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A B S T R A C TThe knowledge on soil water dynamics is the basis of crop water management. The soil water balance (SWB) method is used for this purpose. However, its application in cactus may lead to misinterpretation in water efficiency analysis, since it does not consider the amount of water retained in the plant (WRP). This study aimed to evaluate SWB applicability, hydrodynamic changes and water efficiency of forage cactus clones under irrigation. The clones 'Orelha de Elefante Mexicana' (OEM), 'IPA Sertânia' (IPA) and 'Miúda' (MIU) were submitted to irrigation depths (2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 mm) and frequencies (7, 14 and 28 days), in Serra Talhada, PE, Brazil, between March 2012 and August 2013. The SWB was applied, by adding the WRP in the estimate of the effective actual evapotranspiration (ETr EF ). The water efficiency indicators were calculated. The actual evapotranspiration on SWB (ETr SWB ) overestimated ETr EF and, like other SWB components, it was affected by the factors irrigation depth, frequency and clone. The clone OEM is the most efficient, due to the use of the WRP, while MIU leads to highest gross economic returns for sale of cladodes as seed. As conclusion, the application of the soil water balance method in areas cultivated with cactus species must be accompanied by WRP.Alterações hidrodinâmicas da interface solo-palma, evapotranspiração real efetiva e sua eficiência hídrica sob irrigação R E S U M O O conhecimento da dinâmica de água no solo subsidia o manejo hídrico na lavoura. O método do balanço de água no solo (BAS) é usado para este fim, porém sua aplicação em cultivos de cactáceas pode promover interpretação errônea na análise da eficiência hídrica uma vez que não considera a quantidade de água retida na planta (ARP). Objetivou-se avaliar a aplicabilidade do balanço de água no solo, as alterações hidrodinâmicas e eficiência hídrica em cultivos de palma forrageira irrigada. Os clones Orelha de Elefante Mexicana (OEM), IPA Sertânia e Miúda (MIU) foram submetidos às lâminas (2,5; 5,0 e 7,5 mm) e frequências de irrigação (7, 14 e 28 dias), em Serra Talhada, PE, entre março de 2012 e agosto de 2013. O BAS foi aplicado adicionando-se a ARP na estimativa da evapotranspiração real efetiva (ETr EF ). Indicadores de eficiência hídrica foram calculados. A evapotranspiração real baseada no BAS (ETr BAS ) superestimou a ETr EF e semelhante a outros componentes do BAS, foi afetada pelos fatores lâmina-frequência-clone. O clone OEM é o mais eficiente em razão do uso da ARP enquanto o MIU é o que promove maior retorno econômico bruto de venda dos cladódios para semente. Conclui-se que a aplicação do método do balanço de água no solo cultivado com espécies cactáceas deve ser acompanhada da ARP. Key words:water retained in the plant soil water balance cactus modelling Palavras-chave: água retida na planta balanço de água no solo cactáceas modelagem

Caatinga biome, located in the Brazilian semi-arid region, is the most populous semi-arid region in the world, causing intensification in land degradation and loss of biodiversity over time. The main objective of this paper is to determine and analyze the changes in land cover and use, over time, on the biophysical parameters in the Caatinga biome in the semi-arid region of Brazil using remote sensing. Landsat-8 images were used, along with the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) in the Google Earth Engine platform, from 2013 to 2019, through spatiotemporal modeling of vegetation indices, i.e., leaf area index (LAI) and vegetation cover (VC). Moreover, land surface temperature (LST) and actual evapotranspiration (ETa) in Petrolina, the semi-arid region of Brazil, was used. The principal component analysis was used to select descriptive variables and multiple regression analysis to predict ETa. The results indicated significant effects of land use and land cover changes on energy balances over time. In 2013, 70.2% of the study area was composed of Caatinga, while the lowest percentages were identified in 2015 (67.8%) and 2017 (68.7%). Rainfall records in 2013 ranged from 270 to 480 mm, with values higher than 410 mm in 46.5% of the study area, concentrated in the northern part of the municipality. On the other hand, in 2017 the lowest annual rainfall values (from 200 to 340 mm) occurred. Low vegetation cover rate was observed by LAI and VC values, with a range of 0 to 25% vegetation cover in 52.3% of the area, which exposes the effects of the dry season on vegetation. The highest LST was mainly found in urban areas and/or exposed soil. In 2013, 40.5% of the region’s area had LST between 48.0 and 52.0 °C, raising ETa rates (~4.7 mm day−1). Our model has shown good outcomes in terms of accuracy and concordance (coefficient of determination = 0.98, root mean square error = 0.498, and Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient = 0.907). The significant increase in agricultural areas has resulted in the progressive reduction of the Caatinga biome. Therefore, mitigation and sustainable planning is vital to decrease the impacts of anthropic actions.

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The low forage productivity in the Brazilian semi-arid is linked to water scarcity and climatic conditions, these abiotic disturbances affect the development of livestock and the local economy. Seeking to circumvent the situation, the use of forage species adapted to climatic conditions is of paramount importance, such as forage cactus, a crop rich in nutrients, much appreciated by animals, but lacking in fiber and protein, making it necessary to use other forage plants like sorghum, millet, pigeon pea and forage sunflower, both species have high levels of fiber and protein, and with this, they complement each other and enable the production of more balanced diets for herds. However, the higher yield of crops is observed with the implementation of resilient practices such as irrigation, adoption of mulch, intercropping, which promotes more sustainable systems with high forage potential. In this review, the objective was to evaluate the use of different agronomic practices to increase the productivity and sustainability of forage cactus crops and crops of regional appeal to the Brazilian semi-arid region. It is concluded that the sustainable intensification of agricultural crops, through complementary irrigation, mulch, intercropping with forage cactus, and plant species adapted to the Brazilian semi-arid region, can promote an increase in forage production without adverse effects on ecosystems.

Understanding the effect of the cropping system on the morpho-yield relationship of plants is crucial for success in the agricultural activity, mainly in arid and semi-arid regions, where there are major challenges for food production. In this study, the objective was to apply multivariate statistics in the morpho-yield evaluation of forage cactus clones in cropping systems as sole crop and intercropped with sorghum cultivars. The experiment was conducted in Serra Talhada, PE, Brazil, between March 18, 2017 and June 16, 2018. The design adopted was in randomized blocks with 12 treatments composed of three forage cactus clones in sole-crop system (IPA Sertânia, Miúda and Orelha de Elefante Mexicana) and nine forage cactus-sorghum intercropping systems with the cultivars 467, SF11 and 2502. Morphometric and phytomass measurements of forage cactus clones were performed throughout the cycle. The relationship between the morpho-yield traits of the clones was evaluated by means of principal component analysis. Cladode width, length, perimeter, and area are morphometric variables that determine phytomass accumulation in clones. The cropping systems did not influence the association of morpho-yield traits, but it depends on the genus of forage cactus. Negative correlations between cladode dimensions and phytomass of the clones of the genus Nopalea explained their lower phytomass accumulations. Principal components analysis makes it possible to elucidate associations between morpho-yield variables of forage cactus.