Evaluation of dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.) cultivated in the medium lowland agroecosystems based on yield traits and biochemical contents

Fruit crops are highly susceptible to climate change and global warming, posing a significant threat to fruit production. Recognizing dragon fruit as a potential candidate for climate-smart horticulture, this study assessed its adaptability to medium-lowland agroecosystems based on morphological, yield, and biochemical performance. The experiment was conducted randomized complete block design with three replications during the 3-year study (2022–2024) examined variability in 26 traits among five dragon fruit genotypes, viz., Vietnamese Red, Vietnamese White, Pink Rose, Yellow Dragon, and Purple Dragon at Cumilla, Bangladesh. The study employed ANOVA, boxplot, genetic parameter estimation, Pearson’s correlation, principal component analysis (PCA), and heatmap analysis and found significant differences among the genotypes. Number of branches, pericarpal length, pericarpal width, fruit length, fruit diameter, and pulp weight, exhibited high genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation (GCV and PCV > 30%) and high heritability (> 85%), indicating their genetic control. Purple Dragon recorded the heaviest fruit weight (572.78 g) and highest pulp weight (434.99 g). Meanwhile, Vietnamese Red produced the highest yield (10.24 tha −1 ), branches (46.86) and fruit number (68.13). Fruit weight was positively correlated with pericarpal dimensions ( r = 0.91–0.98*) and fruit size ( r = 0.96–0.98***). Similarly, yield is positively related to the number of branches plant −1 ( r = 0.98**), and fruits plant −1 (0.95*). Biochemical traits showed significant variability, where total soluble solids ranging from 9.76 to 16.58 °Brix, reducing sugar (6.9–9.8%), total sugar (8.44–11.49%), titratable acidity (0.16–0.32%), and vitamin C (9.9–17.2 mg 100 g −1 ). Positive correlation was observed between reducing sugars and total sugars ( r = 1.00***), non-reducing sugars and total sugars ( r = 0.96*), reducing and non-reducing sugar ( r = 0.94*), while vitamin C was negatively correlated with reducing sugar ( r = − 0.88***) and total soluble solids ( r = − 0.84***). PCA explained more than 85% of the total variance, where Purple dragon found in the fruit quality cluster and Vietnamese Red in the yield cluster. These findings provide valuable insights for breeding programs to develop resilient, high-yielding dragon fruit varieties optimized for subtropical lowland agroecosystems.