Bangladesh: Dragon fruit is cultivated out of season under artificial light

Dragon fruit can now be grown year-round. A group of scientists from Khulshi Agricultural Research Centre in Chattogram have successfully grown the exotic fruit in winter. Usually, dragon fruit is cultivated from April to October, considered the season for its cultivation, when daytime is longer. But, the fruit can be cultivated throughout the year now using electric bulbs as an alternative to daylight. It took the Khulshi researchers four years of field-level research to get the results. Chief Scientific Officer of the Agricultural Research Centre ASM Harunor Rashid told The Business Standard, "The days are shorter in winter, from November to March. Usually, dragon fruit is not cultivated at that time. But we cultivated the fruit during winter using 100-watt tungsten filament bulbs set up in the garden. "We put the lights on for six ...