ISSN 1807-1929

Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental

v.20, n.12, p.1083-1088, 2016
Campina Grande, PB, UAEA/UFCG – http://www.agriambi.com.br

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v20n12p1083-1088

Nutrition and yield of ‘Gigante’ cactus pear cultivated

with different spacings and organic fertilizer
Paulo E. R. Donato1, Sérgio L. R. Donato1, João A. Silva1,
Aureliano J. V. Pires2, Raul C. C. Rosa3 & Aureluci A. Aquino1
1
Instituto Federal Baiano. Guanambi, BA. E-mail: paulo.donato@guanambi.ifbaiano.edu.br (Corresponding author); sergio.donato@guanambi.ifbaiano.edu.br;
joao.silva@guanambi.ifbaiano.edu.br; aureluci.aquino@guanambi.ifbaiano.edu.br
2
Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia. Itapetinga, BA. E-mail: aurelianojvp@yahoo.com.br
3
Embrapa Agrobiologia. Seropédica, RJ. E-mail: raul.rosa@embrapa.br

Key words: ABSTRACT

Opuntia The objective of this study was to evaluate the levels of macronutrients in cladodes and yield
plant arrangement of cactus pear, cv. ‘Gigante’, cultivated with different cattle manure doses and plant spacings.
natural fertilization The experimental design was randomized blocks in 4 x 3 factorial, with three replicates. The
nutrients treatments consisted of the combination of four doses of cattle manure (0, 30, 60 and 90
Mg ha-1 year-1) with three spacings (1.00 x 0.50, 2.00 x 0.25 and 3.00 x 1.00 x 0.25 m). The
contents of macronutrients and dry matter production of cladodes were assessed 600 days
after planting. The plant spacings influenced the contents of nitrogen, potassium, calcium
and sulfur in the cladodes of ‘Gigante’ cactus pear and there was interaction between
spacing and manure dose for magnesium contents. The increment in cattle manure doses
increases the contents of phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium and sulfur in the cladodes. The
maximum dry matter production of cladodes is estimated at 21.8 Mg ha-1 year-1 at a dose
of 71.8 Mg ha-1 year-1 of manure.

Palavras-chave: Nutrição e produtividade de palma forrageira ‘Gigante’

Opuntia
arranjo de plantas cultivada com diferentes espaçamentos e adubação orgânica
fertilização natural
nutrientes RESUMO
O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os teores de macronutrientes nos cladódios e o
rendimento da palma forrageira ‘Gigante’ cultivada com diferentes doses de esterco
bovino e espaçamentos de plantio. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos ao acaso
no esquema fatorial 4 x 3, com três repetições. Os tratamentos constaram da combinação
de quatro doses de esterco bovino (0; 30; 60 e 90 Mg ha-1 ano-1) com três espaçamentos
(1,00 x 0,50, 2,00 x 0,25 e 3,00 x 1,00 x 0,25 m). Aos 600 dias após o plantio foram avaliados
os teores de macronutrientes e a produção de massa seca de cladódios. Os espaçamentos
influenciaram os teores de nitrogênio, potássio, cálcio e enxofre nos cladódios da palma
forrageira ‘Gigante’ havendo interação entre espaçamento e dose para os teores de magnésio.
O aumento das doses de esterco bovino eleva os teores de fósforo, nitrogênio, potássio e
enxofre nos cladódios. A máxima produção de massa seca de cladódios é estimada em 21,8
Mg ha-1 ano-1 com dose de 71,8 Mg ha-1 ano-1 de esterco.

Ref. 028-2016 – Received 21 Mar, 2016 • Accepted 18 Oct, 2016 • Published 31 Oct, 2016
1084 Paulo E. R. Donato et al.

Introduction plot area was 64 m2 (16 x 4 m), with evaluation area of 16 m2

(8 x 2 m). The same population density of 20,000 plants ha-1
Cactus pear is a xerophyte that is essential as forage was maintained in all plant spacings.
reserve in semi-arid regions. Due to its succulence and CAM The area was subsoiled, plowed, harrowed and furrowed
physiology, it maintains the photosynthetic activity even after according to the plant spacings. The cattle manure was applied
five months of drought (Zañudo-Hernández et al., 2010); in the planting furrow and incorporated to the soil. The manure
however, its cultivation for long period requires the adoption showed the following composition: macronutrients Ca, Mg,
of sustainable practices. K, P, N and S, respectively 1.7, 0.2, 2.5, 4.7, 5.2 and 2.3 g kg-1;
The sustainability of agriculture, especially in the Brazilian micronutrients B, Cu, Zn, Mn and Fe, respectively 2.1, 45.2,
semi-arid region, is dependent on maintenance of adequate 200.5, 391.8 and 1,932.4 mg kg-1; pH of 7.42 and density of 0.38
levels or incorporation of organic matter into the soil (Fialho et g cm-3. The seedlings were selected and placed in the shade for
al., 2013). The supply of organic materials to the soil improves 15 days to heal to cuts and later planted, by burying about 50%
its chemical, physical and biological properties. Additionally, in the soil. Weeds were controlled through manual weeding.
their application results in slow release of nutrients compared
Samples for the determination of contents of nutrients
with soluble mineral formulations and can promote
and dry matter were collected at 600 days after planting. The
suppression of pathogens (Geense et al., 2015). The increment
samples were collected in cladodes from the middle of the
in the cattle manure doses applied to the soil improves the
plants using a hole saw attached to a drilling machine, in a total
structural characteristics of the cactus pear (Donato et al.,
of 10 samples of 25 g in each treatment, accounting for 250
2014b) and improves its nutritive value (Donato et al., 2014a).
g of green matter (Donato et al., 2014b). After the collection,
Cactus pear plant spacing has been studied in order to find an
the material was sliced and dried in an oven at 60 ºC for 72
arrangement of plants that best suits the production systems
h and then ground in a Wiley-type mill with 1.0-mm-mesh
(Oliveira Júnior et al., 2009). According to Silva et al. (2014)
sieve, packed, identified and sent to the Laboratory of Soil
and Cavalcante et al. (2014), this species increases the yield
of the EPAMIG of Northern Minas Gerais, for the analytical
with higher plant density.
procedures. Nitrogen (N) was determined through the Kjeldahl
The chemical analysis of the plant tissue is complementary
method, while phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sulfur (S),
to the soil chemical analysis and to the visual diagnosis and
calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) were determined through
reflects the dynamics of nutrients in the soil-plant system. Thus,
nitric-perchloric digestion, expressed in dag kg-1.
this study aimed to evaluate the contents of macronutrients in
the cladodes and the yield of ‘Gigante’ cactus pear cultivated The dry matter was determined according to Silva &
with different cattle manure doses and plant spacings. Queiroz (2009). Harvest was performed preserving the three
primary cladodes for future regrowth. After weighing, the
green matter production was calculated and the dry mass
Material and Methods production (DMP) was obtained as a function of water content
The experiment was carried out at the Federal Institute of in the cladodes.
Bahia, Campus of Guanambi-BA, Brazil (14° 17’ 44” S; 42° The data were subjected to analysis of variance and, when
41’ 39” W; 525 m). The cactus pear was planted in September there was significant effect by F test, the means of the different
2009 in a dystrophic Red Yellow Latosol (EMBRAPA, 2013). spacings were compared by Tukey test at 0.05 probability level,
The rainfall along the cultivation, from September 2009 to June while regression analyses were applied for the different doses
2011, was equal to 1,393.29 mm, 611.24 mm from September of cattle manure, according to the follow-up analysis of the
2009 to April 2010 and 782.05 mm from October 2010 to interaction between the factors. The models were selected
April 2011. based on the biological phenomenon, significance of the
Before soil preparation, samples were collected in the layer regression mean square, magnitude of R2 and adjusted R2, and
of 0-0.2 m and subjected to chemical analysis, which showed on the significance of the regression parameters by the t-test.
the following mean results: pH in water 5.4; available P 16.33
mg dm-³; 0.29, 2.02, 0.90, 0.16 and 0.29 cmolc dm-³, respectively Results and Discussion
of exchangeable K, Mg, Al and Na; 3.21 cmolc dm-³ of sum of
bases (S); 3.36 cmolc dm-³ of CEC at soil pH; 1.69 cmolc dm-³ The doses of cattle manure influenced the P content in the
of H + Al and 5.50 cmolc dm-³ of CEC at pH 7.0 (T); 63.14% cladode tissues regardless of the spacing used. The P contents
of base saturation (V); 4.86% of Al saturation (m); 0.67% of increased linearly in response to the applied doses of manure
exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP); 14.67 g dm-³ of organic (Figure 1A), varying from 0.12 dag kg-1, for the treatment
matter; 0.36, 17.61, 1.42 and 6.32 mg dm-³, respectively of Cu, without manure, to 0.24 dag kg-1, corresponding to the dose
Mn, Zn and Fe extracted by Mehlich-1. of 90 Mg ha-1 year-1 of manure. Therefore, it represents an
The experimental design was randomized blocks in a 4 x 3 increment of 100% in the P content in the tissue.
factorial scheme with three replicates, totaling 36 experimental According to Dubeux Júnior et al. (2010), the increase in
units. The treatments consisted of four doses of organic P fertilization leads to greater absorption and accumulation
fertilization, cattle manure (0, 30, 60 and 90 Mg ha-1 year-1) in the dry matter of cactus forage. Dubeux Júnior et al. (2006)
and three spacings (1.00 x 0.50, 2.00 x 0.25 and 3.00 x 1.00 x found low responses to P in the production of ‘Gigante’ cactus
0.25 m). The total area of the experiment was 2,304 m2 and the forage and positive responses only when the contents of P

R. Bras. Eng. Agríc. Ambiental, v.20, n.12, p.1083-1088, 2016.

 Nutrition and yield of ‘Gigante’ cactus pear cultivated with different spacings and organic fertilizer 1085

A. B.
0.30 1.50

N content (dag kg -1)

P content (dag kg -1)

0.20 1.25

0.10 1.00

y = 0.127 + 0.001344x y = 1.181889 + 0.002748**x

R2 = 0.98 R2 = 0.98

0.00 0.75
C.
0 30 60
Manure doses (Mg ha-1 year-1)
90
D.
0 30 60
Manure doses (Mg ha-1 year-1)
90
5.00 0.25

4.50 0.20
K content (dag kg -1)

S content (dag kg -1)

4.00 0.15

3.50 0.10

3.00 0.05
y = 3.056222 + 0.016930**x y = 0.137111 + 0.000904**x
R2 = 0.93 R2 = 0.89
2.50 0.00
E.
0 30 60
Manure doses (Mg ha-1 year-1)
90
F.
0 30 60
Manure doses (Mg ha-1 year-1)
90

4.00 25.0

22.5
3.50
Dry matter content (dag kg -1)
Ca content (dag kg-1)

20.0
3.00

17.5

2.50
15.0

2.00
y = 3.486222 + 0.024311**x - 0.000211*x2 12.5 y = 11.8874 + 0.275944**x - 0.001922*x2
R2 = 0.91 R2 = 0.98

1.50 10.0
0 30 60 90 0 30 60 90
Manure doses (Mg ha-1 year-1) Manure doses (Mg ha-1 year-1)
* Significant at 0.05 ** Significant at 0.01 by the t-test
Figure 1. Mean contents (dag kg-1) of phosphorus-P (A), nitrogen-N (B), potassium-K (C), sulfur-S (D) and calcium-Ca
(E) and dry matter production (F) at 600 days after planting in cladodes of cactus pear cultivated at different spacings
and cattle manure doses

available in the soil were lower than 10 mg kg-1. However, and their contents in plant tissues, as observed in Table 1. This
the P content in the soil before planting, 16.6 mg kg-1, was is due to the competition for nutrients between the roots and is
higher than 10 mg kg-1 in the present study, the addition of related to the mobility of the nutrients in the soil, because, as
P via manure induced greater absorption of this element and the plant population increases or the distance between plants
its accumulation in the cladodes. This behavior is expected, decreases, the competition of the roots for nutrients of greater
because, as reported by Souza et al. (2006) and Novais et al. mobility in the soil increases, such as N and Ca, which are
(2007), the addition of organic materials to the soil reduces preferentially transported by mass flow or even for somewhat
P adsorption capacity, increases the available content and mobile nutrients, such as K and S. However, for nutrients
promotes greater mobility of soluble organic forms of P in considered as immobile, preferentially transported through
the soil profile, compared with the applications in the form of diffusion and of low diffusion coefficient, such as P and Zn,
mineral fertilizers. the competition will only occur in small or minimum intensity
Differences for the contents of N, K, S and Ca in cladode and only in the cases in which there is inter-root competition,
tissues were observed independently between spacings (Table i.e., in the regions where the roots of two neighboring plants
1) and between manure doses (Figures 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E), meet (Novais et al., 2007).
without interactions. The N content in the cladode tissues of cactus pear was
The use of different planting densities, or even the plant higher at the spacing of 2.0 x 0.25 m compared with 1.0 x 0.5
arrangement in the area, can alter the absorption of nutrients m. However, Alves et al. (2007) did not observe differences

R. Bras. Eng. Agríc. Ambiental, v.20, n.12, p.1083-1088, 2016.

1086 Paulo E. R. Donato et al.

Table 1. Mean contents of macronutrients (dag kg-1) in greater absorption is due to the higher availability of nutrients
cladodes of cactus pear and dry mass production (DMP) from the manure, because the contents of P and K increase
at 600 days after planting, cultivated at different spacings with the addition of manure, reduce the acidity and make
Spacing Nitrogen Potassium Sulfur Calcium DMP P more available (Caetano & Carvalho, 2006). This fact was
(m) dag kg-1 corroborated in the present study, in which the soil pH at 600
1.0 x 0.5 1.2 b 3.2 c 0.16 b 2.8 b 21.5 a days after planting was equal to 5.3 for the non-fertilized area
2.0 x 0.25 1.4 a 4.3 a 0.19 a 3.4 a 18.6 a
3.0 x 1.0 x 0.25 1.3 ab 3.9 b 0.17 ab 2.9 ab 14.7 b
and to 6.0, 6.1 and 6.2 for the areas that received 30, 60 and
CV (%) 9.2 10.0 11.7 15.7 18.1 90 Mg ha year-1 of manure, respectively. Silva et al. (2007) also
Means followed by the same lowercase letter in the column do not differ significantly by Tukey reported increase in the contents of P and N with the addition
test at 0.05 probability level. CV – Coefficient of variation of manure.
The cactus pear cultivated at spacing of 2.0 x 0.25 m
in N content for different spacings and Silva et al. (2012)
showed higher S contents (Table 1) in the tissues, compared
observed differences with mineral fertilizations, regardless of
with the spacing of 1.0 x 0.5 m. The S contents (Figure 1D)
the spacing. According to this, a lower N content would be
in the cladodes increased linearly with the applied manure
expected in the cladode tissues of the cactus pear cultivated at
spacings in which plants are closer along the row and, therefore, doses, regardless of the plant spacings. The values oscillated
the competition is higher, such as 2.0 x 0.25 m. However, lower from 0.13 dag kg-1, without the addition of manure, to 0.22
N contents were observed for the spacing in which plants are dag kg-1, at the dose of 90 Mg ha-1 year-1. Silva et al. (2012)
more distant, 1.0 x 0.5 m, which can be justified by the fact that, observed variations in S content from 0.12 dag kg-1 to 0.61
at the moment of fertilization, the cattle manure was distributed dag kg-1 at 620 days after planting, due to the application of
on the side of the planting rows. Thus, for the spacing of 1.0 formulations containing this macronutrient. The increase in
x 0.5 m, the manure was distributed in 16 plant rows and at pH due to the addition of manure increases the availability of
the spacing of 2.0 x 0.25 m, the same amount of manure was SO4 to the plants, for reducing its adsorption and increasing the
applied in eight plant rows, promoting twice the concentration release of the adsorbed compound, mineralization of organic
of manure on the side of the plant row at this spacing, compared S (Casagrande et al., 2003) and its mobility in the soil. The
with 1.0 x 0.5 m. Therefore, a higher concentration of nutrients mineralization of the S from organic compounds is inverse
in the soil allowed greater absorption and a probable higher to their C/S ratio, being fast in cattle manures, which justifies
accumulation in the cladodes. the observed results.
The N contents increased linearly as a function of the The plant spacings influenced Ca contents (Table 1) in the
manure doses (Figure 1B), regardless of the spacings. It is cladodes, regardless of the manure dose. The Ca content in the
estimated an increment of 16.6% in the N content in the cladodes at the spacing of 1.0 x 0.5 m was lower in comparison
cladodes, 5.5% for every 30 Mg ha-1 year-1 of manure added to the spacing of 2.0 x 0.25 m, which was previously justified,
to the soil, which corresponds to 130 kg ha-1 year-1 of N. The differing from the results obtained by Alves et al. (2007), who
increase in N content in the cactus pear with N fertilization observed no differences for the Ca contents in cladodes of
has been reported in the literature (Dubeux Júnior et al., 2006; cactus pear as a function of the spacings.
Silva et al., 2013). The increase in P and N contents in the The Ca contents (Figure 1E) evaluated at 600 days after
cladodes of cactus pear due to the increment in the manure planting in cladode tissues of cactus pear varied quadratically
doses applied to the soil is expected, because approximately with the applied doses of cattle manure, regardless of the plant
95% of soil N is associated with the organic matter and 50% of P spacing. The fitted model estimates that the manure dose that
in the biosphere is found in organic forms (Novais et al., 2007). led to the lowest Ca contents in the cladode tissues was equal
The K contents in the cladodes of cactus pear differed to 57.6 Mg ha-1 year-1, reaching the minimum content of 2.8
between the plant spacings (Table 1). The highest value dag kg-1.
occurred in cactus cultivated at 2.0 x 0.25 m and the lowest There were interactions between plant spacings and cattle
value occurred in plants at spacing of 1.0 x 0.5 m. Silva et al. manure doses applied to the soil for the Mg contents (Figure 2)
(2012) claim that the K contents in the cladodes, with mean in cladodes of cactus pear evaluated at 600 days after planting.
of 2.49 dag kg-1, did not differ between spacings when 100 kg The mean Mg content in the present study was similar to those
ha-1 of K2O were added. In the present study, the highest and reported by Silva et al. (2012) and Alves et al. (2007). However,
lowest contents of K and N in the cladodes occurred for the Alves et al. (2007) observed no effects of plant spacing. The
same spacings. Mg contents (Figure 2) showed a quadratic response to the
According to the fitted model, the K content (Figure 1C) of cattle manure doses applied to the soil at the spacings of 1.0 x
3.0 dag kg-1 in non-fertilized cladode increased to 4.6 dag kg-1 0.5 m and 3.0 x 1.0 x 0.25 m, while there was model fit for the
at the manure dose of 90 Mg ha-1 year-1, incrementing by 1.6 spacing of 2.0 x 0.25 m.
dag kg-1, which is equivalent to 0.5 dag kg-1 of K for every 30 The fitted models estimate that the manure doses that
Mg ha-1 year-1 of manure applied to the soil. This manure dose promoted the highest Mg contents in cladodes of cactus pear
corresponds to 187 kg ha-1 year-1 of K. With the application were 47.6 and 58.3 Mg ha-1 year-1 for the spacing of 3.0 x 1.0 x
of 166 kg ha-1 of K, Dubeux Júnior et al. (2010) found K 0.25 m in double row and 1.0 x 0.5 m in single row. The contents
content of 3.8 dag kg-1 in cladodes and observed increment correspond to 1.18 and 1.13 dag kg-1, respectively.
in the K contents (from 4.3 to 5.9 dag kg-1) in relation to the The mean dry matter production (DMP) of the cactus pear
K doses applied to the soil (from 0 to 664 kg ha-1 of K). The differed between plant spacings (Table 1) and between cattle

R. Bras. Eng. Agríc. Ambiental, v.20, n.12, p.1083-1088, 2016.

 Nutrition and yield of ‘Gigante’ cactus pear cultivated with different spacings and organic fertilizer 1087

2. The increase in cattle manure doses in ‘Gigante’ cactus

pear increases the contents of phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium
and sulfur in the cladodes.
3. The maximum production of cladode dry matter is
estimated at 21.8 Mg ha-1 year-1 with the manure dose of 71.8
Mg ha-1 year-1.

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