Improvement Prunning and the effects on Vegetative and Yield Behaviour in Prickly Pear (Opuntia Ficus-indica Mill.) Cultivar 'Gialla'.

The results of a prunning experiment carried out in south-Sardinia on a 25-year-old 'Gialla' cactus pear grove are reported. Following the severe re-juvenile-prunning, the plants produced vigorius shoots from the remaing branches, while yield was significantly reduced in the year of prunning. In the first year following prunning the canopy gained about half of the removed vegetative matter (as canopy volume) and after the second year the yield was nearly the same as before prunning but fruit was from higher quality (size, TSS). Thus, cactus pear plants responded well to heavy prunning both, for vegetative re-establishment and fruit quality.