E. Pimientabarrios et Ps. Nobel, PITAYA (STENOCEREUS SPP, CACTACEAE) - AN ANCIENT AND MODERN FRUIT CROP OF MEXICO, Economic botany, 48(1), 1994, pp. 76-83
Pitayas from various species were an important edible fruit in semiari
d lands of tropical and subtropical Mexico in ancient times. Recently,
farmers have been cultivating plants selected from the wild, such as
Stenocereus queretaroensis in the Sayula Basin of Jalisco. These cacti
can flower and produce fruit before the onset of the summer rainy per
iod. Their fruits have an attractively colored pulp (often dark red) w
ith digestible seeds and without the nasty glochids found on cactus pe
ars. The sugar content is 10 to 11%. The shelf life is only a few days
, as the fruits tend to dehisce longitudinally. Pitayas bring a compet
itive price in local markets, resulting in a substantial financial ret
urn with relatively low inputs of water, fertilizer, and pesticides.