Israel Develops Tastier Pitaya Cactus Requiring Less Water
- 14 years ago
The Pitaya is a tropical cactus with beautiful but tasteless fruit. New and tastier varieties of pitaya have been developed in Israel, a country that suffers from water shortages. Our Israeli correspondent visits a farm where the Pitaya is being grown using water saving technologies.
The Pitaya fruit originated in the jungles of Mexico, and was brought to Vietnam by the French at the beginning of the 20th century. They have developed it into an agricultural breed named "Dragon Fruit."
In Israel, new species are being developed in order to improve its taste, prolong its shelf life and make it more competitive in the European markets.
One of the most astonishing qualities of this plant -- which serves as a limitation for the farmers -- is that it blossoms for only a few hours...
[Yossi Zaphrir, Farmer and Researcher, Bilu Village, Israel]:
"The flower blossoms during a single night, and at 9:00 or 10:00 A.M. it closes. Therefore, it must be pollinated during the early morning hours. The pollination requires lots of manual labor, and is performed only during the morning."
Competing with the Vietnamese fruit is tough, mainly due to the cheap prices they are sold for. However, the Dragon Fruit Pitaya is tasteless. In Israel, attempts to develop new species that surpass the Vietnamese ones began in the nineties. Zaphrir also began developing new species after he retired.
New technologies, such as using flowerpots instead of soil, allow overcoming insects and diseases, and drip irrigation technologies conserve water. Water shortage is a serious problem in Israel and most other tropical fruits require lots of water.
Israeli researchers hope that continuing research and development will bring a solution to the limitations in pollination, and that cultivating the Pitaya for export purposes will become more widespread and profitable.
The Pitaya fruit originated in the jungles of Mexico, and was brought to Vietnam by the French at the beginning of the 20th century. They have developed it into an agricultural breed named "Dragon Fruit."
In Israel, new species are being developed in order to improve its taste, prolong its shelf life and make it more competitive in the European markets.
One of the most astonishing qualities of this plant -- which serves as a limitation for the farmers -- is that it blossoms for only a few hours...
[Yossi Zaphrir, Farmer and Researcher, Bilu Village, Israel]:
"The flower blossoms during a single night, and at 9:00 or 10:00 A.M. it closes. Therefore, it must be pollinated during the early morning hours. The pollination requires lots of manual labor, and is performed only during the morning."
Competing with the Vietnamese fruit is tough, mainly due to the cheap prices they are sold for. However, the Dragon Fruit Pitaya is tasteless. In Israel, attempts to develop new species that surpass the Vietnamese ones began in the nineties. Zaphrir also began developing new species after he retired.
New technologies, such as using flowerpots instead of soil, allow overcoming insects and diseases, and drip irrigation technologies conserve water. Water shortage is a serious problem in Israel and most other tropical fruits require lots of water.
Israeli researchers hope that continuing research and development will bring a solution to the limitations in pollination, and that cultivating the Pitaya for export purposes will become more widespread and profitable.