Yield and vegetative growth of cactus pear at different spacings and under chemical fertilizations

Abstract

A B S T R A C TThe objective was to evaluate the effect of different spacings and mineral fertilizations on cactus pear growth and production in a randomized block design, with three replicates, in a 3 x 4 factorial scheme: three spacings, 1.00 x 0.50 m, 2.00 x 0.25 m and 3.00 x 1.00 x 0.25 m, and four fertilizations, 000-000-000, 000-150-000, 200-150-000 and 200-150-100 kg ha -1 of N, P 2 O 5 and K 2 O, respectively. Plant growth was evaluated between 90 and 390 days and production and growth were evaluated at 620 days after planting. There were significant interactions between spacing and fertilization for plant height, number of cladodes and cladode area index from 90 to 390 days and for production of fresh and dry matter at 620 days after planting. Spacing influenced cladode area index, while fertilization influenced plant height, number of cladodes and cladode area index at 620 days after planting. Plant height showed cubic effect for the days after planting. Number of cladodes and cladode area index were dependent on spacing, fertilization and plant age, and fitted to cubic models. The best results of growth and production of fresh and dry matter are associated with NPK and NP fertilizations and the spacing of 1.00 x 0.50 m.Produtividade e crescimento vegetativo da palma forrageira sob espaçamentos e adubações química R E S U M O Objetivou-se, neste trabalho, avaliar o efeito de espaçamentos e adubação mineral sobre crescimento e produção da palma forrageira, em um delineamento em blocos casualizados, com três repetições, esquema fatorial 3 x 4 correspondente a três espaçamentos, 1,00 x 0,50 m; 2,00 x 0,25 m e 3,00 x 1,00 x 0,25 m e quatro adubações, 000-000-000; 000-150-000; 200-150-000 e 200-150-100 kg ha -1 de N-P 2 O 5 -K 2 O. Avaliaram-se crescimento entre 90 e 390 dias após o plantio; produção e crescimento aos 620 dias. Ocorreram interações entre espaçamento e adubação para altura da planta, número de cladódios e índice de área de cladódios dos 90 aos 390 dias e para a produção de massa verde e matéria seca aos 620 dias após plantio. O espaçamento influenciou o índice de área de cladódio. Adubação influenciou: altura da planta, número de cladódios e índice de área de cladódio aos 620 dias após plantio. Altura da planta apresentou efeito cúbico para dias após plantio. O número de cladódios e o índice de área de cladódios foram dependentes do espaçamento, adubação e idade das plantas ajustando-se aos modelos cúbicos. O maior crescimento e a produção de massa verde e matéria seca são associados às adubações com NPK e NP no espaçamento 1,00 x 0,50 m. Key words:Opuntia plant arrangement fertilization yield Palavras-chave: Opuntia arranjo de plantas fertilização rendimento

Photochemical efficiency in cladodes of ‘Gigante’ cactus pear cultivated under different spacings and organic fertilization

“…Similar response may have occurred for the spacings E1 (1.0 x 0.5 m) and E3 (3.0 x 1.0 x 0.25 m), but they showed greater plant distribution uniformity, with greater exploration of the soil by the root system and less shading between neighboring plants, which favors photosynthetic efficiency and, consequently, higher growth (Silva et al, 2016). With the application of 30 Mg ha -1 year -1 , there was a higher growth rate, resulting in higher Fv/Fm and Yield, followed by a reduction at 60 Mg ha -1 year -1 and a subsequent increase at 90 Mg ha -1 year -1 , and the data fitted to cubic models, with adequate coefficients of determination.…”

Growing, Production and Quality of Thornless Cactus Irrigated With Dairies Effluent

“…Haw. Silva et al (2016) obtained 15,5 cladodes per plant, applying 200 kg ha -1 of N, 150 kg ha -1 of P 2 O 5 and 100 kg ha -1 of K 2 O. The authors also emphasized that an increase of the rainfall at the end of the trial enhanced the vegetative performance of the forage, resulting also in significative effects upon the cladode area and the plant height.…”

Structural Characteristics and Yield of 'Gigante' Cactus Pear in Agroecosytems in the Semi-Arid Region of Bahia, Brazil

“…The low yield per plant was compensated by the denser production system in Iuiu (26,603 plants ha -1 ), different than Riacho de Santana and Morrinhos, which had 6,657 and 6,621 plants ha -1 , respectively (Table 6). Increases in plants population increase the yield forage cactus plants up to their biological potential, considering the use of adequate cultural practices (DONATO et al, 2014a;SILVA et al, 2016). Plant density presented positive significant correlation with cladode fresh matter yield and thickness, but with low magnitude (Table 3).…”

“…The challenge of establishing a better plantenvironment-human relationship to increase the crop resilience strengthens the potential of adaptability and longevity of plants (DONATO et al, 2014a;PADILHA JÚNIOR et al, 2016;SILVA et al, 2016;DONATO et al, 2017). Information on local environments, sharing of promising experiments, and recognition of crop responses to different environments and managements contribute to improvements in yield indexes and to the sustainability of forage cactus plants in the Brazilian Semi-arid region (SILVA et al, 2012).…”