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Unlocking the Potential of Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus spp.): A Comprehensive Assessment of Yield Traits and Biochemical Adaptation in Medium Lowland Agriculture
* 1 , * 2 , * 3 , * 2
1  Green Care Agro Farm, Debidwar, Comilla-3530, Bangladesh
2  Department of Crop Botany and Tea Production Technology, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet-3100, Bangladesh
3  Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet-3100, Bangladesh.
Academic Editor: Anabela Fernandes-Silva

Abstract:

Fruit crops are highly vulnerable to climate change, which threatens global fruit production. Dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.) has shown potential for heat and drought resistance, making it a promising candidate for cultivation in changing climates. This study assessed the adaptability of dragon fruit to medium lowland agroecosystems in Bangladesh over three years (2021-2023), focusing on morphological and biochemical traits across five genotypes at Cumilla. The research aimed to identify key traits related to yield and stress tolerance, employing statistical analyses such as ANOVA, boxplots, genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation (GCV and PCV), heritability, genetic advance as a percentage of the mean (GA%), Pearson’s correlation, principal component analysis (PCA), and heatmap analysis. Morphological evaluation revealed significant genetic variation among the genotypes over the three years, particularly for fruit traits. Purple dragon exhibited the highest fruit weight (572.78g), pulp weight (434.99g), and peel weight (162.73g), whereas Vietnamese red had the lowest values for these traits (fruit weight: 210.45g; pulp weight: 145.22g; peel weight: 62.24g). However, Vietnamese red achieved the highest yield (10.24) in all three years, while purple dragon produced the lowest yield (4.75). Significant variation was observed in traits such as the number of branches per plant (1.57-9.94), flower bud length (19.56-26.11 mm), pericarpal length (203.78-245.65 mm), pericarpal width (31.78-39.98 mm), fruit length (9.95-17.23 cm), and fruit diameter (6.75-12.10 cm). Fruit weight showed significant positive correlations with pericarpal length (r=0.91), pericarpal width (r=0.98), fruit length (r=0.98), and fruit diameter (r=0.96). Yield correlated positively with the number of branches (r=0.82) and flower bud length (r=0.64). Biochemical traits also displayed considerable variability over the three years, with total soluble solids (TSS%) ranging from 9.76 to 16.58%, vitamin C ranging from 9.98 to 17.18 mg/100g, reducing sugar ranging from 6.87 to 9.83%, and total sugar ranging from 8.44 to 11.49%. Reducing sugar was positively correlated with total sugar (r=0.93***) and TSS (r=0.85***), while vitamin C showed a negative correlation with reducing sugar (r=-0.88****) and TSS (r=-0.84***). These findings provide insights into key traits that can be targeted in breeding programs to develop stable, resilient, and high-yielding dragon fruit varieties with desirable biochemical properties, capable of withstanding the increasing challenges posed by climate change.

Keywords: Dragon fruit; climate change; yield traits; morphological traits; biochemical adaptation; fruit weight; pulp weight; peel weight; total soluble solids; reducing sugar
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