Profitability analysis of prickly pear cactus in different production systems in the state of Mexico

Resumen

The production of prickly pear in the State of Mexico covers an area of 15,953 ha with a yield of 11.3 t ha^-1. However, the prickly pear production chain faces technical, social, and economic problems that are reflected in low prices and reduced profitability, where organic prickly pear production is seen as an alternative to the above problems, as well as to the growing demand for this organic fruit nationally and internationally. This research consisted of measuring the productivity and profitability of prickly pear cactus in San Martín de las Pirámides and Axapusco, State of Mexico, during the 2019 production cycle. To evaluate productivity, the A×B factorial experimental design with random block arrangement was used, and to determine profitability, the following expression was used: CT=P_x X. Based on the analysis of the results, organic production had the highest number of productive cladodes (83), number of fruits per plant (242), and total fruit weight (140.9 g), variables that defined the yield at 21.5 t ha^-1 compared to intermediate and conventional management (8.2 and 11.8 t ha^-1). In addition, organic production obtained a profitability of 150.35% and 88.92% when land rent is included, compared to the intermediate and conventional approaches, which reached 44.14% and 48.15%, respectively, and -22.04% and -10.63%, taking land rent into account. It is concluded that organic production improves the quality of prickly pear in the long term and leads to high yields, highlighting that it generates greater opportunities to address the low profitability of the crop in the region.