Expansion and Productivity of Dragon Fruit (Kamalam, Hylocereus spp.) in India: Regional Trends, Yield Patterns and Agronomic Implications (2022–2024)

India’s dragon fruit area expanded rapidly from 2022–23 to 2023–24, accompanied by a large increase in production. This study analyses state- and region-level area and production data to quantify growth, compare regional contributions, and compute productivity (t·ha⁻¹). Using official state-wise data (Ministry of Agriculture) for 2022–23 and 2023–24, we report national production rising from 21.22 thousand MT to 53.72 thousand MT with area expanding from 5.30 to 14.51 thousand ha. Southern India (primarily Andhra Pradesh) dominated production in 2023–24. The wide variation in yield across states highlights the role of management, site selection and agronomic practices in transforming area expansion into production gain