Effects of light intensity, soil acidity, and nitrogen concentration on the vegetative growth of pitaya seedlings

摘要

Pitaya (Hylocereus undatus) is a little-known tropical fruit in Japan. Pitaya fruit contains important nutrients to enhance human health, including dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and polyphenols (Mahattanatawee et al., 2006). The fruit also contains oligosaccharides known to improve the intestinal environment (Wichienchot, 2010). Red pitaya fruit contains betalains, pigments with antioxidant activity that are used as natural dyes and to remove active oxygen species (Wu et al., 2006; Tenore et al., 2012).