No abstract

The low forage productivity in the Brazilian semi-arid is linked to water scarcity and climatic conditions, these abiotic disturbances affect the development of livestock and the local economy. Seeking to circumvent the situation, the use of forage species adapted to climatic conditions is of paramount importance, such as forage cactus, a crop rich in nutrients, much appreciated by animals, but lacking in fiber and protein, making it necessary to use other forage plants like sorghum, millet, pigeon pea and forage sunflower, both species have high levels of fiber and protein, and with this, they complement each other and enable the production of more balanced diets for herds. However, the higher yield of crops is observed with the implementation of resilient practices such as irrigation, adoption of mulch, intercropping, which promotes more sustainable systems with high forage potential. In this review, the objective was to evaluate the use of different agronomic practices to increase the productivity and sustainability of forage cactus crops and crops of regional appeal to the Brazilian semi-arid region. It is concluded that the sustainable intensification of agricultural crops, through complementary irrigation, mulch, intercropping with forage cactus, and plant species adapted to the Brazilian semi-arid region, can promote an increase in forage production without adverse effects on ecosystems.

The use of irrigation can improve the productivity and nutritional quality of the forage cactus in environments with a water deficit, resulting in profit to the producer. The productive performance, bromatological composition and economic benefits of using irrigation were investigated in this study with forage cactus clones regulated deficit irrigation (RDI). The study was conducted in an experimental design of randomised blocks, in a factorial scheme with subdivided plots. The plots consisted of water regimes based on the crop evapotranspiration (ETc) (rainfed, 40, 80 and 120% ETc). The cactus clones ['Miúda' (MIU), 'Orelha de Elefante Mexicana' (OEM) and 'IPA Sertânia' (IPA)] comprised the subplots. The total number of cladodes per plant, the fresh and dry matter yields and the bromatological composition were evaluated. Economic viability was assessed using the net revenue and benefit to cost ratio (BCR). The irrigation depths did not increase the yield of the clones. The OEM clone showed 276 and 343% greater fresh and dry matter production, respectively, when compared to the IPA clone; however, when compared with the MIU clone, it was 63%, both on a fresh and dry matter production. The water regimes had no effect on the nutritional quality of the cactus. Only IPA showed no profit during the first cycle (BCR < 1). It can be concluded that planting one irrigated hectare with the OEM and MIU clones offer economic returns starting from the first production cycle (18 months).

No abstract

Objetivou-se neste estudo quantificar a evapotranspiração real (ETr) e máxima da cultura (ETc) e os coeficientes da cultura (Kc) do consórcio palma-sorgo. O experimento foi conduzido no município de Serra Talhada, PE. O delineamento usado foi em blocos ao acaso, envolvendo cinco lâminas de irrigação (0, 25, 50, 75 e 100% da evapotranspiração de referência - ETo), sob sistema de cultivo consorciado palma-sorgo. O clone de palma forrageira utilizado foi a Orelha de Elefante Mexicana (Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw.) e o cultivar de sorgo, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, a SF 15. O sorgo foi conduzido durante dois ciclos (planta e rebrota) compreendidos em um ciclo anual da palma. A quantificação da ETr e da ETc foi realizada através do resíduo do balanço de água no solo (BAS) a cada 14 dias, com a mensuração dos componentes hidrodinâmicos. As determinações da ETc e do Kc foram realizadas com base na lâmina de 75% da ETo. Os componentes do BAS foram submetidos à análise de regressão, sendo testados modelos polinomiais. Com exceção da variação do armazenamento de água no solo, os demais componentes hidrodinâmicos do solo cultivado sob sistema consorciado palma-sorgo respondem linearmente ao aumento de lâminas de irrigação. A evapotranspiração média diária do consórcio palma-sorgo é igual a 3,0 mm dia-1, independentemente da lâmina de irrigação. Os coeficientes do consórcio palma-sorgo são iguais a 0,40, 0,68, 0,90 e 0,52 durante as fases I, II, III e IV de emissão de cladódios.