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Forage cactus is the most important roughage for dairy cows in the semi-arid regions of Pernambuco, Alagoas and Paraiba in Northeast of Brazil covering about 300,000 ha. This study was conducted at four locations; three in Pernambuco and one in Alagoas, with the purpose of identifying forage cactus varieties more productive than the conventional varieties. The experiment included six varieties: 'Gigante'(T1), 'Redonda'(T2), 'Miuda'(T3), 'IPA-20' clone (T4), 'Copena F-1' (T5) and 'Copena V-1' (T5), with four replications arranged in a complete randomized blocks design. The planting layout was 1.0 x 0.5 m, and 20 t/ha of cow manure were applied at planting. The plants were harvested two years after planting. Dry matter yield (t DMY ha(-1)) of 'IPA-20' clone in this first crop was superior to all varieties tested. Average DMY and their significance values were: T-4 (21.36a), T-1 (17.95b), T-3 (17.42cb), T-2 (17.06cb), T-5 (15.11cb) and T-6 (14.38c). On the other hand, the green matter yield (GMY) of IPA-20 clone was also greater than all other varieties evaluated, as follows: T-4 (223.71a), T-2 (211.14a), T-1 (202.83a), T-3 (169.21b), T-5 (167.82b) and T-6 (162.71b).