Yield of ‘Gigante’ cactus pear cultivated under biofertilizer doses and application intervals¹

Rendimento de palma forrageira ‘Gigante’ cultivada sob doses e intervalos de aplicação de biofertilizante

HIGHLIGHTS:

Application of biofertilizer prepared from cattle manure influences cactus pear yield.

Higher doses of biofertilizer promote a reduction in the dry matter content of cactus pear cv. Gigante.

Reduction of plant dry matter percentage and increase in dry biomass yield are due to the increase in green biomass yield.

ABSTRACT

Due to the water restriction, associated with the high cost of fertilizers, and the need to produce forage in the semi-arid regions, studies using biofertilizers in cactus pear production tend to become impactful. The aim of this study was to evaluate the morphometric characteristics and yield of ‘Gigante’ cactus pear cultivated under doses and application intervals of bovine manure biofertilizer. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, in a 2 × 5 factorial scheme, with two biofertilizer application intervals (14 and 21 days) and five biofertilizer doses (0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 m³ ha^-1). Three replicates were used, totaling 30 experimental units. The following variables were evaluated: plant height, number of cladodes, cladode length, cladode width and cladode area index, dry biomass percentage, and green and dry biomass yields. The use of 60 m³ ha^-1 of liquid cattle manure biofertilizer increased the yield of ‘Gigante’ cactus pear. The application of 60 m³ ha^-1 of biofertilizer at the interval of 14 days increased the yield of ‘Gigante’ cactus pear.

Key words:
Opuntia ficus-indica; semi-arid region; organic fertilization