Arati Chapai¹ , Kiran Prasad Upadhayaya² , Susma Adhikari¹ , Kiran Thapa¹

1 Faculty of Agriculture, Agriculture and Forestry University, Rampur, Chitwan, 44800, Nepal
2 Agriculture Section, Madi Municipality, Chitwan, 44800, Nepal
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Horticulture, 2024, Vol. 14, No. 3   doi: 10.5376/ijh.2024.14.0017
Received: 07 Apr., 2024    Accepted: 31 May, 2024    Published: 17 Jun., 2024

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Chapai A., Upadhayaya K.P., Adhikari S., and Thapa K., 2024, Dragon fruit farming in Nepal: a comprehensive review, International Journal of Horticulture, 14(3): 156-162 (doi: 10.5376/ijh.2024.14.0017)

Dragon fruit is a promising horticultural crop due to its resilience to pests, diseases, and abiotic stresses, as well as its nature to thrive on marginal lands. Dragon fruit can be grown in a in a wide range of soils, from sandy loam to clay loam, particularly in the Terai and lower hills of Nepal. A temperature of about 25 °C is suitable for its growth, and about 7-10 hours of sunlight are required for active growth and development. Dragon fruit is propagated by using cuttings and seeds, but seed is less favorable. Red pitaya, American beauty, Costarican sunset and white pitaya are widely popular varieties of dragon fruit in Nepal. The fruits are produced between June and September and harvested three or four times per month. Lack of market, high production costs, and lack of proper knowledge were the major problems in dragon fruit farming. This review points out the cultivation practices and challenges of dragon fruit in the country, aiming to help future research.

Dragon fruit; Hylocereus spp.; Cultivation; Challenges; Nepal