Productivity and commercial classification of pitaya in orchard with pollination

Information related to the productivity and classification of pitaya allows the assessment of the need and planning of orchard pollination. The objective of this study was to evaluate the productivity and commercial classification of the pitaya Selenicereus monacanthus with manual cross-pollination management with the species Selenicereus undatus and natural pollination. The evaluations were carried out on a total of 20 plants from an orchard in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Pollen grains were collected from flowers of the S. undatus species plants for cross-pollination with the species S. monacanthus. In the plants corresponding to natural pollination, the flowers were pollinated by natural pollinators. The comparison of manual and natural cross-pollination was performed based on the calculation of the orchard productivity. The commercial classification was performed based on the determination of the individual mass of each fruit. With manual cross-pollination, the estimated productivity of S. monacanthus was 49.2 Mg ha-1, while with natural pollination, it reached 14.3 Mg ha-1, with manual cross-pollination management increasing productivity by 244%. Pitaya with manual cross-pollination receive a better classification and, with natural pollination, most pitaya did not reach the minimum size for commercialization. The commercial classification of pitaya was greater than 50% in the Extra class with manual cross-pollination. With natural pollination, less than 40% of pitaya reached the standard for commercialization.