Dragon Fruit Plants: Crops like peanuts, rubber, paddy and coconut often dominate most of the land in the coastal areas of India. Over time, dragon fruit cultivation has also made its place in the crops of farmers in India, especially in Dakshina Kannada. A farmer from Belthangady in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka is growing dragon fruit plants on his four acres of land. A farmer named Antony saw the growing opportunity of dragon fruit cultivation and so he decided to cut down his four-acre rubber plantation and plant dragon fruit. It is said that within a year, this plantation has started giving good results. About Rs 40 lakh has been spent on leveling the four acres of land, planting trees, laying electric wires around the garden, drip irrigation and other works. Antony got about 30 tonnes of dragon fruit in the first crop. Antony says that dragon fruit crop does not require as much care as other crops. It is enough to uproot the weeds growing in the lower part of the plant by giving timely water and fertilizer. He said that in case of walnut plants, you have to wait for at least four years to get the yield, while it is possible to get the yield within two years of planting dragon fruit. Antony is not only growing dragon fruit, but also rambutan crop on his land. He has also planted pineapple plants on the basis of dragon fruit. Traders from Bengaluru, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Mangaluru usually visit his plantations to buy dragon fruit. It is sold at Rs 150 per kg, while the current market price is Rs 350 per kg. Dragon fruit cultivation has also started in Thiruvananthapuram. Vijayan Pillai and Ratnakaran Pillai were reportedly the first to start dragon fruit cultivation on an industrial basis. After the success of dragon fruit cultivation in Thannichal, Kerala, farmers decided to opt for this cultivation. Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal had also visited this farm earlier.
