Successfully crossbred dragon fruit with purple-pink flesh

According to Associate Professor – Doctor Nguyen Minh Chau, Director of the Southern Fruit Research Institute (SOFRI), scientists from the Institute’s Breeding Department have successfully bred a new dragon fruit variety with high economic value. That is the purple-pink dragon fruit variety with the symbol LD5.

This is the result of a persistent crossbreeding research process over about eight years (from 2005 to present) through two phases.

Purple-pink dragon fruit variety has high economic value. (Source: khoahoc.com.vn)

Phase I (2005 - 2008), through the method of sexual hybridization from four parent dragon fruit lines: white-fleshed dragon fruit from Binh Thuan province, white-fleshed dragon fruit from Cho Gao (Tien Giang), red-fleshed dragon fruit from Long Dinh 1 (LD1), and hybrid dragon fruit line H10. Then, evaluate the effectiveness of each hybrid line and select promising lines with beautiful colors, pink or purple flesh.

Phase II (from 2009 to present), experimenting with hybrid dragon fruit lines to select hybrids with outstanding advantages that can be propagated to serve the garden economic program of southern provinces and cities.

To confirm the advantages of the newly hybridized purple-pink dragon fruit variety, scientists from the Southern Fruit Institute (SOFRI) conducted tests on distinctness, uniformity and stability (DUS), cultivation and utilization value (VCU). In particular, the Southern Fruit Institute planted VCU at three locations in Tien Giang, Long An, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau with very good results.

In Tien Giang, after 16 months of planting, the purple-pink dragon fruit variety achieved a yield of 14.54 kg/pillar (main crop), in Long An, the yield was 11.61 kg/pillar and in Ba Ria - Vung Tau, the yield was 4.89 kg/pillar.

Notably, the purple-pink dragon fruit variety has the ability to produce fruit all year round with outstanding advantages that scientists have recorded through experimental planting such as strong growth, large branches, egg-shaped or oblong-egg-shaped fruit, beautiful skin, green fruit ears, eye-catching purple-pink fruit flesh, delicious fruit quality... In particular, the newly bred purple-pink dragon fruit variety is susceptible to pests and diseases at a low to medium level, so it is very favorable for production.

According to Associate Professor - Doctor Nguyen Minh Chau, the purple-pink dragon fruit variety has been officially recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and granted a certificate of exclusive protection by the Department of Crop Production.

Previously, also through scientific research and breeding, scientists of the Institute successfully crossbred the red-fleshed dragon fruit variety (code LD1) which is widely grown in many localities such as Tien Giang, Long An, Binh Thuan... bringing great economic efficiency to farmers.

Currently, the Southern Fruit Institute is also preserving 20 dragon fruit varieties from domestic sources and imported from abroad, along with 40 hybrid dragon fruit varieties, serving research, gene conservation, and breed selection.../.

According to (TTXVN) - VT