3. Results
Considering the morphological characteristics of the ecotypes, the cladode shape was elliptic or ovate, the number of spines varied among three classes (many, intermediate or few), the flowers had two types of petal color (scarlet or yellow), the fruit was elliptic or ovoid and the pulp color was white, pale yellow or orange (Table 2).
The OFI populations studied showed statistically significant differences for DM of the fruits, F (17, 34.24) = 31.61, p < 0.05, which varied between 13.8 (OFI-20) and 17.9 % (OFI-16) (Table 3). The DM of the fruits was 15.6 % and 16.1 % in cvs. ‘Bianca’ and ‘Gialla’, respectively. Considering all the populations the mean dry matter was 15.7 %.
The cactus pear TSS content varied from 13.05 (OFI-20) …show more content…
The number of fruits per plant ranged from 11 (OFI-14) to 68 (cv. ‘Bianca’) and statistically significant differences were found among populations (Table 4). The cvs. ‘Gialla’ and ‘Bianca’ were the populations with the highest production of fruit per plant, 5.2 and 5.1 kg, respectively, and outperformed the remaining populations. In the group of the sixteen OFI ecotypes the lowest values for fruit production per plant were found in the populations OFI-03 (0.9 kg plant-1) and OFI-14 (1.0 kg plant-1) and the highest values in the populations OFI-08 (3.8 kg plant-1) and OFI-13 (2.9 kg plant-1). Statistically significant differences were found among populations for the production of fruit per plant (Table 4). The Games–Howell post hoc test showed significant differences among the OFI populations, and the group including the cv.s ‘Gialla’ and ‘Bianca’ plus the ecotypes OFI-08 and OFI-13 had higher fruit production than the remaining populations (Table …show more content…
In the conditions of the experiment, the cv. ‘Gialla’ and the group of ecotypes with orange pulp seems more appropriate for fruit production by the higher size and weight of their fruits. In this group, the ecotype OFI-13 was the most interesting and promising since the majority (87.4%) of the fruits had the minimum size and weight for commercialization. In Italy fruits are sorted according to their size and weight. Extra-large fruits are those over 160 g, first class 120-160 g, second class 80-100 g and third class below 80 g (Barbera, 1992). Export size fruit must exceed 120 g and should have a minimum of 13% in sugar content (Inglese et al.
Considering the morphological characteristics of the ecotypes, the cladode shape was elliptic or ovate, the number of spines varied among three classes (many, intermediate or few), the flowers had two types of petal color (scarlet or yellow), the fruit was elliptic or ovoid and the pulp color was white, pale yellow or orange (Table 2).
The OFI populations studied showed statistically significant differences for DM of the fruits, F (17, 34.24) = 31.61, p < 0.05, which varied between 13.8 (OFI-20) and 17.9 % (OFI-16) (Table 3). The DM of the fruits was 15.6 % and 16.1 % in cvs. ‘Bianca’ and ‘Gialla’, respectively. Considering all the populations the mean dry matter was 15.7 %.
The cactus pear TSS content varied from 13.05 (OFI-20) …show more content…
The number of fruits per plant ranged from 11 (OFI-14) to 68 (cv. ‘Bianca’) and statistically significant differences were found among populations (Table 4). The cvs. ‘Gialla’ and ‘Bianca’ were the populations with the highest production of fruit per plant, 5.2 and 5.1 kg, respectively, and outperformed the remaining populations. In the group of the sixteen OFI ecotypes the lowest values for fruit production per plant were found in the populations OFI-03 (0.9 kg plant-1) and OFI-14 (1.0 kg plant-1) and the highest values in the populations OFI-08 (3.8 kg plant-1) and OFI-13 (2.9 kg plant-1). Statistically significant differences were found among populations for the production of fruit per plant (Table 4). The Games–Howell post hoc test showed significant differences among the OFI populations, and the group including the cv.s ‘Gialla’ and ‘Bianca’ plus the ecotypes OFI-08 and OFI-13 had higher fruit production than the remaining populations (Table …show more content…
In the conditions of the experiment, the cv. ‘Gialla’ and the group of ecotypes with orange pulp seems more appropriate for fruit production by the higher size and weight of their fruits. In this group, the ecotype OFI-13 was the most interesting and promising since the majority (87.4%) of the fruits had the minimum size and weight for commercialization. In Italy fruits are sorted according to their size and weight. Extra-large fruits are those over 160 g, first class 120-160 g, second class 80-100 g and third class below 80 g (Barbera, 1992). Export size fruit must exceed 120 g and should have a minimum of 13% in sugar content (Inglese et al.