Agro-morphological Characterization of Cactus Pear Accessions for Fodder Purposes in Arid Gujarat

Abstract

Belonging to the cactaceae family, Opuntia ficus-indica, popularly known as
prickly pear or cactus pear has been recommended as a drought-resilient arid crop. In
Kachchh, an arid zone in the western part of India, Opuntia ficus-indica has been increasing
cultivated as a fodder resource, mainly for its water-rich cladodes. In this regard, sixty-
two accessions of cactus pear were collected from ICAR-CAZRI, Kukma and ICARDA
and were maintained in ICAR-CAZRI, RRS-Bhuj. To conduct an agro-morphological
study aiming to understand the growth behaviour of these cactus accessions under
arid soils and the climate of Kachchh, nine phenotypic characteristics were recorded.
Based on the quantitative traits, the results of PCA showed three groups of cactus
accessions based on their growth performance. The best five accessions selected for
promotion in the Kachchh region were CAZRI Botanical Garden (CBG), No. 1270, No.
1271, No. 1308 and Bianca Macomer. Although CBG performs the best out of all these
accessions, proper care must be taken to avoid waterlogging in and around the root
zones of CBG. Therefore, cactus pear can be successfully cultivated as a fodder crop
in arid Kachchh and can address the unavailability of green fodder in dry seasons and
poor soils of Kachchh.