Pitaya, an Attractive Alternative Crop for Mediterranean Region
While the ongoing global warming and the economic crisis threaten horticultural and ornamental products production in the Mediterranean region, new challenges and opportunities for renewing plant material occur. Pitaya has great potential as a new crop for Mediterranean growers: it consumes little w...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/8/1065 |
| _version_ | 1797561516761808896 |
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| author | Alice Trivellini Mariella Lucchesini Antonio Ferrante Daniele Massa Matteo Orlando Luca Incrocci Anna Mensuali-Sodi |
| author_facet | Alice Trivellini Mariella Lucchesini Antonio Ferrante Daniele Massa Matteo Orlando Luca Incrocci Anna Mensuali-Sodi |
| author_sort | Alice Trivellini |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While the ongoing global warming and the economic crisis threaten horticultural and ornamental products production in the Mediterranean region, new challenges and opportunities for renewing plant material occur. Pitaya has great potential as a new crop for Mediterranean growers: it consumes little water and it adapts well to the high temperatures present in the greenhouse. Moreover, the market shows increasing demand of new, healthy exotic fruits and the fruit of these crops are worldwide appreciated as a super fruits. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of introducing a new type of product that in addition to the aesthetic value can combine functional nutritional characteristics, through a whole chain approach, in order to develop basic knowledges and technical information that may lead to the commercial production of pitaya by small-scale farmers in Italy. The results of this study report and discuss various aspects to support the establishment of pitaya cultivation, such as its propagation by cuttings and micropropagation, greenhouse cultivation practices (through the clarification of the sprouting and flowering phenology as well as the fruit maturation period), while providing also information on the sensory properties and the antioxidant levels which naturally occurring in these fruits. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:15:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7384a74eb5574631a2f1a72b2a54a11a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:15:59Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-7384a74eb5574631a2f1a72b2a54a11a2023-11-20T07:42:50ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952020-07-01108106510.3390/agronomy10081065Pitaya, an Attractive Alternative Crop for Mediterranean RegionAlice Trivellini0Mariella Lucchesini1Antonio Ferrante2Daniele Massa3Matteo Orlando4Luca Incrocci5Anna Mensuali-Sodi6Institute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pz. Martiri della Libertà 33, 56127 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Università degli Studi di Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milano, ItalyCREA Research Centre for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Via dei Fiori 8, 51017 Pescia, ItalyInstitute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pz. Martiri della Libertà 33, 56127 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Università degli Studi di Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, ItalyInstitute of Life Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pz. Martiri della Libertà 33, 56127 Pisa, ItalyWhile the ongoing global warming and the economic crisis threaten horticultural and ornamental products production in the Mediterranean region, new challenges and opportunities for renewing plant material occur. Pitaya has great potential as a new crop for Mediterranean growers: it consumes little water and it adapts well to the high temperatures present in the greenhouse. Moreover, the market shows increasing demand of new, healthy exotic fruits and the fruit of these crops are worldwide appreciated as a super fruits. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of introducing a new type of product that in addition to the aesthetic value can combine functional nutritional characteristics, through a whole chain approach, in order to develop basic knowledges and technical information that may lead to the commercial production of pitaya by small-scale farmers in Italy. The results of this study report and discuss various aspects to support the establishment of pitaya cultivation, such as its propagation by cuttings and micropropagation, greenhouse cultivation practices (through the clarification of the sprouting and flowering phenology as well as the fruit maturation period), while providing also information on the sensory properties and the antioxidant levels which naturally occurring in these fruits.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/8/1065hylocereusdragon fruitpropagationmicropropagationcuttingsantioxidant level |
| spellingShingle | Alice Trivellini Mariella Lucchesini Antonio Ferrante Daniele Massa Matteo Orlando Luca Incrocci Anna Mensuali-Sodi Pitaya, an Attractive Alternative Crop for Mediterranean Region Agronomy hylocereus dragon fruit propagation micropropagation cuttings antioxidant level |
| title | Pitaya, an Attractive Alternative Crop for Mediterranean Region |
| title_full | Pitaya, an Attractive Alternative Crop for Mediterranean Region |
| title_fullStr | Pitaya, an Attractive Alternative Crop for Mediterranean Region |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pitaya, an Attractive Alternative Crop for Mediterranean Region |
| title_short | Pitaya, an Attractive Alternative Crop for Mediterranean Region |
| title_sort | pitaya an attractive alternative crop for mediterranean region |
| topic | hylocereus dragon fruit propagation micropropagation cuttings antioxidant level |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/8/1065 |
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