Dragon fruit cultivation cost per acre is around Rs 3,23,600 in India. Necessary needs and other costs are added including 2800 plants costs.
In dragon fruit farming one time investment is required and after 1 year it becomes cheapest farming due to less care, less water and less fertilizer needs. All needed expenses like total plant cost, fertilizer, land preparation, climbing material, irrigation and other expenses are given here. Dragon fruit tree keeps producing fruits till 20 years, it is a profitable cultivation but you have to invest money in lakhs in the first year.
Dragon fruit cultivation cost per acre
All the necessary requirements to start the dragon fruit plant cultivation in India are explained with their cost. Dragon fruit farming in Uttarakhand began in Dehradun and Haldwani so you can also start it at your region.
Cultivation cost depends on these aspects: Number of plants cost, tools cost, land preparation, labour charges, climbing materials, fertilizer, water, plant care, plant protection charges and miscellaneous cost.
Plants cost per acre
To know the plants cost first you decide on how much land you are in the land area in which you want to start farming. If you are starting in 1 acre then you should know how many dragon fruits per acre to be planted. In 1 acre around 2800 plants can be planted.
You can use our tree calculator or search on the internet or read our other blogs to get necessary information including dragon fruit plants per acre.
It is not a very tall and fat tree. It grows up to 10 to 15 feet in height and needs little area of land to stand. However, concrete poles are required for these plants and they also need land to stand.
You can plant 2800 dragon fruit plants in one acre in high density. It is good to plant around 1000 dragon fruit plants in one acre as poles also need space.
Dragon fruit plantation is very important so pay attention during the plantation because a better quality one dragon fruit plant costs Rs 40 which is very expensive.
- 1 plant price = Rs 40.
- 2800 plants cost = Rs 40 x 2800 plants = Rs 112,000.
Rs 112,000 is estimated cost that may differ according to some factors. Total plant cost depends on a single plant price and one plant price depends on the variety and market. There are different types of dragon fruit plants like yellow dragon fruit, red dragon fruit, pink and purple dragon fruits. These plants may have a slight difference in their prices.
Pole to pole distance is 6 feet and row distance is 10 feet.
Agriculture tools cost
Plough, spade and tractor needed to prepare the land for cultivation. Some other tools may be required but these are some necessary tools and needs.
Plough cost = Rs 15,000.
Spade cost = Rs 600.
You can also use a tractor in place of ox as per your pocket size, tractor price in India varies between Rs 3 lakh to Rs 30 lakh accordingly.
The other way is to borrow the necessary machinery from other farmers at a cheaper price.
land preparation cost
In India usually farmers do the land preparation on their own. If you don’t do it yourself or you are an investor then you need some help and labours to prepare the land. Plough, spade and tractor or animal is needed to prepare the land.
If you have all the tools and machineries available then one labour is required. Average Rs 10000 could be labour cost to prepare 1 acre land. 4 to 5 feet bed preparation is good for this cultivation.
If you live in a metro city and don’t have farming land but want to start cultivation in Bengaluru or Mumbai. Don’t worry you can get farming land on rent at a cheap price from Krishi Vigyan Kendra centres.
Climbing material cost
Dragon plant is a climbing plant that needs support to grow straight or to stand in the farm. Bamboo poles, cement poles and concrete poles are used for climbing plants. Bamboo farming profit is superb, check out the project report.
In dragon fruit farming concrete poles are recommended due to low cost and no repair or change headache. One dragon fruit plant’s lifespan is around 20 years and a strong concrete pole easily supports the plant for that duration.
Arrange a pole of 6 feet dig 2 feet inside the field and 4 feet should be at top of the ground. 1 pole is used to support 4 plants.
Number of poles in 1 acre = 700 poles
Total poles cost = Rs 1 lakh.
Fertilizer cost
It is a desert plant and doesn’t need much fertilizer, sprays so your fertilizer cost would be very low, around Rs 5000 per acre. 4 to 5 kg cow dung required per pole and 1 pole supports 4 plants to climb.
Fertilizers needed – Neem powder and phorate 10% granules.
Water cost
As it is a desert plant, it doesn’t need much water. It is a cactus plant that needs very little water. One time drip irrigation cost is around Rs 40,000 and the watering cost would be around Rs 3000 per acre. If you have already had drip irrigation or some other watering method then you can reduce this cost.
Plant care cost
However dragon fruit is a cactus plant that needs less water and less fertilizer and less sprays but still needs some care. The plant care cost would be around Rs 5000.
Plant protection charges
People often don’t add plant protection charges which need to be added to get the nearest estimated cost. Plant protection chargers are between Rs 5000 to Rs 7000.
Miscellaneous cost
It is the cost not included in the regular cost but needed while doing the tasks practically. Around Rs 10,000 would be a miscellaneous cost for 1 acre.
Dragon fruit cultivation cost 1 acre India
| Requirements | Cost per acre |
| Total plants cost | Rs 112,000 for 2800 plants in 1 acre. |
| Agri machinery cost | Rs 15,600 plough and spade cost. |
| Land preparation cost | Rs 10,000. |
| Labour charges | Rs 20,000. |
| Climbing materials cost (concrete pole) | Rs 100000. |
| Fertilizer cost | Rs 5000. |
| Water cost | Rs 40,000 (Drip irrigation machine cost) |
| Plant care | Rs 5000. |
| Plant protection charges | Rs 6000. |
| Miscellaneous cost | Rs 10,000 |
| Total cost | Rs 3,23,600. |
Dragon fruit cultivation cost per acre for all the necessary costs given in the above table.
Conclusion – After reading this blog you get an idea of dragon fruit cultivation cost per acre which is around Rs 3,23,600. In this cost almost all necessary requirements are added including drip irrigation installation and machinery cost.