[ad_1]
Photo credit: WVC 2006-12 – Algiers 01-3
Cactus is drought resistant
By Graham Knight
“Across much of West Texas, the iconic cactus — with its plum-like fruit and formidable spikes — is considered a nuisance at best and a downright dangerous to livestock at worst. But in much of the rest of the semiarid world — from Mexico and Chile to large swathes of India and South Africa, as well as Spain and Morocco — the prickly pear cactus (Opuntia cactus) is used for dyes, livestock feed and, increasingly, as a feedstock for anaerobic biogas production.”
This is a report from 2008. At that time, it was already widely used
General Introduction
Finding suitable plant varieties that can grow and produce in arid areas is a constant concern for most people who leave harsh environments. Drought is a natural and normal attribute of dry lands and arid and semi-arid climates. The South African livestock industry often suffers unusually large losses due to food shortages during droughts. As a result, there is a shortage of cheap feed, especially during droughts. Therefore, livestock farmers need to be better prepared to overcome drought conditions.
One way to mitigate the devastating effects of drought is to grow drought-tolerant fodder crops in arid and semi-arid regions.cactus) and other cactus plants have the extraordinary property of being able to absorb and store water in a fairly short period of time. These plants are able to survive with very little rainfall for a long period of time. This property makes them particularly useful, since periodic droughts are a phenomenon in many countries, especially in southern Africa.
Agricultural drought can be defined as rainfall below the median or mean, which seriously affects agricultural production over a large geographical area for several months to several years (WMO, 1975). Cacti (Opuntia) are now part of the natural landscape and agricultural systems in many parts of the world. In countries where environmental conditions are particularly favorable, such as South Africa and Australia, some species have even become exotic weeds.
In many different countries, cacti and their products have various uses (as food, feed, energy, medicine, cosmetics, agronomic products, etc.). It is indeed difficult to find a plant that is more widely distributed and more exploited, especially in the subsistence economies of arid and semi-arid regions, where the lack of natural and productive resources forces farmers to look for those few species that can survive and produce profitably. As a result, cacti have become an endless source of products and functions, first as a wild plant and later as a crop for subsistence and market-oriented agriculture (Barbera, 1995). This is due to the daily pattern of carbon dioxide (CO2) absorption and water loss, mainly at night when the plant opens its stomata. The absorbed CO2 is incorporated into the various products of photosynthesis, which occurs only in the presence of light. In fact, the stomata open at night when temperatures are lower and humidity is higher, and water loss is less (Noble, 1995). Therefore, the properties of the cactus plant make it an ideal “drought insurance”, as it is adapted to withstand severe drought conditions and still produce feed at a low cost.
Cactus fruit can also be used in agroforestry systems with legumes and annual crops. Cactus fruit can play a stabilizing role in agriculture as it prevents livestock losses during droughts, avoids overexploitation of natural pastures, increases farm income and alleviates poverty in rural areas (Potgieter, 1993). Rodriguez (1997) mentioned that cactus has traditionally been used as Fruits, vegetables and feed.
No spine Cactus fruit is valued by many farmers for its drought resistance, high biomass yield, good palatability, and adaptability to a variety of soil and climate zones.
The production of fruit from the spineless cactus for export has become an established and integral part of some agricultural enterprises in Limpopo Province. Currently, the expansion of this agricultural practice to other provinces in South Africa is the focus of research.
In addition to the income from fruit production, cactus also has great potential for job creation and small-scale agriculture. Fruit production requires annual pruning of the plant to remove disease-infected parts and facilitate fruit harvesting. This available fresh plant material is mainly used as feed for sheep and beef cattle. However, if the cactus material is preserved and stored as silage, it can be used more efficiently and strategically.
http://etd.uovs.ac.za/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-10092009-162148/unrestricted/McitekaH.pdf
[ad_2]
Source link
