Abstract
ABSTRACTTo help ascertain the maximal productivity of plants with Crassulacean acid metabolism, measurements were undertaken on four potentially highly productive CAM species at optimal leaf or stem area indices of 4 to 6. Shoot area and shoot biomass were based on regression equations for material harvested from adjacent plants at 3‐month intervals; in addition, the monitored platyopuntias were harvested to determine their dry weight at the end of the observation period. Agave mapisaga and A. salmiana near Mexico City had a productivity averaging 40Mg ha−1 year−1 and exhibited higher maximal rates of net CO2 uptake than previously reported for CAM plants (29–34 μmol m −2 s−1). When irrigated and fertilized daily, Opuntia amyclea and O. ficus‐indica in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico, had an average productivity of 46Mg ha−1 year−1. These are among the highest productivities ever reported for any plant species.
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