The dragon fruit harvest brought smiles to faces

The harvest season has begun for dragon fruit cultivated by female entrepreneur Neşe Özbek in Samsun's Çarşamba district. Neşe Özbek, who grows tropical dragon fruit on a 480 square meter area in Yukarı Donurlu Neighborhood of Çarşamba, said they expect around 500-600 kilograms of produce this year despite the challenging winter season. Stating that they provided heat with a stove and opened the season without frost damage using the smoking method, Özbek said, "We got the harvest we expected this year. We did not suffer any losses." Expressing that dragon fruit loves warm climates and that extreme cold and high temperatures stress the plant, preventing bud formation, Özbek said, "We continue cultivation with shading in the summer, heating and protective measures in the winter. We made an effort to keep the ambient temperature from dropping below zero." Reporting that the brown stink bug, which harmed producers in previous years, was ineffective this season due to spraying, Özbek ...