Evaluation of spineless cactus germplasm for fodder purpose in semi-arid region of India

Spineless fodder cactus offers a great opportunity as non conventional fodder for semi arid farmers where growing regular fodder crops such as maize, sorghum and pearl millet in extreme condition is often not feasible. Fifteen spineless cactus accessions were evaluated based on above and below ground morphological markers and using cluster analysis to identify the best accessions. Based on the morphological traits like plant height (average, 202 vs 171 cm), number of cladode (average, 42.45 vs 41.7), biomass (average, 36.8 vs 32.9 kg), root surface area (average, 687.5 vs 390.7 cm2) and root length (average, 2541.4 vs 1551.9 cm), the accessions Blue Motto, Morado, Seedless Rocca Pulumba, Red Sen Cono, White Rocca Palumba, Zastron 49, Algerian, Yellow San Cono, Yellow Rocca Palumba and Yellow San Margloccorita Belic can be differentiated from White S Cono, Rolly Polly, White San Cono, Red Rocca Palumba and Trunzara Red Broul. Furthermore, comparative analysis (ANOVA) among the accessions revealed that higher plant height (Red Sen Cono; 266 cm and White Rocca Palumba; 265 cm), number of cladode (Red Sen Cono, 101), root surface area (Seedless Rocca Pulumba, 1473 cm2), root volume (Red Sen Cono; 7112 cm3, Morado; 6749 cm3 and 6516 cm3) and root length (Morado; 3295 cm, White Rocca Palumba; 3295 cm and Yellow San Cono; 3244 cm) was recorded compared to other tested accessions. All the studied morphological traits were positively correlated [r 0.33 to 0.90(p < 0.05)]. In conclusion, the study established that Red Sen Cono, Morado and White Rocca Palumba are the best accessions to grow in the semi-arid regions of India.