Avaliação agronômica, bromatológica e cromossômica em clones de duas espécies de palma forrageira (Opuntia ficus-indica Mill. e Nopalea cochenillifera Salm – Dyck)

Abstract

The Brazilian semiarid region undergoes seasonal distribution of rainfall that is concentrated in short periods of the year, combined with shallow and stony soils with low organic matter content and ability to retain moisture. Given these limitations, has intensified in this region the use of cactus as a food source herd due to its high capacity to adapt to the climate of this region. This study evaluated for agronomic characteristics, chemical characteristics and chromosome 20 clones preselected by Oliveira 2010, forming part of the breeding program of cactus pear State University of Feira de Santana, in existence since December 2008. Two experiments were conducted. In the first containing palm girl (Nopalea cochenillifera & Salm Dyck) and the second with giant cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica Mill). The experimental design was randomized blocks with five replicates, the spacing was 0.5 x 1.0 m (x plant rows) and fertilization administered 30 t/ha-1 of manure. Data were submitted to ANOVA and Tukey test (p <0.01 and p <0.05). For agronomic characteristics, the tiny palm clones showed no significant differences between the observed means. For the giant cactus, clone 4:06 stood out compared to the other featuring the best averages for the number of cladodes per plant. In assessing chemical was observed on average 69.91% NDF, 13.09% ADF and 8.49% CP for Palm kid. For giant cactus values were 45.63% NDF, 18.20% ADF and 9.18% PB. Chromosome analysis revealed that the numbers ranged from 2n = 22 in the palm girl to 2n = 88 in the giant cactus, without occurrence of disploidias or aneupoidias plants analyzed. It was found that clones are very promising for breeding programs, and are recommended for cultivation in the region of Feira de Santana-BA.