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.