Spineless cactus as forage crop in Arabian Peninsula

Extreme aridity and limited renewable water resources characterize the seven Arabian Peninsula (AP) countries of Bahrain, Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Rapid economic development in the latter half of this century has resulted in significant changes to the traditional agricultural systems of the AP. Increased production has contributed to economic growth, but has often resulted in the degradation of natural resources. The issue of water resources and their use is fundamental to the sustainable development of the Arabian Peninsula.

The Cactaceae is an important family of plants, native to the American continent. Out of its 1,600 species, the genus Opuntia is the most relevant within the family for its important role in agriculture and land rehabilitation. Opuntia species are truly multipurpose crops. In addition to provide vitamin rich fruits, vegetables and feed, they represent also the source of the much valued red dye, extracted from insects thriving exclusively on Opuntia ficus-indica plants.

The environmental dimensionsSpineless Cactus have been described as the “camel of the plant world”, “living fodder bank” and “nature’s fodder bank”. Cacti can play a strategic role in agricultural and economic development, particularly in disadvantaged areas, in view of its opportunities for income generation, feed and food production and ecosystem conservation. Arabian Peninsula is among those regions that would most benefit from a better use of this crop, which would address its promotion through an organized and well targeted deployment of its genetic resources.In the AP, the area of irrigated forages is large and production usually continues throughout the year. This is especially important for water resources because during the long hot summer period crop water use is high. The total annual water requirement of perennial forages is therefore very high, resulting in very large

volumes of water being applied to maintain full forage production. A potential solution to water and fodder shortage problems is developing production based on cactus species, because they are already well adapted to harsh environments prevailing in the AP region. Water use for irrigated forage may be reduced, compared to conventional forage species, by using cactus species having superior water use efficiency coefficients. Conventional species are likely to suffer significantly as the result of reductions irrigation, whereas cacti are more tolerant.Many reasons may account for the great interest devoted to cacti. The multipurpose use of this plant species and its ability to grow in harsh environments are the main reasons. Cacti are drought tolerant and are efficient in preventing long-term degradation of ecologically fragile environments. They generate important fodder for livestock raised under arid zones and numerous varieties produce quality fruits for human consumption. Cacti can grow in severely degraded soils, which are inadequate for other crops. Opuntia spp. has a great capacity to withstand severe dry conditions and are ideal for responding to global environmental changes. Their root characteristics avoid wind and rain erosion, encouraging their growth in degraded areas.

In contrast to other fodder plant species, spineless cactus, thanks to their high water use efficiency and their aboveground productivity, maintain their high productivities in regions characterized by water scarcity. In Tunisia under rainfed conditions and in absence of fertilizer application, spineless cactus yields vary between 20 and 100 tons of cladodes per year, for an average rainfall of 150 and 400 mm per year, respectively. The high productivity of cactus under harsh conditions is mainly due to its CO2 fixation, which enables it to convert water to dry matter more efficiently than most forage crops. Unlike other forages, cactus contains high levels of water soluble and non-fiber carbohydrates (NFC), and low concentrations of cell wall fibers and crude protein (CP). Opuntia species used for animal feeding are abundant, easy and cheap to grow, palatable and can withstand prolonged droughts. Such characteristics render these species a potentially important

The feeding value of cactus can be complemented and improved by using local agricultural by-products for preparing feed blocks. Feed blocks are made using formulas with different levels of wide range of locally available agro-industrial by-products to suit the animals’ taste buds. Feed-block technology is simple and does not require sophisticated equipment. Manufacturing and handling is also easy and doable at the farm level.

In line with the collection of germplasm (exotic) for rangeland rehabilitation and as alternative forage crop, a number of accessions (38) of spineless cactus were introduced by APRP into Oman from Tunisia, early February 2005. The Sultanate of Oman selected as the focal point from which the introduction of spineless cactus extended to other Arabian Peninsula countries. Several studies on the production performances and adaptation to the Arabian Peninsula agro ecological conditions were conducted in Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen on the 38 spineless cactus accessions as well as some local accessions. Even if the results of the evaluation of the spineless cactus accessions slightly differ from country to country according to the local agro ecological conditions of the planting sites, some accessions presented higher performances in establishment and growth as well as in fruit production. ICARDA-APRP, in collaboration with NARES of AP countries, supports number of growers to adopt the suitable spineless cactus accessions as a forage crops. By December 2013, spineless cactus was adopted by 32 growers in all the Arabian Peninsula.

Introduce to the region

feed supplement for livestock, particularly during drought periods and seasons of feed scarcity. Most of Opuntia plant biomass is pad material rather than fruits and it can be fed to livestock as fresh forage or stored as silage for later feeding.

ICARDA-APRPicdub@eim.ae

High quality forage crop for dry areas

ICARDA-APRP is financially supported by

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