PURWOHARJO – Dragon fruit plants are becoming the prima donna of Banyuwangi farmers. So that the dragon fruit quickly bears fruit, farmers make various breakthroughs. "To bear fruit quickly, at night we use lighting. Dragon fruit plants that are given the light will bear fruit faster than those that are not given the light,” said one dragon fruit farmer in Temurejo Village, Purwoharjo District, Cipto Marsuki (66), yesterday (11/7).
Since planting dragon fruit year 2012 then, Cipto said, many ways have been done to speed up production. However, which proved to only provide illumination at night. Previously, he is a rice farmer, then turned into an orange farmer. After receiving information about dragon fruit cultivation from a friend, he is interested in growing dragon fruit. The land area used is five hectares.
In one hectare can accommodate approx 1. 800 dragon fruit plant. Dragon fruit should be planted in soil with a good structure and sufficient water. Besides that, dragon fruit plants need support poles. The support poles used can be made of concrete or the trunk of a small kapok tree. Making concrete pillars costs Rp 25.000. up to Rp 30.000. If you use a kapok tree trunk, it only costs Rp 5.000 until 10.000 .
If you use concrete pillars, it can be more practical. It's also easier to maintain,said Cipto. Cipto explained, one concrete pillar can support four dragon fruit plants. If the dragon fruit plant exceeds the support pole, it will usually be cut. This is done in order to produce an even branch. Cipto says, he gave light to the dragon fruit plant on the advice of his friend. Goal, so that it bears fruit more quickly and can still bear fruit in June to August.
After the lighting is installed on the dragon fruit plant, it is proven to be faster to bear fruit than plants that are not given light. "Hundreds of lighting lamps with power are needed 10.000 watts for an area of 7.500 square meter,” he added. Dragon fruit can be harvested after eight to nine months. Yields can reach 24 tons in the first year and can increase again in the following years. (radar)
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