Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-wq484 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T15:50:18.784Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mass propagation of pitaya (dragon fruit)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2006

Ahmed A. ElObeidy
Ahmed A. ElObeidy*
Affiliation:
Department of Fruit Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
*
elobeidy@hotmail.com
Get access

Abstract

Introduction. To facilitate establishment of pitaya (Hylocereus undatus) cultivations in new areas, factors affecting its propagation by cuttings and seeds were studied. Materials and methods. Firstly, cuttings of (5, 15 and 25) cm length were tested in three substrates: peat moss (pm), peat moss and sand mix (1:1) (pm/sa) and sand (sa). Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) solutions were prepared at [0, 5, 10 or 15] mM dissolved in 70% ethanol. After the basal cuttings were dipped for 10 s in these IBA solutions, cuttings were planted in (pm/sa). After (1, 2 or 3) weeks, the cutting rooting, number and length of the developed roots were measured. Moreover, germination was tested at four temperatures [(16, 20, 24 and 28) °C] by placing seeds on wetted filter papers in Petri dishes. Light effect was tested at four white light intensities of (0, 500, 1000 or 2000) lx. Seed viability was tested at 24 °C in darkness with 1000 seeds. The effect of (pm), (pm/sa) and (sa) was tested on germination and seedling growth. The percentage of germination, days to emergence and growth rate of seedlings were measured. Results and discussion. After two weeks, 25-cm pitaya cuttings rooted successfully in the three substrates, but the number and length of the developed roots were affected by the type of substrate. A significant effect of cutting size on root initiation, and number and length of the developed roots was found. IBA consistently improved rooting percentage and root number and length. Overall, 5-cm-long cuttings treated with IBA (10 mM) could be efficient at propagating pitaya. The seed viability was 83%. Germination, which varied between (71 and 83)% depending on the temperature, began after 6 days at (24 and 28) °C. Light intensity at (1000 or 2000) lx reduced seed germination. Potted seedlings grew successfully in the greenhouse.

Keywords

EgyptHylocereus undatusplant propagationpropagation by cuttingssowinggerminationenvironmental factorsÉgypteHylocereus undatusmultiplication des plantesbouturagesemisgerminationfacteur du milieu
Type
Research Article
Information
Fruits , Volume 61 , Issue 5 , September 2006 , pp. 313 - 319
Copyright
© CIRAD, EDP Sciences, 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Mizrahi, Y., Nerd, A., Nobel, P.S., Cacti as crops, Hortic. Rev. 18 (1997) 291–320.
Zee F., Yen C., Nishina M., Pitaya (Dragon fruit, Strawberry pear), Fruits and Nuts, 9, Univ. Hawaii, Coll. Trop. Agric. Hum. Resour., Coop. Ext. Serv., USA, 2004.
Le Bellec, F., Vaillant, F., Imbert, E., Pitahaya (Hylocereus spp.): a new fruit crop, a market with a future, Fruits 61 (2006) 237–250. CrossRef
Lichtenzveig, J., Abbo, S., Nerd, A., Tel-Zur, N., Mizrahi, Y., Cytology and mating systems in the climbing cacti Hylocereus and Selenicereus, Am. J. Bot. 87 (2000) 1058–1065. CrossRef
Vaillant, F., Perez, A., Davila, I., Dornier, M., Reynes, M., Colorant and antioxidant properties of red-purple pitahaya (Hylocereus sp.), Fruits 60 (2005) 3–12. CrossRef
Nobel, P., de la Barrera, E., CO2 uptake by the cultivated hemi epiphytic cactus, Hylocereus undatus, Ann. Appl. Biol. 144 (2004) 1–8. CrossRef
Cushman, J.C., Crassulacean acid metabolism: recent advances and future opportunities, Funct. Plant Biol. 32 (2005) 375–380. CrossRef
Ebert, G., Fischer, G., Ludders, P., Pitaya - a new fruit species from Colombia, Erwerbsobstbau 35 (1993) 49-52.
Jacobs D., Pitaya (Hylocereus undatus), a potential new crop for Australia, Aust. New Crop Newsl. 29 (1999)16.3.
Raveh, E., Nerd, A., Mizrahi, Y., Responses of two hemi epiphytic fruit crop cacti to different degrees of shade, Sci. Hortic. 73 (1997) 151–164. CrossRef
Barbeau, G., The red pitaya, a new exotic fruit, Wanatca Yearbook 17 (1993) 74–80.
Weiss, J., Scheinvar, L., Mizrahi, Y., Selenicereus megalanthus (the yellow pitaya), a climbing cactus from Colombia and Peru, Cactus Succul. J. 67 (1995) 280–283.
Merten, S., A review of Hylocereus production in the United States, J. Prof. Assoc. Cactus Dev. 5 (2003) 98–105.
Browne, R.D., Davidson, C.G., Steeves, T.A., Dunstan, D.I., Rooting of proliferated dwarf shoot cuttings of jack pine (Pinus banksiana), Can. J. For. Res. 27 (1997) 97–101. CrossRef
Ludwig-Muller J., Indole-3-butyric acid in plant growth and development, J. Plant Growth Regul. 32 (2000) 219–230. CrossRef
Hartmann H.T., Kester D.E., Davies F.T. Jr., Geneve R.L., Plant propagation: principles and practices, Prentice Hall, Up. Saddle River, N.J., USA, 2002.
Raven P., Evert R., Eichhorn S., Biology of Plants, Freeman WH and Co., N.Y., USA, 1999.
Haissig, B.E., Meristematic activity during adventitious root primordium development. Influences of endogenous auxin and applied gibberellic acid, Plant Physiol. 49 (1972) 886–892. CrossRef
Fenner M., Seeds – The ecology of regeneration in plant communities, CAB Int., Wallingford, UK,1992.