New efforts in any field only help us to reach the point of success. That’s why one should keep trying new things in life. Similarly, nowadays, new experiments are being done in agriculture, due to which the agriculture sector is getting a different identity. With this thinking, today many farmers in the country are trying their hand in growing foreign crops. One such exotic crop is dragon fruit. It is such a crop, which helps in earning more profit than traditional farming. Dragon fruit, once planted, continues to give income for about 10 years. Jashwant Patel, a 68-year-old farmer who has made good profits from its cultivation in Gujarat, is telling us today in detail about Dragon Fruit Farming.
Jashwant Patel, who lives in Olpad taluka of Surat, is trying his hand at farming after retirement. However, his father also cultivated cotton, jowar and groundnut. But Jashwant always wanted to do something different. So when he decided to take up farming after retirement, he chose dragon fruit.
Jashwant has been doing dragon fruit farming in three acres since the year 2017. Talking to The Better India, he said, “Gujarat contributes about 40 percent of the total dragon fruit production in the country. Since it is a dry plant, which grows well even in hot climate, it is now being grown in many parts of India.”
Jashwant says that dragon fruits are grown by making poles. About four plants grow on a pole. It takes 100 rupees to grow one plant. In this way, 400 to 500 rupees are spent on a pole. Whereas the production starts after 18 months.
Starting from June, it continues to bear fruits till November. That is, if you plant it in the month of December or January, then by June next year, production starts coming comfortably. Jashwant says, “One pole produces five to six kilos in the first year. At the same time, as the plant develops year after year, the yield also starts increasing. After three years, the production reaches 15 to 20 kg. In this way, in dragon fruit, the cost of pole goes out in the first year, then only the cost of manure and harvesting etc. is incurred. That means less expenses and more profits.
Talking about its price in the market, Jashwant Patel sells dragon fruit for Rs 200 to 400 per kg.
Jashwant says, “In the field, its pole is made at a distance of eight to 10 feet. Therefore, this middle space can also be used by farmers to grow some seasonal vegetables. This leads to proper use of the space for 18 months. Just care should be taken not to plant too big plants. By doing this, there will be less sunlight on the dragon fruit plant and production will be affected. Vegetables like tomato, cabbage, capsicum can be planted in the middle. It is a species of cactus, so it does not require much water. ,
Planting dragon fruit organically (Dragon Fruit Farming) produces a very good crop. Jashwant told that he does cow based farming, so he sprays Jeevamrut instead of insecticide. He planted the dragon fruit crop in 2017 and in the year 2019, he had made a profit of about seven to eight lakh rupees on one acre of land.
benefits of dragon fruit
Jashwant told that it has a rest period from December to April. Plants are cut during this time. By taking cuttings from one plant, several plants can be produced. Farmers can also prepare and sell plants.
In his farm, there are 4000 plants of Thailand Red, 1500 plants of Thailand White, while 800 plants of Golden Yellow, the most premium variety of Dragon Fruit, including a total of 8000 plants of Dragon Fruit.
It is worth noting that at present five to six varieties of dragon fruit are available in our country. Thailand Red variety is the most sold variety in India. Because its taste is sweet. Jashwant said, “The fruit which is sweet, it sells more. That’s why he grows more red variety. The premium variety Golden Yellow is said to be good for health, but it is not sweet, hence not very popular in its country.”
Dragon fruit is rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. The special thing in this is that it is beneficial for cells, inflammation of the body and digestive system.
The production of Thailand Red in Jashwant Patel’s farm is so good that one fruit is about 250 to 400 grams. He has built 1700 poles for dragon fruit farming in three acres. He told that poles can also be made in different ways. Most of the farmers make poles with cement or tyres.
Hope this information related to dragon fruit will help the farmers. If you also want to know more about its cultivation (Dragon Fruit Farming), then you can contact Jashwant Patel on 81608 95191.
Editing – G N Jha
Also read: Grow Black Wheat, Blue Potato And Red Okra! Earn good profits from your experiments in farming
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