The newest fruit craze, dragon fruit, can be planted in the city.

Dragon fruit propagation in Candon City is feasible according to the study conducted by Dr. Leonora E. Ngilangil.

Ngilangil is a researcher and the Department Chairman of Institute of environmental Science DMMMSU-La Union .

She have noticed that every home in brgy. Palacapac has each own plant of dragon fruit.  But she gathered much of her facts from the 1 .5 hectare dragon fruit plantation of Brgy. Captain David Wagayen.

To solve problems brought by climate change, Wagayen have used of interventions to cope up with the effects brought by climate change to his dragon fruit plantation.

Because of low soil fertility, he applied vermicasts on his crop. Grass clippings were shredded and being added with animal manure and properly labelled in a manner when the substrates were mixed. Brewers’ teas (brewed) are also applied through foliar application to the dragon fruit.

To solve his problem on soil erosion, he adopted the Sloping Agricultural Landscape Technology (SALT).

Since the area suffers water shortage on summer days, he constructed rain water storage.

He have also used organic farming as it promotes sustainable land use, reduces green house gases effects’, and minimizes the impacts of water scarcity.

The popularity now of dragon fruit in brgy. Palacapac is the start of spreading the project into nearby barangays, especially the adaptation of practices to solve the effects of climate change to crops.

“Let us try to adapt the problems of climate change in our propagation of dragon fruit” City Agriculturist Elmor Leaño suggested.

Brgy. Palacapac together with brgy. San Andres are also well-known because of its 132 agro-forestry reserved where the annual City Fiesta ti Bantay is being held.

(The data that were used in this article were extracted from the study of Dr. Leonora Ngilangil with the help of the City Mayor Allen G. Singson, City Agriculture Officer, Elmor Leaño and his staff  Eric Gacutan; Brgy. Captain David Wagayen of Palacapac, Candon City and research staff of DMMMSU-Research unit.)