Effects of Planting Densityand Organic Fertilization Doses on Productive Efficiency of Cactus Pear

Abstract

-Cactus is crucial for the livestock of semi-arid regions in Brazil. This plant has shown the high productivity of forage, which is influenced by several management factors. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of organic fertilization doses (20, 40 and 80 t/ ha of bovine manure/ha/two years) and planting densities (20, 40, 80 and 160 thousand plants/ha) on the productivity of cactus pear Clone IPA-20 (Opuntia ficus-indica Mill). At the Experimental Station of Caruaru at the Agronomic Institute of Pernambuco, IPA has conducted the experiment. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with split plot arrangements. Higher shoot productivity was observed with increased population density and the application of manure at 80 t ha-1two years-1 with values of 61, 90, 117 and 139 t DM ha -1 two years -1 at densities of 20, 40, 80 and 160,000 plants ha-1. The planting density influenced the productivity of cladode-plant and root dry weight, showing exponential responses, with higher cladode-plant and roots weight by area observed with increased plant density. The efficiency of organic fertilization decreased with the increase in manure doses. For increase cactus productivity, 40 t of bovine manure ha -1 two years -1 for plantations with 160,000 plants/ha is recommended. , 80 e 160.000 plantas/ha. A produtividade do cladódio-planta e peso seco da raiz foram influenciados pela densidade de plantio, apresentando respostas exponenciais, tendendo a apresentar maior peso do cladódio planta e raízes por área com a elevação da densidade de plantio. A eficiência da adubação orgânica diminuiu com a elevação das doses de esterco. Recomenda-se para plantios com 160.000 plantas/ha aplicação de, no mínimo, 40 t de esterco bovino/ha/dois anos para incremento na produtividade da palma. KeywordsPalavras-chave: Cactácea. Esterco bovino. Opuntia. População de plantas.

<b><i>Nopalea</i> cactus pear fertilized with nitrogen: morphometric, productive and nutritional characteristics

“…Gigante (Barros et al, 2016;. However, there are still few studies with nitrogen fertilization regarding the cultivar Miúda/Doce (Cunha et al, 2012;Silva, Santos, Dubeux Júnior, Cunha, & Ferraz, 2016). The productive and nutritional improvement of forage grasses with the use of nitrogen (N) is very widespread in the literature (Lobo et al, 2014;Sales, Reis, Rocha Júnior et al, 2014), but the results of its effects on cactus pear are still scarce and controversial.…”

Cactus Pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) Productivity, Proximal Composition and Soil Parameters as Affected by Planting Time and Agronomic Management in a Semi-Arid Region of India

“…Similarly, cactus pear also responds to irrigation, with higher plant growth and yield [40,41]. The significant response of plant growth and yield to irrigation and fertilizer application may be due to higher capacity to produce biomass per unit time [18,42]. The lack of effect of agronomic management on plant height, cladode number, cladode weight and biomass yield could be due to several other factors such as plant character, acclimatization ability in a new environment and genotype genetic potential.…”

Cactus Pear: a Weed of Dry-Lands for Supplementing Food Security Under Changing Climate

“…Mycorrhizal interactions between its roots and microbes have been observed (Ervin, 2012) but so far, no detailed characterization has been done. The potential of cactus pear for fixing atmospheric nitrogen through biological nitrogen fixation (Silva et al, 2016) needs to be evaluated under varying simulated climatic conditions.…”

“…It remained superior under arid environment for providing the digestible energy, carbohydrates, abundant water, minerals and numerous vitamins (Ben-Salem and Ennouri, 2013;Nefzaoui et al, 2014). Cactus pear is marginally utilized as forage, food, beverages, and medicine, dyeing clothes and for various religious practices (Silva et al, 2016). However, it continues to remain an underutilized natural resource despite huge potential to supply abundant amounts of forage to large ruminants, triggering economic activities in sandy areas while contributing to food security of millions across the arid areas.…”