scactus pears s e agriculture, forestry & fisheries
TRANSCRIPT
2009
Prin
ted
and
publ
ishe
d by
:
Dep
artm
ent o
f Agr
icul
ture
, For
estry
and
Fis
herie
s
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aina
ble
from
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esou
rce
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tre
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ctor
ate
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icul
tura
l Inf
orm
atio
n S
ervi
ces
P
rivat
e B
ag X
144
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RE
TOR
IA
0001
agric
ultu
re,
fore
stry
& fi
sher
ies
Dep
artm
ent:
Agr
icul
ture
, For
estry
and
Fis
herie
sR
EPU
BLI
C O
F SO
UTH
AFR
ICA
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rmat
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rodu
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l: dp
p@nd
a.ag
ric.z
a
Cactu
s pea
rsCa
ctus p
ears
Cactu
s pea
rsCa
ctus p
ears
Bac
kgro
und
Cac
tus
pear
is in
dige
nous
of
the
sem
i ari
d ba
sins
a
nd
va
lleys
of
So
uth
Am
eri
ca (
Me
xico
) 2
0 0
00
year
s ag
o an
d la
ter
spre
ad t
o th
e en
tire
Am
eric
an
cont
inen
t and
afte
r it
spre
ad to
the
rest
of t
he w
orld
. C
act
us
pe
ar
ad
ap
ted
we
ll in
th
e S
ou
the
rn A
fric
a.
Cac
tus
pear
s w
ere
first
intr
oduc
ed t
o S
outh
Afr
ica
mor
e th
an 3
00 y
ears
ago
.
Clim
ate
and
soil
requ
irem
ents
Na
tura
lly c
act
us
pe
ar
gro
ws
we
ll in
dry
ari
d a
nd
rock
y pl
aces
. The
pla
nts
can
tole
rate
str
ong
win
ds
but
not
mar
itim
e ex
posu
re a
nd c
anno
t gr
ow in
the
sh
ade.
Cac
tus
pear
doe
s be
st in
sem
i-des
ert a
reas
w
ith w
arm
to h
ot s
umm
ers,
low
rain
fall
and
mild
win
-te
r. I
t ad
apts
wel
l to
area
s w
ith h
igh
tem
pera
ture
s an
d th
us w
ill to
lera
te d
roug
ht r
esis
tanc
e.
Cul
tura
l pra
ctic
es
Pla
ntin
g
Ca
ctu
s p
ea
r ca
n b
e p
lan
ted
fro
m s
pri
ng
to
ea
rly
sum
mer
for
the
plan
ts to
be
wel
l est
ablis
hed
befo
re
win
ter.
Th
e p
lan
ts c
an
be
cu
ltiva
ted
in r
ow
s a
nd
spac
ed 5
m b
y 5
m a
part
.
Sci
entif
ic n
ame:
C
actu
s op
untia
Com
mon
nam
es:
Pric
kly
pear
, nop
al, I
ndia
n
fig, o
punc
e
Fer
tilis
atio
n
It is
not
nec
essa
ry to
app
ly fe
rtili
ser
durin
g th
e fir
st
two
ye
ars
. A
pp
ly k
raa
l ma
nu
re a
rou
nd
th
e p
lan
ts
to b
oost
pla
nt g
row
th. F
rom
the
third
yea
r on
war
ds
the
tree
s ca
n be
fert
ilise
d ac
cord
ing
to s
oil a
naly
sis
resu
lts.
Irrig
atio
n
Cac
tus
pear
is w
ell a
dapt
ed in
are
as o
f low
rai
nfal
l an
d hi
gh te
mpe
ratu
re a
nd c
an to
lera
te d
roug
ht c
on-
ditio
ns.
It is
a d
ryla
nd c
rop
and
ther
e is
no
supp
le-
men
tary
irrig
atio
n is
nee
ded
to p
rodu
ce g
ood
yiel
d.
Wee
d co
ntro
l
Pe
ren
nia
l gra
sse
s su
pp
ress
th
e g
row
th o
f ca
ctu
s pe
ar.
The
gra
sses
can
be
cont
rolle
d by
her
bici
des
cont
aini
ng g
lyph
osat
e an
d ot
her
root
s ca
n re
mov
ed
by
ha
nd
ho
ein
g.
Th
e f
arm
ers
ne
ed
to
be
ca
refu
l w
hen
taki
ng o
ut r
oots
the
root
s ne
ar th
e so
il su
rfac
e da
mag
e ea
sily
.
Pes
t and
dis
ease
con
trol
The
two
serio
us in
sect
pes
ts, c
ochi
neal
and
the
cac-
tus
pear
mot
h ar
e po
tent
ially
dam
agin
g th
e pl
ant.
The
se c
ochi
neal
sof
t red
bug
cov
ered
by
whi
te w
ax
coat
ing
is e
asy
to b
e se
en.
Thi
s ca
n be
con
trol
by
an
y d
ish
wa
shin
g s
ou
p a
nd
wa
ter
or
wip
ed
off
by
ha
nd
. T
he
ca
ctu
s m
oth
ca
cto
bla
stis
lay
eg
gs
on
a pr
ickl
e pe
ar le
af a
nd t
he e
gg s
tick
on t
he le
aves
an
d w
hen
the
eggs
hat
ch t
he w
orm
s bo
re in
to t
he
lea
f p
ad
an
d e
at
it fr
om
insi
de
th
is c
an
be
co
ntr
ol
by r
emov
al o
f egg
stic
ks b
y ha
nd a
nd if
larv
ae h
ave
bore
d in
to th
e le
af p
ad, t
he le
af p
ad s
houl
d be
cut
. C
ochi
al is
the
mos
t im
port
ant t
o co
ntro
l.
Use
s
The
cac
tus
pear
is e
xtre
mel
y ve
rsat
ile a
nd it
can
be
used
as.
Cac
tus
pear
s ar
e m
arke
ted
as f
resh
fru
it a
nd
so
me
are
ca
nn
ed
or
pro
cess
ed
as
jam
, je
lly,
soup
, ju
ice.
A s
ourc
e of
foo
d fo
r m
an a
nd a
nim
als
and
it pr
ovid
es s
ecur
ity fe
nce.