The pitaya or ‘dragon fruit’ has become one of the proposals with the best chance of finding a permanent niche on supermarket shelves. Hence, its name sounds greatly as a new crop in fashion among producers, who see this fruit as a production alternative.
NGS has not hesitated to side with farmers and has decided to develop a new production system for pitaya, through its hanging hydroponic system.
With the results obtained, the precocity at the beginning of production stands out, since the ‘dragon fruit’ has been harvested even in the first year of planting.
NGS’s R + D department has indicated that this is possible since the plant is placed in lines suspended two meters high, and not at ground level as in conventional cultivation.
This way, the treading or leaf removal of the plant is not necessary during the first months, and even years, since gravity helps, making its growth downwards.
Since it does not need defoliation in the basal part, flowering is greater and it enters production before any other cultivation system. The system also allows the incorporation of up to 10,000 plants per hectare, thanks to the balance of light and area, being able to incorporate a cultivation line every 2 meters of separation, without the need for additional trellising, such as the steel mesh used in conventional crops.
The NGS hydroponic system provides a significant savings in water and fertilizers. New production alternatives is one of the hallmarks of NGS, which aspires to turn this hanging system for pitaya into an option for any farmer seeking to increase the production and quality of this crop, adapting to any type of greenhouse.
Pitaya has excellent nutritional since it contains antioxidants, ascorbic acid, and phenols. In addition, it is rich in vitamin C, contains group B vitamins, minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, and is high in water, vegetable protein and soluble fiber.
Also, the seeds, which are edible, contain beneficial fatty acids. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends its consumption for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
