PDF《HS1068》

HS1068 Pitaya Growing in the Florida Home Landscape1 Jonathan H.

Crane and Carlos F. Balerdi2 1. This document is HS1068, one of a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date November 2005. Revised November 2016. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu. 2. Jonathan H. Crane, professor and tropical fruit crops Extension specialist, UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center;

and Carlos F. Balerdi, professor and multi-county fruit crops Extension agent IV (retired), UF/IFAS Extension Miami-Dade County;

UF/IFAS Extension, Gainesville, FL 32611. The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other UF/IFAS Extension publications, contact your county'

s UF/IFAS Extension office. U.S. Department of Agriculture, UF/IFAS Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A &

M University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, dean for UF/IFAS Extension. Scientific Name: Hylocereus undatus and other species and hybrids (Table 1). Common Names: English: Strawberry pear, dragon fruit, night blooming cereus. Spanish: pitahaya, tuna, nopal, pitajaya. Family: Cactaceae Origin: Tropical America;

southern Mexico, Pacific side of Guatemala, Costa Rica and El Salvador;

Venezuela, Colom- bia, Ecuador, Curacao, Panama, Brazil, and Uruguay. Distribution: Tropical and subtropical America, South Florida, Caribbean, Hawaii, Asia, Australia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Israel. Importance: Since pre-Columbian times, pitayas have been very common in their native countries where they are consumed by the general population. Recently, pitayas are being traded in international markets and have become the most important export fruit of Vietnam. Demand will increase for many years as this delicious fruit becomes better known in other markets. Description Plant Stem Pitaya are fast growing, perennial, terrestrial, epiphytic, vine-like cacti. They have triangular (3-sided, sometimes 4- or 5-sided), green, fleshy, jointed, many-branched stems. Each stem segment has

3 flat, wavy wings, (ribs) with corneous margins and may have 1C3 small spines or be spineless. The stem sections of pitaya form aerial roots which adhere to the surface upon which they grow or climb. The stem may reach about

20 ft (6.1 m) long. Inflorescence (Flowers) The flowers are hermaphroditic, however, some pitaya species and cultivars are self-incompatible. The extremely showy, edible, white (pink in other species) flowers are very large, very fragrant, nocturnal, bell shaped and may be

14 inches long (36 cm) and

9 inches wide (23 cm). The stamens and lobed stigmas are cream colored. Table 1. Species of pitaya. Color Species Peel Pulp Hylocereus undatus Red White Hylocereus triangularis Yellow White Hylocereus costaricenes Red Red Hylocereus polyrhizus Red Red Hylocereus ocamponis Red Red Selenicereus megalanthus Yellow White Cereus triangularis Yellow White Acanthocereus pitajaya Yellow White Cereus ocamponis Red Red

2 Pitaya Growing in the Florida Home Landscape Fruit The fruit is a fleshy berry, which is oblong and about 4.5 inches (11 cm) thick with red or yellow peel with scales and with or without spines. The pulp may be white, red or magenta depending on the species. Seeds are very small, numerous and black embedded within the pulp. Pollination Self-incompatibility has been reported in several cultivars available from nurseries. To increase the potential for fruit production, plant