Phenology, Canopy Composition, and Fruit Quality of Yellow Pitaya in Tropical Taiwan

Abstract

Yellow pitaya, Selenicereus megalanthus (Schum. ex. Vaupel) Moran, is a potential new fruit in Taiwan. It sprouts mostly in winter and flowers in late spring and fall. In this study, an average of 60% shoots within canopies flowered. Shoots sprouted in the current winter flowered in fall and produced winter fruits, and shoots sprouted earlier than the current winter flowered in late spring and produced summer fruits. Floral buds on most shoots appeared at the distal end. The weight, pulp percentage, and total soluble solids of winter fruits were significantly higher than those of summer fruits. The number of black seeds was positively correlated with pulp weight (R2 = 0.87). The total soluble solids in the core region of winter fruits reached 22.7 °Brix, higher than that in other regions. Future efforts to improve yellow pitaya production in Taiwan include increasing winter fruit production by enhancing growth of the current year's new shoots through proper canopy management and increasing the size of summer fruit by artificial pollination, fruit thinning, and other means.