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The Pitaya is a tropical cactus with beautiful but tasteless fruit. New and tastier varieties of pitaya have been developed in Israel, a country that suffers from water shortages. Our Israeli correspondent visits a farm where the Pitaya is being grown using water saving technologies. For more news and videos visit ☛ http://ntd.tv Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://twitter.com/NTDTelevision Add us on Facebook ☛ http://on.fb.me/s5KV2C The Pitaya fruit originated in the jungles of Mexico, and was brought to Vietnam by the French at the beginning of the 20th century. They have developed it into an agricultural breed named "Dragon Fruit." In Israel, new species are being developed in order to improve its taste, prolong its shelf life and make it more competitive in the European markets. One of the most astonishing qualities of this plant -- which serves as a limitation for the farmers -- is that it blossoms for only a few hours... [Yossi Zaphrir, Farmer and Researcher, Bilu Village, Israel]: "The flower blossoms during a single night, and at 9:00 or 10:00 A.M. it closes. Therefore, it must be pollinated during the early morning hours. The pollination requires lots of manual labor, and is performed only during the morning." Competing with the Vietnamese fruit is tough, mainly due to the cheap prices they are sold for. However, the Dragon Fruit Pitaya is tasteless. In Israel, attempts to develop new species that surpass the Vietnamese ones began in the nineties. Zaphrir also began developing new species after he retired. [Yossi Zaphrir, Farmer and Researcher, Bilu Village, Israel]: "We must develop new tasty species." Two species -- the Venus and Golden -- were developed by Professor Moshe Mizrahi from Ben Gurion University. The Bilu species was developed with Zaphrir's help. While the inside of the Vietnamese fruit is white, the inside of the Bilu Pitaya is a radiant purple. [Yossi Zaphrir, Farmer and Researcher, Bilu Village, Israel]: "As of now, we have quite a large series of species, and one of the 'parents' is the Bilu, which has a taste unmatched. There are achievements. In Europe the red fruit is already recognized and has a demand in the markets. Some buyers even stress specifically -- we want the red fruit". Children in Israel are also very fond of its taste. [Keshet Margalit, Rehovot, Israel]: "I liked the pink one, because it tastes sour and sweet". New technologies, such as using flowerpots instead of soil, allow overcoming insects and diseases, and drip irrigation technologies conserve water. Water shortage is a serious problem in Israel and most other tropical fruits require lots of water. [Yossi Zaphrir, Farmer and Researcher, Bilu Village, Israel]: "The fruit belongs to the cacti kind, and cacti's are generally known as water saving. When compared to other plants, it requires one third of the water required by citrus, Mango, Avocado, and other plants. It requires one third or even less". Israeli researchers hope that continuing research and development will bring a solution to the limitations in pollination, and that cultivating the Pitaya for export purposes will become more widespread and profitable. Reporter:Avivva Grunpeter Photographere:Anat Markram NTD, Israel