Bushehr - Iran’s southern province of Bushehr is promoting the cultivation of drought-tolerant Opuntia cactus as part of efforts to diversify horticultural production, conserve water and adapt cropping patterns to increasingly hot and dry conditions.

 

Ebrahim Dana, director of horticultural affairs at the Bushehr Agricultural Organization, said the cactus’s resilience to water scarcity and high temperatures, combined with its potential for producing a wide range of commercial products, makes it a promising crop for the province.

 

Dana said Opuntia can store water and nutrients in its tissues, allowing it to withstand environmental stresses, particularly drought and heat. These characteristics make it a suitable candidate for inclusion in plans to reform the province’s horticultural cropping pattern.

 

He noted that different Opuntia varieties offer several economic opportunities, including the production of fruit with medicinal properties, the use of the plant’s flattened stems as ingredients in food products and livestock feed, and applications in industries such as plant-based leather manufacturing.

 

Dana stressed, however, that sustainable expansion of Opuntia cultivation will depend on strategic planning to develop the crop’s value chain, expand processing facilities and establish effective marketing and distribution networks.

 

Bushehr’s existing Opuntia orchards are currently entering their first year of production, with the harvest expected to reach around 60 metric tons of fruit, he said.

 

The recommended planting density is 4,000 to 5,000 plants per hectare, while commercial yields are expected to begin in the third year after planting. Production is projected to increase gradually as the orchards mature, Dana added.