ASSESSMENT OF FORAGE CACTUS PEAR VARIETIES FOR SEMI-ARID CONDITIONS OF NORTHEAST, BRAZIL

Forage cactus is the most important roughage for dairy cows in the semi-arid regions of Pernambuco, Alagoas and Paraiba in Northeast of Brazil covering about 300,000 ha. This study was conducted at four locations; three in Pernambuco and one in Alagoas, with the purpose of identifying forage cactus varieties more productive than the conventional varieties. The experiment included six varieties: ‘Gigante’ (T₁), ‘Redonda’ (T₂), ‘Miuda’ (T₃), ‘IPA-20’ clone (T₄), ‘Copena F₁’ (T₅) and ‘Copena V1’ (T₅), with four replications arranged in a complete randomized blocks design. The planting layout was 1.0 x 0.5 m, and 20 t/ha of cow manure were applied at planting. The plants were harvested two years after planting. Dry matter yield (t DMY ha^-1) of ‘IPA-20’ clone in this first crop was superior to all varieties tested. Average DMY and their significance values were: T₄ (21.36a), T₁ (17.95b), T₃ (17.42cb), T₂ (17.06cb), T₅ (15.11cb) and T₆ (14.38c). On the other hand, the green matter yield (GMY) of IPA-20 clone was also greater than all other varieties evaluated, as follows: T₄ (223.71a), T₂ (211.14a), T₁ (202.83a), T₃ (169.21b), T₅ (167.82b) and T₆ (162.71b).