Editorial photo #10212768 Human Interest

Dragon Fruit Cultivation In India

A pitaya or pitahaya known as ''dragon fruit'' and ''strawberry pear'' is a fruit with leather-like skin and scaly spikes on the fruit exterior of several different cactus species indigenous of the genus Selenicereus (formerly Hylocereus), found in the region of southern Mexico and along the Pacific coasts of Guatemala, Costa Rica, and El Salvador, but, now also cultivated in East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the United States, the Caribbean, Australia, and throughout tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Depending on the variety, pitaya fruits may have sweet- or sour-tasting flesh that can be red, white, or yellow in color. The sour pitaya or pitaya agria (S. gummosus) in the Sonoran Desert has been an important food source for indigenous peoples of the Americas. The Seri people of northwestern Mexico still harvest the fruit, and call the plant ziix is ccapxl ''thing whose fruit is sour''. Dragon fruit has a host of nutritious compounds such as dietary fiber, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins B and C. Dragon fruit benefits include gut health support and better cardiovascular and immune health. It can boost your iron levels and is good for skin. Young green dragon fruit hangs from its cactus vine at Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Sargachi at Beldanga, West Bengal; India on 22/6/2023. (Photo by Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto)