The Effect of Variety and Location on Cactus Pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) Fruit Quality

Little is known about the performance of South African cactus pear varieties in different agro-ecological regions. Effects of locality on internal quality parameters of available cactus pear varieties were examined. With only one exception, no significant differences among the mean replication values for the different parameters between the different locations were observed. The differences between mean values for most individual parameters at the three localities were highly significant. Highly significant differences between the mean values for the measured characteristics were observed, not only among the locations (except for the pulp glucose values), but also for the influences of genotype and interaction between locality and genotype. Significant variations existed between mean values of the different characteristics between localities. Genotype x environmental interactions were noted. It was concluded that Meyers is the most appropriate cultivar for economical purposes in South Africa.