Valley growers say the prickly pear cactus fruit slowly absorbs and cleans up a chemical in the soil as it grows.
The chemical, called Selenium, kills crops and wildlife.
Farmers in the Valley's west side near Five Points are working with a federal plant researcher.
They're looking at ways to use the cactus to remove other soil contaminants and eliminate salty irrigation drainage.
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Farmers in Southern Carolina are worried about their peach orchards.
Ag experts say their peach trees have already started to blossom.
Farmers blame the unseasonally warm winter weather for the early blossoms.
They say any change in the weather now could destroy the flowers and subsequent harvest.
A similar event in 2007 devastated the crop.
