Morphological and yield responses of spineless cactus Orelha de Elefante Mexicana under different cutting intensities

Juliana De Souza Pereira,Fleming Sena Campos,Welson Lima Simões,Anderson Barbosa Cavalcante,Tadeu Vinhas Voltolini,George Henrique Melo De Sá Marquim Ferraz Nogueira Nogueira,Gherman Garcia Leal De Araújo

doi:10.1590/s1519-99402121142020

Abstract

ABSTRACT The objective was to evaluate the effects of different cutting intensities on the morphological responses and forage yield of spineless cactus Orelha de Elefante Mexicana (OEM) (Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw) in a 12-month cycle, receiving supplemental irrigation. Three cutting intensities were evaluated: cut preserving only the mother cladode (MOTHC), cut preserving primary cladodes (PRIMC), and cut preserving secondary cladodes (SECC), equivalent to initial residual cladode area index (rCAI) of 0.08, 0.33 and 0.69, respectively. The experiment was a randomized block design with eight replicates. The cutting intensities PRIMC and SECC resulted in higher plant height and width, total cladode number and cladode area index compared to MOTHC. The harvested plant weight, forage yield (t DM ha-1), forage accumulation rate and water use efficiency were greater for PRIMC and SECC in comparison to MOTHC. The forage yield for MOTHC was 20.92 t DM (dry matter) ha-1, while for PRIMC and SECC were 37.55 and 33.18 t DM ha-1, respectively. The final CAI was 1.23, 2.53 and 3.55 for MOTHC, SECC and PRIMC, respectively. Morphological and yield responses of OEM Spineless cactus under supplemental irrigation are influenced by cutting intensities, in which less intense cuts (preserving the primary or secondary cladodes) promote taller and wider plants, and higher forage yield.

Highlights

Spineless cactus (Opuntia sp. and Nopalea sp.) is one of the most important forage resources in the Brazilian semiarid region presenting large water reserve, tolerant to drought, propagated, without the necessity of storage even during dry periods (Marques et al, 2017)
The treatments were characterized by cutting intensities, which were: 1 preserving only mother cladodes (MOTHC), 2 - preserving all primary cladodes (PRIMC), 3 - preserving all secondary cladodes (SECC), converted into initial residual cladode area index, with values of 0.08, 0.33 and 0.69, respectively
All cladodes of all orders were weighed for MOTHC, while for PRIMC, all cladodes from the second order onwards were weighed, and for SECC, only cladodes from the third order onwards, obtaining the weight of forage harvested per plant for each cutting intensity

Summary

Introduction

Spineless cactus (Opuntia sp. and Nopalea sp.) is one of the most important forage resources in the Brazilian semiarid region presenting large water reserve, tolerant to drought, propagated, without the necessity of storage even during dry periods (Marques et al, 2017). The present study aimed at evaluating the effects of different cutting intensities on morphological responses and forage yield in spineless cactus Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw, in a cycle of 12 months, receiving supplemental irrigation.

Results

Conclusion