Influence of flower bud and fruit thinning and spraying with Salicylic acid on vegetative growth, yield and fruit quality of the Prickly pear (Opuntia ficus – indica)

Abstract

This study was conducted during two consecutive seasons of 2018 and 2019 at cactus pear orchard located on Abu Ghaleb area, "Cairo-Alexandria desert" road about 50km from Cairo, Egypt. The effect of handmade thinning (control, flower bud thinning to leave 6, 7, 8 and 9, fruits/cladode thinning to leave 6, 7, 8 and 9/ cladode) and the second one involved spraying with 3 concentrations of salicylic acid (S.A.) (control, 100 and 200 mg/L), and their interactions to improve a vegetative growth and cladodes, fruit quality and cladode minerals content of El-Shamia cactus pear plants were studied. The best results were recorded with handmade thinning and spraying with salicylic acid (S.A.) as well as their interaction showed that, leave 8, 9 fruits/cladode with spraying salicylic acid (S.A.) at 200 mg/L concentration improved number of new cladodes per plant, plant height, fruit set %, number of fruits/plants, yield (kg/plant), fruit length (cm), fruit diameter (cm), fruit shape index, firmness, fruit weight (g), pulp weight (g), peel weight (g), peel weight/ pulp %, pulp %, TSS %, TSS/ acid ratio, vitamin C, total sugar, reducing sugar and cladode content of N, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn and Mn. On the other hand, reduced fruit drop %, seeds weight (g) and acidity %. Thus, this treatment was proved to be the most efficient in enhancing growth, quality and minerals content of cladodes of Elshamia cactus pear plants.