Dragon fruit is a well-known fruit of the Americas that has now become very popular in Bangladesh too. Varieties were first brought to Bangladesh in 2007 from Thailand, Florida and Vietnam. The dragon fruit plant is a kind of cactus with no leaves, and usually grows 1.5 to 2.5 metres tall.

There are generally three types of dragon fruit: red dragon fruit or pitaya, Costa Rica dragon fruit and yellow dragon fruit. Varieties developed in Bangladesh are BARI Dragon Fruit-1, BAU Dragon Fruit-1 (white), BAU Dragon Fruit-2 (red) and BAU Dragon Fruit-3. The foreign fruit is tasty and nutritious.

It has already become popular with consumers in Bangladesh, and farmers in various districts have become self-reliant by growing it commercially. Here are some of its unwanted diseases and how to deal with them.

Organic management:

• Use disease-free seedlings and varieties.
• Remove affected parts or fruit and burn or bury them.
• Irrigate in moderation.
• Stop irrigation when the disease appears.
• Collect healthy, disease-free seed from certified or disease-free areas.
• Never grow the crop on land that is always wet or damp.
• Hang yellow sticky traps in the field.
• Make sure the crop gets enough light and keep it weed-free.

Spray Genezeb (Genetica), of the mancozeb group, or Egorbon (Genetica), of the carbendazim group, each separately mixed at 0.2%, every 12-15 days. Do not harvest for five days after spraying. If necessary, apply pesticide on the advice of agriculturists at the upazila agriculture office.

Organic management:

• Avoid extreme heat and dryness.
• Avoid swings in temperature.
• Hang yellow sticky traps in the field.
• Irrigate in moderation.
• Apply fertiliser in moderation.
• Make sure the crop gets enough light and keep it weed-free.
• Use disease-free seedlings.
• Remove affected parts and burn or bury them.

Spray Mona (Genetica), a fungicide of the azoxystrobin plus cyproconazole group, mixed at 0.2%, every 12-15 days. Do not harvest for five days after spraying. If necessary, apply pesticide on the advice of agriculturists at the upazila agriculture office.

Organic management:

• Use disease-free seedlings.
• Remove affected parts and burn or bury them.
• Irrigate in moderation.
• Stop irrigation when the disease appears.
• Collect healthy, disease-free seed from certified or disease-free areas.
• Earth up around the base of the plants as soon as possible after planting.
• As soon as the disease is seen, stop irrigating, weeding, mulching and similar work in the affected field.
• Never grow the crop on land that is always wet or damp.
• Hang yellow sticky traps in the field.

Spray Mona (Genetica), a fungicide of the azoxystrobin plus cyproconazole group, mixed at 0.2%, every 12-15 days. Do not harvest for five days after spraying. If necessary, apply pesticide on the advice of agriculturists at the upazila agriculture office.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.