An Australian farmer has helped a Samoan grower wanting to establish a dragon fruit industry in her country. Organic coffee and koko samoa farmer Mele Mauala wanted to learn more about growing the fruit that is still new to her country, so she turned to an unlikely ally; Rockhampton dragon fruit farmer Gary Lee. Lee grows 90 different varieties on his farm at Alton Downs, about 20 kilometres north-west of Rockhampton in central Queensland. He also sells cuttings, and claims that he often had inquiries from overseas.
During her trip to his farm, Lee gave Ms Mauala and her family advice on testing soil to make sure it met the requirements for growing dragon fruit, and showed her the different varieties he grew. He said that sort of information could be hard to find when starting out.
"The hardest part about dragon fruit in Australia [is] there aren't a lot of people who know a great deal about them," Lee said. "Unfortunately, even for us, it's a bit of trial and error and you make a few mistakes, and then you've got to rectify that because it is difficult to find people who can help you."
Source: abc.net.au