Recently some species of cacti have been detached for their potential as fructiferous, as their fruit used as food for man. Among these, pitaya has received great interest. The present work aimed to study the flowering and fruiting cladodes of different types (size and presence or absence of fructification in previous harvests) of red pitaya in Lavras. The observations were made in plants of red pitaya [Hylocereus undatus (haw.) Britton & Rose], with four years of age, conducted in stakes of eucalyptus with 1.80 m high, spaced 3 x 3m. The appearing of the flower buds till the flower opening took place about 21 days and from the anthesis till the harvest the fruit about 35 days. Cladodes that had already borne fruit in previous years and with size between 40 and 60 cm in length had a higher percentage of fruits and cladodes with higher number of fruits per cladodes.
Cactaceae; Hylocereus undatus; pitaya