Opuntia ficus indica

A normally spineless variety of Opuntia cactus with large fruits growing on each pad. This species of cactus is grown world-wide to feed people, livestock and to restore degraded soils.

Opuntia ficus indica (prickly pear) was bred to be spineless by Luther Burbank in California in the early part of the 20th century. This spineless cultivar has spread around the world and is used principally as livestock feed throughout arid regions. It's fruit (including the peels) has many applications as a consumable, as well as applications in pharmaceuticals. The seeds render a valuable oil and can be ground into flour for baking. It's fibrous pads are also used to create bio-fuel and synthetic leather.

Horizontal Tab Group

Publications

Below is a list of research papers pertaining to this crop.
Displaying 21 - 40 of 47 publications.

Published	Title/Abstract	Authors	Journal
2016	Opuntia fícus-indica and Nopalea cochenillifera cacti:production systems and uses The cacti species Opuntia fícus-indica and Nopalea cochenillifera originated in México and are nowadays cultivated in Brazil and other countries. They have several uses: human and animal food, medicine,...	Rafael Rodrigues Silva, Ph.D. Everardo Valadares Sá Barretto Sampaio, Ph.D.
2016	Cladode growth dynamics in Opuntia ficus-indica under drought Cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L. Miller) is a CAM plant with an extraordinary capacity to store water in its succulent stems (cladodes). However, the daily variations of cladode thickness...
2016	Antimicrobial Activity of Opuntia cochenillifera (L.) Mill Fruit and Cladode Extracts In the present study the antimicrobial activity of chloroform and methanolic extracts of Opuntia cochenillifera for both cladode and fruits was investigated. Methanolic extract was found to be an...	Pooja Suryawanshi, MSc., MPhil, Ph.D G. M. Vidyasagar, Ph.D.
2017	Bone Mineral Density, Mechanical, Microstructural Properties and Mineral Content of the Femur in Growing Rats Fed with Cactus Opuntia ficus indica (L.) Mill. (Cactaceae) Cladodes as Calcium Source in Diet For several years, populations of developing countries including Mexico and Latin America have been undergoing changes in dietary habits [1]. The nutrition transition comprising changes in food patterns and...	Alicia Real del López, Ph.D.
2017	Crop Ecology, Cultivation and Uses of Cactus Pear Cactus crops are gaining increasing interest across the globe, in particular cactus pear (Opuntia ficus− indica), because of its unique characteristics which provide resilience to the above mentioned harsh conditions....
2018	Cactus as a Fodder and Beyond Last month, FAO jointly with ICARDA (International Centre for Research in Dry Areas) and University of Chile organized 9th International Congress on “Cactus pear and cochineal” in Coquimbo, Chile....	Harinder P. S. Makkar, Ph.D.
2018	Nutrient intake and utilization in sheep fed opuntia ficus indica Range Management and Agroforestry Year : 2018, Volume : 39, Issue : 1 First page : ( 97) Last page : ( 102) Print ISSN : 0971-2070....
2018	Sewage Sludge Conditioning using Opuntia Ficus Indica Juice This work aimed to study the possibility of using plant matter, Opuntia ficus indica juice (OFIJ), for conditioning the Beni-Messous (Algiers) wastewater treatment plant sludge. The optimum dosage of OFIJ...	Hayat Betatache, Ph.D.
2018	Fruit production from Opuntia ficus-indica ecotypes in comparison to commercial Italian clones Fruit production, as an elementary chemical characteristic of the fruit, was evaluated in 16 Opuntia ficus-indica Portuguese ecotypes cultivated in a marginal soil without tillage, in the second and...	Carlos Manuel Gaspar Reis, Ph.D. Luiz Carlos Gazarini, Ph.D. Maria Margarida Ribeiro, Ph.D.
2018	Tests for Waterproofing Materials, Made of Opuntia ficus-indica Mexican cacti have captivated the scientific community due their extraordinary characteristics and benefits.This research established a new way to use this ancestral plant as a substitute for other construction...	Arturo Santamaría Ortega, Ph.D. Miguel Ángel Rubio Toledo, Ph.D. Gerardo Hernández Neria, Ph.D. Ricardo Victoria Uribe, Ph.D. Marco Antonio García Albarrán, Ph.D. Sandra Alicia Utrilla Cobos
2019	Estimation of productivity gain by irrigated and fertilized forage palm plants Population expansion increases the water use for food production, which has stimulated farmers to cultivate vegetable with improved water use efficiency. The purpose of this meta-analysis study was to...	Patrícia da Silva Costa, Ph.D. José Dantas Neto, Ph.D. Pedro Roberto Almeida Viégas, Ph.D. Alberto Soares de Melo, Ph.D. Flávio da Silva Costa, Ph.D. Aldair de Souza Medeiros, Ph.D. Ivomberg Dourado Magalhães, Ph.D. Antônio Suassuna de Lima, Ph.D. Constantino Antônio Cavalcante Júnior, Ph.D. Vera Lúcia Antunes de Lima, Ph.D. Rener Luciano de Souza Ferraz, Ph.D.	Australian Journal of Crop Science
2019	Solar air drying for innovative Opuntia ficus-indica cladode dehydration Providing a case study of general applicability in all world’s semi-arid regions where the plant is increasingly harvested, we describe the use and outcomes of solar air heating and...	Rosaria Ciriminna, Ph.D. Vincenzo Morreale, Ph.D. Mario Pecoraino, Ph.D. Mario Pagliaro, Ph.D.
2019	Phytoconstituents and biological activities of Opuntia-ficus indica L. mucilage grown in tree Tunisian provenances In recent years, the use of natural products became a big necessity in order to prevent human health and to protect the environment besides risks caused by using synthetic chemicals....	Donald McGarvie, Ph.D. Haralambos Parolis, Ph.D.	Journal of Research in Environmental Science and Toxicology
2019	Effect of supplementation by cactus on female goats The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of barley substitution by cactus during pre-mating phase on some reproductive parameters and blood metabolites of goats. Forty adult...
2019	Effect of Opuntia ficus indica on female goat nutrition The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of barley substitution by cactus during pre-mating phase on some reproductive parameters and blood metabolites of goats. Forty adult...
2019	Obtaining natural colorants tuna (Opuntia ficus-indica) This research work was carried out with the objective of extracting natural pigments from Opuntia ficus-indica, so that a visual analysis of the fruit was carried out, then the drying...	Raquel Leticia Coba Carrera Karina Gabriela Salazar Llangari, M.S. Linda Mariuxi Flores, Ph.D.
2019	Betalains from prickly-pear fruit: An alternative natural coloring for food Food coloring are additives that are usually incorporated into foods to make them more attractive to people. However, some mineral and synthetic dyes used in the food industry are related...
2020	Prospective antimycotoxigenic action of wild Opuntia ficus-indica by-products Numerous natural compounds perform pharmaceutical, antimycotic and antitoxic purposes in the body system. The aim was to evaluate new phytoconstituents that provide antimycotoxigenic properties against mycotoxins. Bioactive materials chosen were...
2020	Biocarbon Derived from Opuntia ficus indica for p-Nitrophenol Retention Activated carbon obtained from Opuntia ficus indica by sodium hydroxide activation was employed for the adsorption of p-nitrophenol from water. The activated carbons obtained were characterized by Fourier transforms...	Hanedi Elhleli, Ph.D. Faten Mannai, Ph.D. Mongi ben Mosbah, Ph.D. Ramzi Khiari, Ph.D. Younes Moussaoui, Ph.D.
2021	Nopal agroecosystems (Opuntia ficus-indica L. Miller) associated with six pre-Columbian crops and documentation of ancestral community knowledge, in Diriamba and San Marcos Nicaragua 2013-2015 The research was conducted in Apompuá, Diriamba and Las Esquinas, San Marcos, Carazo, Nicaragua, in 2013 and ended in 2015. The agroecosystems of nopal (Opuntia ficus-indica L. Miller) intercropped...	Marisol Baylón Duarte Moisés Agustín Blanco-Navarro, MSc.

Pages

Books

Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 works.

	Manual of Methods for Soil and Land Evaluation: One of the primary functions of soil is that of buffering, filtration and transformation of many substances including pollutants. This function is of primary importance when dealing with land...
	Emerging Natural Hydrocolloids: Rheology and Functions In today’s health-conscious climate, the demand for natural food products is growing all the time. Natural hydrocolloids, therefore, have never been more popular. With their thickening, stabilizing, gelling, fat...
	Luther Burbank's Spineless Cactus To give each purchaser a guarantee of receiving original Burbank productions this corporation has originated a trade mark. The name “Burbank” has been so indiscriminately and fraudulently used that...

Attributes

Plant attributes.

Plant Type:

Cactus

Crop Part Used:

Crop Use:

Attribution

Links to outside information.

Attribution/Links:

Wikipedia

Nopal Cactus: Sustainable Food of the Future?

Common cactus could be used to clean water

The Mythic Nopal Cactus Is Our New Favorite Edible Green

Mexico's prickly pear cactus: energy source of the future?

UN dishes up prickly pear cactus in answer to food security

Native Cultivars of Cactus Pear in México

Eating Cactus: Prickly Pear for Food

Common cactus could be used to clean water

arizona.edu

Plants for a Future (pfaf.org)

Insect wreaks havoc on Tunisia’s crucial prickly pear industry

Eating Cactus: Prickly Pear for Food

CANOTIA: An Arizona journal publishing botanical and mycological papers

SEINET - Arizona - New Mexico Chapter

The Universal Protein Resource (UniProt)

Crop Link Source:

Nopal Cactus: A Sustainable Food of the Future

Pests

Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 pests.

	Drosophila simulans This species was discovered by the fly geneticist Alfred Sturtevant in 1919, when he noticed that the flies used in Thomas Hunt Morgan's laboratory at the Columbia University were...
	Armillaria mellea (armillaria root rot) Armillaria root rot is a fungal root rot caused by several different members of the genus Armillaria. The symptoms are variable depending on the host infected, ranging from stunted...
	Dactylopius coccus costa Dactylopius is a genus of insect in the superfamily Coccoidea, the scale insects. It is the only genus in the family Dactylopiidae. These insects are known commonly as cochineals,...
	Cactoblastis cactorum Cactoblastis cactorum, the cactus moth, South American cactus moth or nopal moth, is native to Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and southern Brazil. It is one of five species in the...

Diseases

Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 diseases.

Pectobacterium carotovorum (bacterial soft rot)

The species is a plant pathogen with a diverse host range, including many agriculturally and scientifically important plant species. It produces pectolytic enzymes that hydrolyze pectin between individual plant...

Video

Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 videos.

Show 5 | 10 results per page.