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