Articles
Improving cactus pear production: a case study of intensive cultivation practices in Italy
Article number
1452_12
Pages
97 – 102
Language
English
Abstract
Cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) is cultivated for fruit production over 100,000 ha worldwide.
In Italy, the cultivated area totals range around 4,500 ha, with Sicily accounting for about 95% of this area and approximately 97% of the national production.
In Sicily, particularly in areas with limited water availability, cactus pear cultivation thrives both in the eastern and western parts of the island.
The average yield ha‑1 widely ranges among cultivated areas and in Italy, depending on various factors, including planting densities.
However, it is very hard to find orchards with crop production higher than 20-25 t ha‑1; these have been the highest crops reached in Italy, so far.
Recently, we have investigated the idea of increasing the number of plants ha‑1 from the traditional 300-500 up to 2,000 ha‑1. Indeed, in San Cono (CT), the largest area dedicated to cactus pear fruit production in Italy, we adopted a planting system with paired rows, where the plants are spaced 5 m between rows, 2 m within rows, and 0.5 m within each position, resulting in a plant density of approximately 2,000 plants ha‑1. This made it possible to reach a yield exceeding 45 t ha‑1, due to a sharp increase in the number of fertile cladodes on a hectare basis.
We also investigated plant architecture and topography in terms of individual plant and total canopy surface area ha‑1, number and quality of fruit; reflowering index, and steam area leaf area index (LAI or SAI=stem area index). When comparing this intensive planting system to a more extensive system, such as 5×6 m with about 300 plants ha‑1 the intensive system yields significantly higher production without sacrificing fruit quality.
This demonstrates the benefits of a higher plant density in terms of both productivity and quality.
In Italy, the cultivated area totals range around 4,500 ha, with Sicily accounting for about 95% of this area and approximately 97% of the national production.
In Sicily, particularly in areas with limited water availability, cactus pear cultivation thrives both in the eastern and western parts of the island.
The average yield ha‑1 widely ranges among cultivated areas and in Italy, depending on various factors, including planting densities.
However, it is very hard to find orchards with crop production higher than 20-25 t ha‑1; these have been the highest crops reached in Italy, so far.
Recently, we have investigated the idea of increasing the number of plants ha‑1 from the traditional 300-500 up to 2,000 ha‑1. Indeed, in San Cono (CT), the largest area dedicated to cactus pear fruit production in Italy, we adopted a planting system with paired rows, where the plants are spaced 5 m between rows, 2 m within rows, and 0.5 m within each position, resulting in a plant density of approximately 2,000 plants ha‑1. This made it possible to reach a yield exceeding 45 t ha‑1, due to a sharp increase in the number of fertile cladodes on a hectare basis.
We also investigated plant architecture and topography in terms of individual plant and total canopy surface area ha‑1, number and quality of fruit; reflowering index, and steam area leaf area index (LAI or SAI=stem area index). When comparing this intensive planting system to a more extensive system, such as 5×6 m with about 300 plants ha‑1 the intensive system yields significantly higher production without sacrificing fruit quality.
This demonstrates the benefits of a higher plant density in terms of both productivity and quality.
Authors
P. Inglese, G. Liguori, F. Gargano, G. Greco, S. Moradi
Keywords
Opuntia ficus-indica, high-density planting, yield optimization
Groups involved
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