives, certain antibiotics eg rifampicin and some anti cancer drugs like anthracyclines)

Dyes Reddish discoloration of urine may of course be due to blood (haematuria) or haemoglobin (haemoglobinuria). Urine may be dark or tea colored in liver disease.

As always, you should consult your doctor, especially if there is any doubt.
Useful info link: Urine color

Antioxidant-Rich Product from Red Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus)

We have put up one poster on the above entitles " Starter Culture Development for Antioxidant-Rich Product from Red Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus)" at one of our conference next week. I hope the poster will be accepted by the panel to gain at least one medal either silver or bronze. Hope for the best.

Dragon Fruit Planting in Malaysia-It is At Crossroad?

There is so much problem of planting of dragon fruit planting in Malaysia.Partly, because it is not in the crop policy of the country. Actually one must remember that there are 15 fruit types been prioritized by the government in the National Agriculture Policy (NAP).They include starfruit,papaya,guava, nangka, mangosteen,durian,manggo, etc . These fruits are been gazetted to be planted in the so call in 'Agroclimatological Zones' meaning crops suitable to the climate.The government will support infrastructure, loans and technical needs to the farmers and agencies interested.

Of late dragon fruits have attracted many investors to dump their money and many get caught. Basically there need a lot to done- FAST and QUICK

1. Disease and resistant planting materials
2.Crop management practices need to be improved
3.Post harvest handling and storage
4.Transfer of technology should be fast and efficient.

We dont want to be become like 'fire brigade phenomena'. That is once things done for example planting in a very big acre, disease came and did not know how to tackle the problem or during glut production did not know where to market the fruits.

Although there are already Cooperatives at national and state levels, still not moving smoothly.We should work harder make this industry look more lucrative and better than other farming.

Dragon Fruit Drinks

Previously, I have posted about dragon fruits drinks. Dragon fruits could also be self-made or processed as enzymes. The process is quite simple and easy to make.


Step 1

Thoroughly clean a large glass jar using hot water and mild soap. Rinse thoroughly. Allow to air dry.Wash and air dry fresh and ripe fruit. Remove the peels, which can be used in a vegetable enzyme for cleaning or in compost. NOTE: Use a 3-1 ratio. This means Three (3) part fruit. One (1) part sugar (or honey).

Step 2
Using your chosen fruit: pineapples, orange, lime, raspberry, lemon and apple are good choices. AS YOU CUT, layer the pieces of fruit in the jar. Do not lie the fruit outside of the jar or place on a counter. This can cause contamination. If you’re using pineapple, remove the eyes. Do not put the eyes into the fruit layer. Do not allow flies near your operation! The first layer of fruit should be 1/3 of the bottle.
Step 3

Add a 1/3 layer of brown sugar (or honey) to the top of the fruit.

Step 4

Repeat this procedure another 2-3 times, alternating fruit and sugar as if making lasagna until the jar is full. The last layer should be sugar (or honey).IMPORTANT: Allow breathing room at the top of the jar. This allows the process to release natural gases.

Step 5
FERMENTATION
During the first two weeks every 3 days shake the jar and stir the contents.

Step 6
Re-seal the container, but not too tight. If you plan on using the enzyme for chronic illness: Allow the fruit to ferment for 1 month.For the best results allow the fruit to ferment for 4 months at which time the ph level should be 4.

Step 7
HARVESTINGPour the enzyme into bottles glass bottles for storing using cheesecloth and funnel.

Step 8
PRESERVATIONAlthough refrigeration isn’t necessary, the enzyme should be stored in a cool dry place.

Step 9
CONSUMPTIONIdeally taken an hour prior to eating, place a tablespoon of enzyme under your tongue and swallow slowly. This is said to stimulate the nerves to promote blood circulation.Fruit enzymes are the ultimate healthy remedy

Source: http://www.ehow.com/how_5149311_make-fruit-enzyme.html

My Dragon Fruit Poster in Bahasa Melayu

I have to present a poster as well as fruit samples including tissue culture plantlets at one of the agricultural convention in the country. Here is my poster in Malay language.

One-Day Seminar on Dragon Fruits

There was a seminar on dragon fruit which was attended by 170 participants. There were two guest speakers from Vietnam namely; Ms Phong and Dr Hoa.

Comparing dragon fruit production in Vietnam which is about 10,000 hectares with Malaysia with 1,000 hectares. This means that Malaysia has one-tenth of what Vietnam has.However, Malaysia has many years to go before it can overtake Vietnam; of course through R&D , and collaboration with various parties concern. My hypothesis is that oil palm and rubber which was once brought by the British colonial was not a Malaysian crop before, but they were from Africa and Brazil, respectively. Through research and continuous hard work, Malaysia has achieved to be the world producer - similarly that goes with dragon fruit. I believe with the technology that we own; we could meet our target and plans supported by our progressive farmers , entrepreneurs as well as 'big brothers' to venture and various parties concerned.

For what I forsee should Malaysia become the world player in this game, she has to come with its own disease free planting materials-back to basic. Educate the farmers on crop husbandry, sanitaion as well as post harvest handling. There are many farmers who had 'burnt their fingers' I must say. But if the transter of technology(TOT) is at par ; then I am pretty sure this goal can be achieved.

Back to Vietnam, they had succesfully achieved EUREGAP markets and still working on GLOBALGAP. There are more things need to be learnt and I am confident that we can make short cuts here and there before we can stand 'shoulder to shoulder' with them.

Field Mechanization of Dragon Fruit Planting

Large scale dragon fruit plantation in Malacca 

To plant dragon fruits in a large plantation ; there is no doubt mechanization is very  necessary. It is a very important tool to speed up management activities such as spraying of insecticide,weeding, fertilization and so on.However, what is the optimum  size of plantation that need to be considered before machines to be introduced? As machines are very expensive and needs to be  maintenance, careful decision has to be made so that the investment is profitable.Otherwise, you put unnecessary budget that would incur the return.

The size,type and power of the machines have to sought from experts or experience person in order to buy the correct tool. We cannot just  copy or buy from hearsay  what machines are needed. Think twice.

Using boom sprayer to spray foliar fertilizer, insectides and fungicides

Dr.Zainudin inspecting dragon fruit plantation

Horticulture Research Centre Director Tengku Malik explaining something to visitors.

Enquiry from Egypt that Wants to Grow Dragon Fruits

Someone from Egypt email me about grow dragon from there;

 

Dear Sir,

let me introduce my self , I am Mahmoud Abo Elkassem , from Egypt , Age 31 , working Software Developer .

from 5 month and i feel interested about Dragon Fruit , and looking to plant it in my home and in the future i will try to make it commercial.

once i check a lot of site a bout varieties in Malaysia , Philippines, Vietnam ,

i start get so confused, many varieties with different name in the Three country for example : in Philippines fruit name "Saniata" , in Vietnam  "Dragon Fruit" , in Malaysia a farmer create new varieties  "Orange Skin"

so which one is the parent and which one is the child "Clone" ,

what varieties good for me in both way to plant it in home aed commercial ?

My answer:

Asalaimualikum Mr.Mahmoud;

Thank you for your email. There three types of dragon fruits 1. Red skin white flesh (Hylocereus  undantus), 2. Red skin red flesh (Hylocereus Polyrhizus ) 3. Yellow skin white flesh (Selenicereus megalanthus).

The popular commercial types depend on the country. For instant in Vietnam the popular ones are red skin white flesh, in Malaysia the red skin red flesh but, in Colombia yellow skin white are popular.

Genetically , red skin  with white flesh and red skin white flesh are related may be clones or cultivar, but the yellow ones are    vareities.

In Malaysia we prefer the red skin with red flesh because it fetch high price.

Thank you

MAHA International

Malaysia is proud to have this event that is to be scheduled Nov.23 to Dec.2, 2015. This event will take off for every two years. We are exciting to be there. Numerous meetings are held at every level now and then, to ensure this event happens and become one of the best agricultural festival in the country.You can browse at 
http://www.maha.gov.my/2015/. 

For those who would like to buy  agricultural produces like fruits, vegetables, ulam, kueh-kueh, fertilizers, whats not; please bring your trolleys and wear proper attire and umbrella as well. Normally, in December it always rain.(Of course your money too).

I will be presenting a poster at one of the conference that is to be held concurrently. 

Since, this an international event, many technologies esp. in  agriculture will be shown. We will see many new things related to agriculture. 

National Horticulture Conference 2015

The Malaysian National Horticulture Conference (NHC) will be held from 18th to 20th October 2015 in Melaka; 150 km from Kuala Lumpur. This the 3rd NHC so far. See here for more info http://nhc2015.mardi.gov.my/. The three-day conference will discuss matters in horticulture industry in Malaysia with the theme Malaysian Horticulture:Enhancing Production,Enhancing Marketing.Many speakers will be invited  to give talks and views on horticulture. A post-tour conference is to held to dragon fruits farm in Melaka.
I will be presenting a poster entitles "Dragon fruits planting materials:Specifications according to SIRIM". See below

Poster at NHC 2015, 18 to 20 October 2015, Melaka

Eat Local Fruits Especially Dragon Fruits

Dragon fruits in Malaysian supermarkets priced at RM 3.59 (about 1.2 USD) per kg. It is either packed as minimally processed or selling loose per fruit.

Dragon fruits is still the CHOICE  of fruits in the Malaysia dessert. Malaysian average per capita fresh fruit consumption is more 60 kg compared to advanced countries.

One may not be aware that the eat local fruit campaign has been conducted since 1972. The campaign has not only helped to promote local fruits as highly nutritious supplements but also helped farmers to market their fruits with the help of the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA).

FAMA is working closely with Malaysia Health Promotion Board  (MHPB) in encouraging the public to consume more local fruits as part of a healthy lifestyle.

MHPB also dismissed the view that local fruits like guava, ciku, pineapples, mangoes, papayas and seasonal fruits like durian, langsat, duku, pulasan, rambutan, jack fruit and others as contributors to health problems.

The local fruits are rich in nutrient and fibre. I'm of the opinion that the misconception that the durian is an `unhealthy' fruit must be corrected. Many are not aware that the king of fruits is rich in potassium There is no problem as long as the fruits are consumed moderately.

Latest Research Paper in World Food Net

Our paper was selected to be in world-food. net in the latest edition Journal of Food Agriculture and Environment Vol.6 entitles "Growth , yield and fruit quality of red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) fruit as affected by plant support system and intercropping with long bean (Vigna sinensis). by WFL Publisher. Abstract can be read here.

(Those who are interested and wish to have a full paper please let me know.)

A Fruitful Farm

This dragon fruit farm was located on a former oil palm plantation situated in Malacca. It was clean and fruiting well. One of the problems I managed to counter was that the fruits were attacked by fruit flies- no incidence have ever reported some where else. So the best way to control is hand-wrapped all the fruits at early stage of fruiting.

Visit To Dragon Fruit Farm-40 acre

I have taken a video shot from one of the farms that I visited recently. This 10 -ac farm consisted of one-year plants that is well drained. The total acreage of this farm is 40 acres. The plants are about 1-5 years old. The management is good and they fertilize with organic manure.They planted with red and white varieties. The demand is very good and the supply could not meet the targets.
Another thing I would to stress is that drainage is very important if the land is very flat.In case of heavy rain or shower the water should be drained away quickly. Otherwise, this may cause damage to the rooting system.

Visit To Dragon Fruit Farm-40 acre

I have taken a video shot from one of the farms that I visited recently. This 10 -ac farm consisted of one-year plants that is well drained. The total acreage of this farm is 40 acres. The plants are about 1-5 years old. The management is good and they fertilize with organic manure.They planted with red and white varieties. The demand is very good and the supply could not meet the targets.
Another thing I would to stress is that drainage is very important if the land is very flat.In case of heavy rain or shower the water should be drained away quickly. Otherwise, this may cause damage to the rooting system.

Growing Dragon Fruits in India

I had the chance to visit India.Visiting India is not as easy as I thought.You have to get a visa before entering the country. It is exciting for me as this is my first visit there.
I flew from Kuala Lumpur to Chennai which took about  three and half hours. It was raining when I reached there at 10 pm local time. At Chennai Airport  I have to go at least one hour and half for immigration clearance compared to  KLIA for only two minutes.
I have to book hotel in Chennai before departure and it is compulsory.The hotel (3 star) was OK but very expensive RM450 per night (USD150).Mind you.
The next morning we drove to Thirupati via Redhills and  Thiruvallur, passing villages and small towns. I saw a lot of poverty in Southern India where pupils could be seen without shoes to schools, cramped in vehicles and so on. Most of the vehicles had air horns-horning is a must. Unlike, in Malaysia the pupils owned at least 3-4 pairs of shoes per year and transporation is easy.
Roughly, I could see paddy fields, mangoes and  sugar planting areas. Some of the areas were abundant which were not cultivated. As I reached the small town, it was very crowded due to only two-way lane. Shop-lots were very small and not organised.  I saw a lot cattle  lying on the roads with dungs uncleaned. At last I reached Thirupati the capital city of Andra Pradesh.


This city is very big and quite clean compared to Chennai. I saw  agriculture research station, universities and big temples here. I was told the the Tamils always come here to worship and bald their heads.


The climate in Thirupati was a little bit cooler and sunnier. The soil was fertile and it was grown with peanuts before. My mission is to see whether the climate and soil is suitable for dragon fruits growing there in Andra Pradesh. From my observation, dragon fruits is very suitable to be grown there basically the soil is good and not waterlogged. If dought occurs, water could be tapped from groundwater. Also, there was a lot of organic matter from cowdungs.Labour is readily available and there are many areas potentially to be grown. I was told that mangoes price was 20 INR (RM1.40).per kg. and much of the mango areas were not looked properly. Mangoes was not  flowering at that time and fruiting once a year compared to dragon fruits which is flowering  and fruiting all year round.
I could conclude that;
1. Introduction of dragon fruits to India is very potential and profitable business IF provide with good management.
2.Consumers always like to try new exotic fruits particularly if they know medicinal value.
3.Dragon fruits could  bear fruits  very early - one year after planting.
4.The climate is suitable, organic fertilizer, labour is available.
5.Market demand is very huge.


More readings (in Malay version ) at http://zainudinhajimeon.blogspot.com/


Some of the pics from my visit. If there are any queries I am happy to entertain ; pls forward your email to zainudinhaji@gmail.com  or simply call me at +060123535411.

Mr.Ali showing me the area to be planted with dragon fruits.

Workers in preparation  of concrete poles for fencing

Clay mineral soil suitable for dragon fruits.

Self-made concrete pole

Behind-some of the fruits like papaya, watermelons, sold  in the supermarket

Dragon Fruits in Gujarat, India

I have  a grower  from Gujarat, India that has grown dragon fruits. His problems were  sun burn(excess heat) injury to these plants.  He has given 15:15:15  fertilizer  by drip irrigation and still continue with the same grade. Their  plants are now 12 months old.

He said that their plants have flowered this season and also are bearing few fruits and  would like  suggestions of how and what grade to fertigate and quantity of fertilizer by drip.

He also  asked me whether he could  spray fertilizers to get better quality and size of fruits to these plants? If yes in what quantity and what intervals should I spray?

The problem he said that is it necessary to sprinkle water on the canopy during high temperatures in summer, and can we cover the canopy with a shade net to protect from sun burn? If yes please suggest the color i.e green or white shade net, and should it be 50% or 75% shade net.

These are my answers:

 If your plants had flowers you should change your fertilizers to 12:12:17:2 instead of 15:15:15. If you continue to give the latter fertilizer your plants will have more vegetative growth meaning that your plants will be grow more green shoots rather than flowers.You can boost your plants with foliar fertilizers with high K mixed with fungicides ; spray for every two weeks. Once the fruits came out you should wrap with newspaper envelope to avoid insect attack or cracking.

To avoid scorching, you could cover your plants temporarily with green net  50% shade.

This area is  very dry and needs irrigation. As dragon fruit is heavy feeder it needs high amount of organic matter

Fruits need to be wrapped as it would damage by insects and cracking

This plants need foliar fertilizer as to enhance more branching. Branching will promote more flowers

The planting distant is OK however do not let insect from mango trees attack the fruits.

Note:
Fruit growers may ask me questions or advice. I am obliged to answer wherever I could. Please don't expect for me to answer immediately, or I try to answer to best of my ability. If they have money they could invite to their so that I could give my expertise.

Dragon Fruit Plantation

Malaysia is blessed with good tropical climate. Besides fruits, many crops can be grown here like rubber, oil palm, paddy and cocoa . One of the most recent newcomers in the Malaysian fruit industry is dragon fruits (Hylocereus polyrhizus). After many trials and errors, dragon cultivation has made its way in the Malaysian fruit industry. Unlike Vietnam and Thailand which had long history of dragon fruit growing, Malaysia is keeping good pace to lead its niche market due to high local demand.

The local name for dragon fruit is ‘buah naga’ or ‘buah mata naga’. In Malaysia, the scale for dragon fruit crop cultivation is very small which is about 300 hectares compared to other crops however, the rate of expansion is increasing tremendously fast. The dragon fruit growing areas are in the states of Johor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Pulau Pinang and Sabah.

Since dragon fruits originated from different climatic conditions, it has to undergo environmental adaptations and agromanagement practices.

If R & D is been prioritize, then one day it will become one of the leading export earner of Malaysia. The pic above shows one of the dragon fruit plantation in Malaysia .This farm is araound 100 acres. There many such farms in the country.

Yellow Dragon Fruits

The most popular dragon fruits varieties are red and white. However, of late other varieties are in demand. I manage to propagate yellow dragon variety- about 2000 cuttings . Only the skin is yellow, the flesh is white and very sweet. Except the seeds are a little bit bigger than the two varieties. The plant is slender and the thorns are a bit smaller.

The above pic shows the shape of yellow dragon fruits and how the dragon fruit cuttings are rooted in small polybags. They are nutured , watered and looked after.

Diseases of dragon fruits.

Like many other plants, dragon fruits are also attacked by diseases. We have found common disease that attack and caused infection. The common ones are bacteria and fungus.

Dragon fruit flowering

Dragon fruits flowers after 1 year old after planting. There are many factors that cause flowering. 1. Variety - some variety can flower very fast. 2. age of cuttings -cuttings taken from watershoots are not good because they are soft. 3. Adequate fertilization.-correct NPK is needed nutrient balance.

I sometimes see flower abortion. This can be due several reasons. a) not enough nutrient- should give foliar nutrients b) flower did not pollinate. - the stigma dries up and abort ; may be no pollinators around.

Technical Posters on Dragon Fruits

I have just came back from Sabah, East Malaysia. I was attending the 18th Malaysian Society of Plant Physiology (MSPP) Conference at Le Meredian Hotel. It was officiated by the Sabah State Agrciculture Minister. I saw a lot of new and old faces get back together. There are various topics discussed from global warming to dragon fruits planting. The meeting was diverse and many new ideas discussed. There was a post tour conference to Kinabalu Parks and Poring which I had been.

I had the opportunity to give an oral presentaion on dragon fruits entitles "Challenges in Dragon Fruits Growing in Malaysia". There were 3 other papers related to dragon fruits. I have managed to include two posters here.

Dragon Fruits Harvesting

I have visited a farm in Malacca, 80 km from Kuala Lumpur to observe dragon fruit harvesting. The farm is around 20 ac. situated nearby roadside. It was not a peak season during our visit however, the owner was kindly enough to take some photos to be posted in my blog. I hope there is some interesting to note and observe how washing, grading and sorting is done once the fruits are harvested.(The pics are not in sequence)

After MAHA 2015

It was an exciting moment for farmers through out Malaysia. MAHA is the platform where everyone could see agricultural activities carried out by private sectors, farmers , government agencies, universities etc. Oversea and international participants include Australia, UK, India, China, Indonesia, Denmark and others .
The acceptance from the public was overwhelming. More than 1 Million people turned up for the 13-day exhibition.
I manage to put two posters one on" Disease control dragon fruits in farmer's farm, the other poster on Heliconia growing as landscape plants. My poster is in Malay (Bahasa Melayu)

Dragon Fruit Phenology

Dragon fruits mature very fast. It take a year to produce fruits.The fruiting cycle take about 45 days.

Dragon Fruits Made Good Entry For MAHA 2015

I have become one of the panel judges for Fruit Section for the last five years. Fruits that enter the contest includes durian,nangka,citrus, pineapple, salak, pulasan, bananas, mangos, guava,wax apple, dragon fruits.They came from all over the states except Sarawak. Sarawak has never enter the fruits contest for so long. The fruits that came to the contest is from the various farms that was selected previously. All those farms are registered through Department Of Agriculture (DOA). There are 2 categories of assesement Farm leve (70%) Products (30%).

Dragon fruits seems this time had the largest entry i.e 8. I was suprised that there are different types of red dragon fruits judging from the scales of the fruits. There are variety which have less scales or bracts compared to the normal red ones. The second largest entry is pineapple and citrus i.e 5 followed by mangos 4 entry.

Those who win will received reward from the Prime Minister on the 12 th of August; appreciation and recognition for their hard work.

Techniques in Dragon Fruit Planting

There are many techniques of how dragon fruits can be planted. It can be planted in row, single and so forth. Not only dragon fruits can be planting as big plantations but it could planted in a house compound. Both big and small growers can benefit from this crop- as only planting techniques needs some changes. Be creative

Tallest Dragon Fruits in The World

Wow! I have never seen such tall dragon fruits like this. It was taken in Tawau, Sabah during my recent visit there. The cactus grow on a big dipterocarp, 100 ft in height. The epiphytic cactus grows happily on the tree stems. I notice no fruits bearing that time. I conclude that dragon fruits need full sunshine hours to bear flowers and fruits.

My Talk

I had given a talk on dragon fruits. The audience was good and recepetive. Many questions asked of how to survive dragon planting in Malaysia. My response was that Dragon cultivation is not a "Touch and Go" farming, the grower should vision themselves where he/she is going to bring the business.
My abstract is as below;


Abstract



Malaysia is blessed with good tropical climate. Many crops can be grown like rubber, oil palm, paddy and cocoa besides fruits. One of the recent newcomers in the Malaysian fruit industry is dragon fruits. After many trials and errors, dragon cultivation has made its niche in the Malaysian fruit industry. Although its investment is lucrative however, there are many challenges lie ahead to enhance its production.
This paper will discuss several issues pertaining to the industry and strategies to be taken in order to move forward. Accredited planting materials and resistant varieties are the major limiting factors that hinder its future expansion and sustainability. The dragon fruit cultivation is this country could again be profitable and rewarding if good agro-management measures are sought properly.

Close Planting of Dragon Fruits

The normal or conventional planting density in dragon fruits is 2 meter X 3 meter (6 ft.X 9 ft.).This means that for an acre only 2,000 plants could be planted.It is a good idea if the planting density could be increased so that many plants could be plant per unit area.
I have seen close planting of dragon fruits in Chiangmai. However, during my visit it was not fruiting season. I think their planting density is 1 ft X 10 ft.

Dragon Fruits Adds Another Niche

Since the last ten years we hardly see dragon fruits grown in tropical conditions. It has been known that dragon fruits are long day plants.Meaning that it makes food at night. However, lately we can see it has emerged as a newcomer in the tropical fruit industry. It is been liken by everybody from different walks of like. I believe that climate change has something to do with the adaptations of the crop in the hot and humid tropics like Malaysia.

In the pic above, dragon fruit outshines guava,mangosteen, 'buah tampoi' and rambutan.These fruits make a beautiful basket of fruits.

Good Dragon Fruits Farms

Yesterday I visited two farms nearby which are considered good. The most important in keeping good farm is

1) Fertilization
2) Pruning
3) Management.

These are the three basic things to ensure the sustenance of the farm. Both farms I visited are organic farms meaning that they applied organic fertilizers. Here are some pics to look at.

Those interested to order the organic fertilizer can email me at zainudinhaji@gmail.com or call my handphone 012 3535 411 (see below). Detail testimony will be provided,











I have just planted the yellow type. I have more than 2,000 cuttings.






Organic ferilizer derived from fish (New Zealand product)