Improving cactus pear production: a case study of intensive cultivation practices in Italy

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.