Dragon Fruit (Pitaya)
Dragon fruit is cultivated in areas of Turkey that are not very high in altitude and are close to the sea. It can be grown particularly in regions with a Mediterranean climate such as Antalya, Adana, Mersin, and Muğla, and in recent years, the number of areas where it is cultivated has increased.
Harvest Season
The fruiting period lasts approximately five and a half to six months and includes early, mid, and late-season varieties, which bear fruit every 3–4 weeks. When budding begins in July–August, the budding phase lasts around 15 days. If budding occurs in the late season, like September–October, it can take about 20 days. At the end of this period, the flowers bloom — for only one night — and once they open, the fruit sets and begins to grow.
When this process begins, a second round of budding starts on the same branch or another branch of the same plant. The time between the harvests of the first two fruiting periods is about two weeks. There is approximately a 3–4 week gap between the third and fourth cycles and the first and second cycles of the same variety.
