VEGETATIVE GROWTH OF Opuntia ficus-indica IN DIFFERENT PLANTING SPACING

The objective of this paper was to evaluate the vegetative growth, the chemical composition, the rain use efficiency and to determine the green and dry matter production of cactus forage cv. Italian (Opuntia ficus-indica Mill.), depending on planting spacing. The research was carried out at (EMEPA), in Soledade-Pb, from April 2007 to June 2008. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, with four repetitions. In order to evaluate crop under the four planting spacing (1 x 1; 1 x 0.5; 2 x 1; 2 x 0.5 m) we measured plant height, number of cladodes per plant, and the order, length, width, perimeter, thickness and area of cladodes. There were no treatment effects (P > 0.05) on any of the growth variables evaluated, except for plant height and cladode width. The cactus pear showed low levels of fibrous carbohydrates, and planting spacing influenced levels of neutral detergent fiber. The phytomass production per area and rain use efficiency by cactus pear increased with increases in planting densities, with higher values observed for the spacing of 1 x 0.5 m; resulting in a greater quantity of forage produced per area and per unit of rain.