Caracterización de fincas productoras de pitahaya orgánica (Hylocereus undatus) en Santo Domingo y Portoviejo.

Abstract

To contribute to the management of the quality and safety of pitahaya (Hylocereus undatus), this study was carried out from October to December 2021 in the cantons of Santo Domingo de los Colorados and Portoviejo, with the objective of determining the production and profitability of the crop, in the year 2021. The study was carried out in six pitahaya producing farms, where surveys and interviews were carried out with producers for the characterization of the crop, considering economic variables such as benefit & cost ratio, profitability. The results show that pitahaya producers have crop extensions of less than 2 hectares at an implementation cost per hectare of between $15,000 and $20,000 dollars, depending on the technology used. The higher production cost of the crop is due to the tutoring item, since all Pitahaya producers use cement pillars for their durability, this item represents approximately 88% of the total initial investment. It was detected that all Pitahaya producers carry out insect and disease control practices based on a slightly toxic chemical product such as sulfocalcium silica broth with an approximate value of $250 per year. The profitability per hectare will be exhausted according to the study and this parameter fluctuates between 87.85 and 341.32% per year, which indicates that it is a crop with a high economic return.