Biomass components and water use efficiency in cactus pear under different irrigation systems and harvest frequencies

• Autor(a) principal: Reis Filho, Raimundo José Couto dos
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Carneiro, Maria Socorro de Souza, Pereira, Elzania Sales, Furtado, Rafael Nogueira, Morais Neto, Luiz Barreto de, Magalhães, João Avelar, Alves, Francisco Gleyson da Silveira, Lopes, Marcos Neves
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: LOCUS Repositório Institucional da UFV
• Texto Completo: https://locus.ufv.br//handle/123456789/30293; https://doi.org/10.37496/rbz5120210093
• topic: cladodes production; forage production; irrigation management; Opuntia stricta

The objective was to evaluate the effect of different irrigation systems and harvest frequencies on the cultivation of cactus pear. The study was conducted in the semi-arid region, in the municipality of Russas, CE, Brazil. The experiment was a split plot randomized block design, with four replications. Plots were represented by irrigation systems (surface drip, microsprinkler, Micro Spray Jet, and conventional sprinkler) and subplots by harvest frequencies (6, 9, 12, and 18 months). Cactus pear biomass production characteristics were evaluated. Most of the productive characteristics evaluated were influenced by harvest frequency and irrigation system. The harvest frequency of 12 months combined with conventional sprinkler system resulted in a total dry biomass production of 16,400 kg ha−1. The conventional sprinkler system showed the highest number of second-order cladodes (4.9 cladodes plant−1). The conventional sprinkler and Micro Spray Jet systems showed the highest values for various structural characteristics. For water use efficiency (WUE), the highest value was found at the frequency of six months (8.46 kg ha−1 mm−1). Regarding the effects of irrigation system on WUE, the highest values were observed with the conventional sprinkler system (8.20 kg ha−1 mm−1). The harvest frequency of 12 months combined with the conventional sprinkler system presents better results in the evaluated productive characteristics, mainly the cactus pear production by area