Dragon fruit is a very large, mostly red-skinned scaly fruit produced by a fast-growing trailing cactus.
Dragon Fruit Farming is a relatively young industry in South Africa, local dragon fruit farms show huge potential to deliver substantial amounts of fruit to northern hemisphere markets.
The South African dragon fruit industry is mainly based on the red-skinned varieties with the pink-fleshed fruit being the most popular. Dragon fruit prefers a warm subtropical climate, and is successfully grown in areas where avocados and macadamia nuts are cultivated, and is harvested from around December-January to April-May.
By Marinda Louw
Dragon fruit is a tropical fruit of the climbing cacti (Cactaceae) family. It is also known as pitaya or strawberry pear and is a native spe...
The large scaly fruits of the dragon plant are a hugely popular fruit in Asia, rating under the top-5 fruits, after fruits like lychee and b...
Dragon fruit farming is done worldwide, where the climate for these tropical cacti is suitable. This includes South Africa, where the export...
Dragon fruit, also called pitaya, is the fruit of a climbing cactus, which blooms at night. Grown in tropical and subtropical regions of the...