Cactus Pear: a Weed of Dry-Lands for Supplementing Food Security Under Changing Climate

IQBAL, M.A.; HAMID, A.; IMTIAZ, H.; RIZWAN, M.; IMRAN, M.; SHEIKH, U.A.A.; SAIRA, I.

doi:10.1590/S0100-83582020380100040

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Literature Review • Planta daninha 38 • 2020 • https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-83582020380100040 copy

Cactus Pear: a Weed of Dry-Lands for Supplementing Food Security Under Changing Climate

Pera de Cacto: Uma Planta Daninha de Terras Secas para Suplementação de Segurança Alimentar sob Mudança Climática

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT:

Climate change characterized by global warming and frequent occurrence of prolonged drought spells has necessitated the cultivation of multi-purpose crops which are temperature and drought hardy. This paper evaluates the production potential of cactus pear [Opuntia ficus indica (L.) Mill.] as an alternate and low-cost forage crop along with the recent advancements in its cultivation and utilization as food crop for supplementing the food security of rapidly increasing populace. The botanical, ecological and physiological traits enabling cactus pear to survive under harsh agro-climatic conditions have been objectively elaborated. A variety of impediments hampering its wide-scale cultivation and future breeding needs for improving the biomass production and nutritional quality have also been identified. The potential of cactus pear to reduce desertification along with imparting sustainability to modern, commercial and profitable agriculture in dry-lands makes it an exceptional plant. Its annual biomass (stems called cladodes) yield of 40-50 t ha-1 with an appropriate agronomic management may sustain 5-6 adult cows supporting a family of 12-16 people. However, its slow growth, less fruit yield, poor nutritional quality of forage and the fear of cactus pear becoming a noxious weed restricts its popularized cultivation and thus demands a comprehensive genetic improvement and agronomic technology package.

Keywords:
Opuntia ficus indica; cladodes; emergency water supply; forage bank; Indian fig

Sociedade Brasileira da Ciência das Plantas Daninhas Departamento de Fitotecnia - DFT, Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV, 36570-000 - Viçosa-MG - Brasil, Tel./Fax::(+55 31) 3899-2611 - Viçosa - MG - Brazil
E-mail: rpdaninha@gmail.com

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[1] * Corresponding author: <aamir1801@yahoo.com>

Quality trait	Value	References
Ascorbic acid (mg 100 g^-1)	14-15	Zhao et al., 2011Zhao LY, Lan QJ, Huang ZC, Ouyang LJ, Zeng FH. Antidiabetic effect of a newly identified component of Opuntia dillenii polysaccharides. Phytomedicine. 2011;18:661-8.; Torres-Ponce et al., 2015Torres-Ponce RL, Morales-Corral D, Ballinas-Casarrubias ML, Nevarez-Moorillon GV. Nopal: semi-desert plant with applications in pharmaceuticals, food and animal nutrition. Rev Mex Cienc Agric. 2015;6(5):1129-42.; Mokoboki et al., 2009Mokoboki K, Kgama T. Evaluation of cactus pear fruit quality at Mara ADC South Africa. Afr J Agric Res. 2009;4(1):28-32.
Beta-carotene (mg 100 g^-1)	330-340	Rodrigues et al., 2016Rodrigues AM, Pitacas FI, Reis CMG, Blasco M. Nutritional value of Opuntia ficus indica cladodes from Portuguese ecotypes. Bulgarian J Agric Sci. 2016;22:40-5.; Cano et al., 2017Cano MP, Gómez-Maqueo A, García-Cayuela T, Welti-Chanes J. Characterization of carotenoid profile of Spanish Sanguinos and Verdal prickly pear (Opuntia ficus indica, spp.) tissues. Food Biochem. 2017;237:612-22.
Pectin (mg 100 g^-1)	5.50-15.00	Becerra-Jimenez and Rade-Cetto, 2012Becerra-Jiménez J, Rade-Cetto A. Effect of Opuntia streptacantha Lem. on alpha-glucosidase activity. J Ethnopharm. 2012;139:493-6.; Selmi et al., 2013Selmi H, Abdelwahed Z, Rouissi A, Jemmali B, Tayachi L, Amraoui MBD, et al. Preliminary nutritional characterization of some shrubs (Atriplex halimus, Acacia cyanophylla, Medicago arborea, Opuntia ficus indica) from the north of Tunisia. Int J Res Agric Food Sci. 2013;1:36-9.; Zegbe et al., 2014Zegbe JA, Serna-Pérez A, Mena-Covarrubias J. Mineral nutrition enhances yield and affects fruit quality of ‘Cristalina’ cactus pear. Sci Hortic. 2014;167:63-70.
Mucilage (mg 100 g^-1)	3.70-8.50	Gebresamuel and Gebre-Mariam, 2012Gebresamuel N, Gebre-Mariam T. Comparative physico-chemical characterization of the mucilages of two cactus pears (Opuntia sp.) obtained from mekelle, northern Ethiopia. J Biol Nonobiotechnol. 2012;3:79-86. ; Alimi et al., 2014; Soni et al., 2015Soni ML, Soni M, Yadava N. Evaluation for growth and yield performance of prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus indica (L.) Mill) accessions in hot arid region of Bikaner, India. Range Manage Agrof. 2015;36:19-25.
Antioxidant (Betanin and Isobetanin) (mg 100 g^-1)	80-90	Andrade-Ceto and Wiedenfeld, 2011Andrade-Ceto A, Wiedenfeld HH. Anti-hyperglycemic effect of Opuntia streptacantha Lem. J Ethnopharm. 2011;133:940-3.; Yahia and Mondragon, 2011Yahia EM, Mondragon C. Nutritional components and antioxidant capacity of ten cultivars and lines of cactus pear fruit (Opuntia spp.). Food Res Int. 2011;44:2311-8.; Fernandez-Lopez et al., 2010Fernandez-Lopez JÁ, Almela L, Obón JM, Castellar R. Determination of antioxidant constituents in cactus pear fruits. Plant Food Human Nutr. 2010;65(3):253-9.

Quality trait	Value	References
Energy (Kcal)	16-18	Sakly et al., 2014Sakly CMR, Rekik M, Salem IB, Lassoued N. Reproductive response of fat-tailed Barbarine ewes subjected to short-term nutritional treatments including spineless cactus (Opuntia ficus indica f. inermis) cladodes. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr. 2014;98:43-9.; Isaac 2016Isaac AA. Overview of Cactus (Opuntia ficus indica (L): A myriad of alternatives. Ethno Med. 2016;12:195-205.
Protein (g kg^-1)	1.32-1.38	Ben-Salem and Ennouri, 2013Ben-Salem H, Ennouri K. Nutritive value and palatability of cladodes of spiny cactus (Opuntia amyclae) or spineless cactus (Opuntia ficus indica f. inermis) measured on adapted and non-adapted goats. Acta Hortic. 2013;995:325-30.
Carbohydrates (g kg^-1)	3.30-3.35	Chiteva and Wairagau, 2013Chiteva R, Wairagau N. Chemical and nutritional content of Opuntia ficus indica (L.). Afr J Biotechnol. 2013;12:3309-12. ; Liguori et al., 2014Liguori G, Inglese P, Sortino G, Inglese G. Dry matter accumulation and seasonal partitioning in mature Opuntia ficus indica (L.) Mill. fruiting trees. Italian J Agron. 2014;9:44-7.
Dietary fiber (g kg^-1)	2.20-2.38	Bensadon et al., 2010Bensadón S, Hervert-Hernández D, Sáyago-Ayerdi SG, Goñi I. By-products of Opuntia ficus indica as a source of antioxidant dietary fiber. Plant Food Human Nutr. 2010;65(3):210-6.
Sodium (mg kg^-1)	21-24	Rojas-Molina et al., 2012
Calcium (mg kg^-1)	161-164	Ben-Salem and Ennouri, 2013Ben-Salem H, Ennouri K. Nutritive value and palatability of cladodes of spiny cactus (Opuntia amyclae) or spineless cactus (Opuntia ficus indica f. inermis) measured on adapted and non-adapted goats. Acta Hortic. 2013;995:325-30.
Iron (mg kg^-1)	0.59-0.62	Hahm et al., 2011Hahm SW, Park J, Son YS. Opuntia humifusa stems lower blood glucose and cholesterol levels in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Nutr Res. 2011;31:479-87.

Quality trait	Value	References
Organic matter (%)	81-87	Cordão et al., 2013Cordão MA, Bakke AO, Pereira GM, Silva AMA, Nóbrega GH, Campos ÉM, et al. Substitution of Pennisetum purpureum by Opuntia ficus indica and Mimosa tenuiflora in the diet of lambs. Rev Bras Saude Prod Anim. 2013;14(4):684-94.; Isaac, 2016Isaac AA. Overview of Cactus (Opuntia ficus indica (L): A myriad of alternatives. Ethno Med. 2016;12:195-205.
Dry matter (%)	7.5-11.5	Guevara et al., 2011Guevara JC, Felker P, Balzarini MG, Páez SA, Estevez OR, Paez MN, et al. Productivity, cold hardiness and forage quality of spineless progeny of the Opuntia ficus indica 1281 x O. lindheimerii 1250 cross in Mendoza plain, Argentina. J PACD. 2011;13:48-62.; Carreira et al., 2016Carreira VP, Padró J, Koch NM, Fontanarrosa P, Alonso I, Soto IM. Nutritional composition of opuntia sulphurea G. Don cladodes. Holestonia. 2016;19(19):38-45.
Digestibility (%)	70-82	Cordova-Torres et al., 2015
Protein (%)	3.6-8	Hernandez-Urbinola et al., 2010Hernández-Urbinola MI, Contreras-Padilla M, Pérez-Torrero E, Hernández-Quevedo G, Rojas-Molina JI, Cortes ME, et al. Study of nutritional composition of Nopal (Opuntia ficus indica cv. Rendonda) at different maturity stages. Open Nutr J. 2010;4:11-16.; Lima et al., 2016Lima GFC, Rego MMT, Dantas FDG, Lôbo RNB, Silva JGM, Aguiar EM. Morphological characteristics and forage productivity of irrigated cactus pear under different cutting intensities. Rev Caatinga. 2016;29(2):481-8.
Neutral detergent fiber (%)	23-27	Mokoboki et al., 2016Mokoboki K, Sebola N, Matlabe G. Effects of molasses levels and growing conditions on nutritive value and fermentation quality of Opuntia cladodes silage. J Anim Plant Sci. 2016;28:4488-95.
Acid detergent fiber (%)	12-16	Ramos et al., 2013Ramos AO, Ferreira MA, Véras ASC, Costa SBM, Conceição MG, Silva EC, et al. Different fiber sources in diets based on spineless cactus in sheep feeding. Rev Bras Saude Prod Anim. 2013;14:1-12.
Lignin content (%)	8-12	Cordova-Torres et al., 2015
Total ash (%)	10-25	Soni et al., 2015Soni ML, Soni M, Yadava N. Evaluation for growth and yield performance of prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus indica (L.) Mill) accessions in hot arid region of Bikaner, India. Range Manage Agrof. 2015;36:19-25.
Fat (%)	1-2	Meraz-Maldonado et al., 2012Meraz-Maldonado N. Quality of three sizes of prickly pear cactus stems (Opuntia ficus indica L. “Atlixco”). Afr J Agric Res. 2012;7(32):4512-20.
Non-fiber carbohydrates (%)	33.3-48.6	Ribeiro et al., 2010Ribeiro OEM, Silva NH, Lima Filho JL, Brito JZ, Silva MPC. Study of carbohydrates present in the cladodes of Opuntia ficus indica (fodder palm), according to age and season. Cienc Tecnol Alim. 2010;30(4):933-9.
Calcium (%)	8-50	Lima et al., 2016Lima GFC, Rego MMT, Dantas FDG, Lôbo RNB, Silva JGM, Aguiar EM. Morphological characteristics and forage productivity of irrigated cactus pear under different cutting intensities. Rev Caatinga. 2016;29(2):481-8.
Carotenoids (µg 100 g^-1)	29-31.3	Isaac, 2016Isaac AA. Overview of Cactus (Opuntia ficus indica (L): A myriad of alternatives. Ethno Med. 2016;12:195-205.
Ascorbic acid (mg g^-1)	13-14.5	Grunwaldt et al., 2015Grunwaldt JM, Guevara JC, Grünwaldt EG. Review of scientific and technical bibliography on the use of Opuntia spp. as forage and its animal validation. J PACD. 2015;17:13-32. ; Torres-Ponce et al., 2015Torres-Ponce RL, Morales-Corral D, Ballinas-Casarrubias ML, Nevarez-Moorillon GV. Nopal: semi-desert plant with applications in pharmaceuticals, food and animal nutrition. Rev Mex Cienc Agric. 2015;6(5):1129-42.
Gross energy (kcal kg^-1)	3000-4000	Fotius et al., 2014Fotius ACA, Ferreira MA, Bispo SV, Chaves Véras AS, Salla LE, Chagas JC. Behavior of sheep fed different sequences of ingredients in a spineless cactus (Nopalea cochenillifera Salm-Dyck) based-diet. Rev Bras Saúd Prod Anim. 2014;15:74-82.
Digestible energy (kcal kg^-1)	1800-2000	Mokoboki et al., 2016Mokoboki K, Sebola N, Matlabe G. Effects of molasses levels and growing conditions on nutritive value and fermentation quality of Opuntia cladodes silage. J Anim Plant Sci. 2016;28:4488-95.