Abstract

LOPEZ COLLADO, Catalino Jorge et al. Growth of Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. in central Veracruz. Rev. Mex. Cienc. Agríc [online]. 2013, vol.4, n.spe5, pp.1005-1014. ISSN 2007-0934.

With less than 1 000 mm of precipitation existing in Angostillo, cacti are an alternative crop to serve as a complement in agriculture and local economy. The objective was to evaluate the growth of four varieties of cactus (Opuntiaficus-indica) (L.) Mill.: nopal de verdura (ndv), nopal de tuna verde (ntv), nopal de tuna roja (ntr) and nopal de tuna sin semilla (NTSS) in the community of Angostillo, Paso de Ovejas, Veracruz, Mexico. We conducted an experiment with a randomized block design, with five randomized replications and four treatments for all the varieties. Growth was measured in length, width and thickness of cladodes. The statistical analysis was done in SAS, version 9.1. We determined the percentage of sprouting of cladodes and color of the plant using the Munsell color chart for vegetables. There were statistical differences (p≤ 0.05) between varieties in length, width and thickness of cladodes. The average length of the cladode was 6.82 cm for ntv, 6.66 cm ndv, 7.78 cm ntr and, 6.03 cm for NTSS. In cladode width it was 1.4 cm for ntv, 1.6 cm ndv, 1.8 cm ntr and, 3.4 cm for NTSS. In thickness, ntv had on average 0.3 cm, 0.3 cm ndv, 0.5 cm ntr and, 0.3 cm for NTSS. All of them had buds; the variety ndv had the higher value, 43.5%. The color turned out to be for ntv 5GY 5/8, ndv 7.5GY6/2, ntr 7.5GY5/4 and NTSS 2.5GY6/8.

Keywords : Opuntia spp.; vegetative growth; introduced.