Morphometry and yield of cactus pear ‘Gigante’ grown under different spacing and doses of organic fertilization

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the morphometry characteristics and yield of cactus pear ‘Gigante’ grown under different plant spacing and doses of organic fertilization with cattle manure applied to soil. The experiment was conducted in randomized block design in a factorial scheme, 3 x 4, four doses of cattle manure (0, 30, 60 and 90 Mg ha-1 yr-1), three plant spacings (1.0 x 0.5; 2.0 x 0.25 and 3.0 x 1.0 x 0.25 m), with three replications. At 600 days after planting, the length, width, number, thickness and height of the plant, area and area index of cladode and the production of dry matter were determined. The spacing and doses of manure influenced plant height and dry matter production. The length varied with the dose of manure. Interaction between spacing and dose of organic manure was significant for the thickness, number and area index of cladode. The treatments did not affect the width and area of cladodes. Increasing doses of manure promoted increase in plant height and length of the cladode. The maximum dry matter yield (21.8 Mg ha-1) is expected with application of 71.8 Mg ha-1 yr-1 of manure.