Performance of edible cactus (Opuntiaficus-indica) in saline environments
![](/public/icon/gor.png)
![](/public/icon/pdf.png)
Keywords:
Alkalinity, Fertilizer, Irrigation, Opuntiaficus-indica, Planting methods, SalinityAbstract
Edible cactus [Opuntiaficus-indica (L.) Mill.] has been used as fruit, vegetable, forage and wide range of commercial purposes in arid regions. It has high efficiency to produce biomass per unit water use due to specialized photosynthetic mechanism. Owing to its tolerance to low input and adverse conditions, it has ample scope for introduction and cultivation in arid and saline parts of world. A field experiment was conducted to standardise planting techniques and irrigation requirements of cactus at Hisar (Haryana) during 2008-2010. Cactus clones 1270, 1271, 1280 and 1287 were planted on ridges, flat beds and furrows with no irrigation, irrigations at one month and two months interval using saline ground water. Raised bed plantations resulted in better survival and plant height. The survival was higher without irrigation but the plant height was higher with monthly irrigation. Clone 1270 sprouted earliest and highest survival was recorded in clone 1271. To assess salinity and alkalinity tolerance, clone 1280, was planted at Karnal. Three soil salinity (ECe) levels and four pH levels were maintained along with no fertilizer, NPK and FYM. This clone was found to tolerate moderate salinity (52 mM) but sensitive to pH and had negligible growth at pH 9.8. Application of NPK and FYM helped in mitigating the effects of salt stress. Raised bed planting was advantageous and once established, Opuntia can sustain saline groundwater irrigation for optimum growth and production.Downloads
References
Cony M A, Trione S O and Guevara J C.2006.Macrophysiological responses of two forage Opuntia spp. to salt stress. Journal of the Professional Association for Cactus Development 8: 52–62.
EspinarJ L, Garcia L V and Clemente L.2005. Seed storage conditions change the germination pattern of clonal growth plants in Mediterranean salt marshes. American Journal of Botany 92: 1 094–1 101. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.92.7.1094
Fisher R A. 1949. The Design of Experiments. Oliver and Boyd Ltd, Edinburg.
Jackson M L. 1986. Advanced Soil Chemical Analysis. Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi.
Lahsasni S, Kouhila M, Mahrouz M and Fliyou M. 2003. Moisture adsorption-desorption isotherms of prickly pear cladode (Opuntiaficus-indica) at different temperatures. Energy Conversion and Management 44: 923–36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0196-8904(02)00094-8
Munns R and Tester M. 2008.Mechanisms of salinity tolerance. Annual Review of Plant Biology 651–81. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.arplant.59.032607.092911
Murillo-Amador B, Garcia-Hernandez J L, Avila-Serrano N Y, Orona-Castillo I, Troyo-Dieguez E, Nieto-Garibay A, Ruiz- Espinoza F H and Zamora-Salgado S. 2005. A multivariate approach to determine the effect of doses and sources of N, P, and K in Opuntiaficus-indica (L.) Mill. Journal of the Professional Association for Cactus Development 7: 110–24.
Nerd A, Karadi A and Mizrahi Y. 1991.Salt tolerance of prickly pear cactus (Opuntiaficus-indica). Plant and Soil 137: 201–7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00011198
Nobel P S, Luttge U, Heuer S and Ball E. 1984. Influence of applied NaCl on crassulacean acid metabolism and ionic levels in a cactus, Cereus-validus. Plant Physiology 75: 799–803. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.75.3.799
Nobel P S and Zutta B R. 2008. Temperature tolerances for stems and roots of two cultivated cacti, Nopaleacochenillifera and Opuntiarobusta: Acclimation, light, and drought. Journal of Arid Environments 72: 633–42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2007.08.005
Ochoa-Alfaro A E, Rodriguez-Kessler M, Perez-Morales M B, Delgado-Sanchez P, Cuevas-Velazquez C L, Gomez-Anduro G, Jimenez-Bremont J F. 2012. Functional characterization of an acidic SK3 dehydrin isolated from an Opuntiastreptacanthac DNA library. Planta 235: 565–78. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-011-1531-8
Page A L, Miller R H, Kenney D R. 1982. Method of Soil Analysis. Parts I and II. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wisconsin.
Pimienta-Barrios E, del Castillo-Aranda M E G and Nobel P S. 2002. Ecophysiology of a wild platyopuntia exposed to prolonged drought. Environmental and Experimental Botany 47: 77–86. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0098-8472(01)00114-9
Puri A N. 1930.A new method for estimating total carbonates in soils. Improvements in Agricultural Research. Pusa Bulletin No. 206, p 7.
Singh G. 2006. An overview of cactus pear research and development in India. (In) Proceedings of the Vth International Congress on Cactus Pear and Cochineal, International Society Horticultural Science, Leuven 1, pp 43–50.
Singh G. 2003. General Review of Opuntias in India.Journal of the Professional Association for Cactus Development 5: 30–46.
Singh G and Felker P. 1998. Cactus: new world foods. Indian Farming April: 26–31.
Singh R B, Minhas P S, Chuahan C P S and Gupta R K. 1992.Effect of high salinity and SAR waters on salinisation, sodication and yields of pearl-millet and wheat. Agricultural Water Management. 21: 93–105. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-3774(92)90085-B
Snyman H A. 2006. Root distribution with changes in distance and depth of two-year-old cactus pears Opuntiaficus-indica and O robusta plants. South African Journal of Botany 72: 434–41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2005.12.008
Downloads
Submitted
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2014 The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-sa/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The copyright of the articles published in The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences is vested with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, which reserves the right to enter into any agreement with any organization in India or abroad, for reprography, photocopying, storage and dissemination of information. The Council has no objection to using the material, provided the information is not being utilized for commercial purposes and wherever the information is being used, proper credit is given to ICAR.