Abstract
The cactus pear has demonstrated productive potential in arid and semi-arid regions due to its photosynthetic process of crassulacean acid metabolism. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate agronomic characteristics and chemical composition of three genotypes of cactus pear at different locations of a tropical semiarid region classified as non-suitable for cactus pear cultivation. A completely randomized design in a factorial arrangement (3 × 7) (three genotypes of cactus pear [Miúda, Baiana (Nopalea cochenillifera) and Orelha de Efefante Mexicana - OEM (Opuntia stricta)] and seven locations) was used. The climatic conditions characterized an environment that restricts the growth of cactus pear genotypes, mainly due to the air relative humidity values. All morphological characteristics of the cactus pear genotypes were influenced by the interaction genotype x location, with higher expression of the characteristics on the different genotypes under hot semi-arid climate and tropical wet and dry climate. An effect of the interaction genotype x location was observed (p < 0.05) on water use efficiency, water accumulation and carrying capacity, where the highest values were observed for genotype Baiana at location 1. Also, there was influence of the interaction genotype x location over the chemical composition of the cactus pear. The cultivation of cactus pear is recommended under restricted climatic conditions in semi-arid tropical regions, especially the genotype Baiana, based on growth factors, biomass production and chemical composition.
Highlights
The cactus pear has demonstrated productive potential in arid and semi-arid regions due to its photosynthetic process of crassulacean acid metabolism
The cultivation of cactus pear is recommended under restricted climatic conditions in semi-arid tropical regions, especially the genotype Baiana, based on growth factors, biomass production and chemical composition
The cactus pear has demonstrated high productive potential in environments with scarce and erratic rainfall. This productive capacity occurs due to its photosynthetic process called Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM), which captures carbon dioxide at night, making the cactus pear efficient in the use of water (100 to 150 kg of water per kg of dry matter), which is about six times more efficient than legumes and almost three times more efficient than grasses[1]
Summary
The cactus pear has demonstrated productive potential in arid and semi-arid regions due to its photosynthetic process of crassulacean acid metabolism. The cactus pear has demonstrated high productive potential in environments with scarce and erratic rainfall This productive capacity occurs due to its photosynthetic process called Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM), which captures carbon dioxide at night, making the cactus pear efficient in the use of water (100 to 150 kg of water per kg of dry matter), which is about six times more efficient than legumes and almost three times more efficient than grasses[1]. This differentiated photosynthetic mechanism was decisive for the adaptation of this cactus to the hostile climatic conditions of arid and semi-arid regions. Because it is a crop with high adaptive capacity to arid and semi-arid climatic conditions, its cultivation has been carried out without any technical knowledge on the climatic characteristics that favor the growth of the Geographic Coordinates
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