It’s not often that you hear about cactus pear farming, but even though it is not seen as a primary source of farming, it is an additional farming practice that can be quite lucrative to your main farming operations. And that’s not all, cactus farming is an inexpensive practice too.
Dewald van der Berg has a mixed farming operation on the farm Witkraal near Petrusburg in the Free State, where they concentrate on cactus pear production as an additional farming practice. He believes that having this very kind of operation is a great way to diversify farming income.
How capital-intensive is cactus farming?
Cactus farming is inexpensive compared to other orchard farming, and with cactus pear, you can get away with plant material for a hectare using about R7 000, says Van der Berg.
“To establish the hectare, you need the plant material, some fertiliser and the labour. It’s also not capital intensive,” he says.
The main expense after that will be fertiliser and manual labour.
Different cultivars
According to Van der Berg, there are six commercially available cultivars, which are unique in their own right:
- Morado, all-rounder for oil and fodder production
- Meyers
- Algerian, produces large quantities of fruit
- Skinners Court
- Gymno Carpo
Best time to plant
When you are looking for the best time to plant cactus pear, start planting in the middle of August. You want to give the new leaves sufficient time to grow in order to be fully grown out by the time the next winter comes because they can be a bit sensitive to frost.
“With the summer rainfall area that we farm in and our cold winters, we prefer to start planting in the middle of August. We prune those cladodes that we plant in winter. The leaves can last quite a while, the best will be to prune in winter,” he says.
“I think when you go to areas where there is less frost, you can even plant a little bit later. I think good practice would be to plant during spring and early summer, that would be a good practice for most areas,” he advises.
How to manage orchards
Van der Berg recommends cactus pear must be farmed like any other orchard. It is quite labour-intensive because a farmer needs to be alert for pests and diseases at all times.
With cactus farming, you can save on irrigation because there is no irrigation system required.
“Our plants do not get irrigated. The orchard has to be kept clean and fertilised annually, plants need nitrogen and other nutrients to grow properly. It makes quite a difference if your orchard is fertilised properly,” he says.
However, you need to keep an eye on how high the plants grow.
“If you leave the cactus tree to grow higher, it creates problems to harvest fruit and you can’t manage pests so easily. And at the end of the day, they respond well to pruning.”
Tips to follow:
- Keep grass short around trees.
- Keep it free from diseases and pests.
- Prune the tree once a year.
- Don’t let the tree grow higher than the average human (1.7-1.8 meters is good).
Pests and disease
Van der Berg explains that there are two pests that are a pain when it comes to cactus farming, and if it weren’t for those two specific pests, cactus farming would be one of the easiest farming practices.
Cochineal (Dactylopius coccus): Small insect that lives on the plant. It looks like little white spots on the plant, but they feed on the leaf and they are quite easy to control because they are external.
Cactus moth (Cactoblastis cactorum): A moth that lays its eggs and when they hatch, they find their way into the cactus leaves. The unfortunate part is you only see it on the leaf when they are a month or two old. Cut them off and feed them to your livestock if possible.
“Go through your orchards at least every two or three weeks and make sure there is no infestation. We try and stay away from chemicals and pesticides but there seem to be some new alternatives, such as organic products” he says.
Market and agro-processing ideas
There is a market when it comes to cactus farming, on a small-scale and commercially. Products such as cactus pear oil can be produced, but this agro-processing is quite expensive and can be tricky. Van der Berg advises that farmers know exactly what they want in this specific market and the future goal will be.
“For cactus pear oil, you need a ton of cactus to make a litre of this oil. Planting for oil needs to be well thought out because marketing can become tricky too. If you are farming on a smaller scale, you can do jams and jellies as well as animal feed as an additional feed,” he explains.
Importantly, when it comes to the feed, it is not a type of feed you can solely feed to your livestock, but rather as an additional source. The possibilities seem endless when it comes to cactus pear farming whether on a small-scale or commercially.
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