Morphometry and bromatology of forage cactus under irrigation frequencies in a semi-arid environment

This study evaluated the morphometry and bromatology of the forage cactus cultivar Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw., which was drip-irrigated every 7 and 28 days in a semi-arid environment. The experiment was conducted under field conditions at the National Institute of the Semi-arid Region (INSA), Campina Grande, PB, Brazil. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design, arranged in a 2 x 12 factorial scheme, with two irrigation frequencies (7 and 28 days) and 12 evaluation periods, resulting in 24 treatments distributed across four blocks over 12 months. Regrowth was conducted under a 2 x 5 arrangement, with two irrigation frequencies and five evaluation periods. The morphometric and bromatological characteristics of the forage cactus were evaluated 12 months after planting, and the morphometric characteristics 5 months after regrowth. The data were evaluated using analysis of variance, and the means were compared using Tukey’s test and the t-test at a 5% probability level, in SAS® (2002). The frequency of irrigation of 7 days yielded better morphometric and bromatological responses in the forage cactus. Irrigation at a low frequency and low water volume provides satisfactory forage cactus yields in a semi-arid environment.