How to get juicy returns from the succulent cactus

A section of Opuntia, an invasive type of cactus. [Photo by Jacinta Mutura/Standard]

Cactus is a drought-resistant thorny plant with succulent stems that grow well mostly in the parts of the dry and rocky areas of the country.

What most farmers do not know is that it can be value-added into edible juice, jam, wine, oil to make beauty products or cosmetics such as cream and soap, and it can also be used to make biogas.

Cactus reproduces by seed and vegetative reproduction through its leaf pads which become dislodged from the plant and produces roots.

Cactus, however, is known to hurt any livestock that tries to feed on it due to its many thorns that injure animals when they prick the tongue or mouth and may end up killing them due to infections and poor feeding.

The cactus fruits known as prickly pear are purple in colour, edible and farmers can turn them into juice. The fruits start off from green, orange, light purple than dark purple when ripe.

One can choose to consume the fruits or value add them into the juice which earns the farmer more returns and increase the shelf life.

The fruits are cleaned then blundered to get the pulp.

The pulp is used to make jam while the liquid juice and wine.

The residue from the already blended fruit will be dried then later pressed to make oil.

The oil made helps wipe out pimples, black spots, stretch marks, sunburns, acne, razor burn, dark circles, cracked feet and retains skin moisture according to skin experts.

Before making the juice or wine the pulp is usually boiled to 70 degrees to purify it and then sieved before being mixed with water and sugar to sweeten it.

One litre of the pulp can be added with three litres of water to make juice. For jam, one litre of pulp can be collected and then pasteurised.

To make wine, a litre of the pulp is diluted with three litres of water then cooled to lower the temperature to 40 degrees. Yeast and sugar are added to the already processed pulp to activate fermentation a process that takes a fortnight before it is ready for packaging.

The wine contains 12 per cent alcoholic content

The prickly pear (opuntia) cactus is easy to maintain hence low maintenance cost.

Cactus plant has nutritional and health benefits such as antioxidant benefits.

It is also used to make pharmaceutical products that treat Diabetes Type 2, reduce cholesterol levels, obesity and various body disorders.

To make biogas according to Francis Merinyi a University of Nairobi Environmental Science graduate told Standard Digital that the cactus is chopped up into small pieces before crushing it to produce a porridge-like substance.

The thick liquid is diluted with water, transferred into a bio-digester tank and left to ferment for three weeks.

“Bacteria works on the green substance and the end product is let out while the gas is collected through a pipe connected to a storage tube,” said Merinyi. The by-product can then be used as manure.