Interação entre adubação fosfatada e espaçamento no cultivo da palma forrageira (Opuntia fícus-indica (L.) Mill) no Estado da Paraíba.

Abstract

The spineless cactus stands as one of the most important strategic forage resources for animal feed in Brazilian semi-arid, due to their morpho-physiological characteristics, their high productivity and nutritional quality food for cattle, sheep and goats. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of phosphate fertilization versus plant spacing on the chemical bromatological composition in production spineless cactus (Opuntia ficus indica). The experiment was carried out at the experimental farm of the Campina Grande Federal University, in period from January 2007 to October. The soil of experimental area is of sandy texture, classified as Alfisol Planossolic. The experimental design was completely randomized factorial design (4x4) with three replications. The treatments were defined by the combination of the spacing used (10, 15, 20 and 25 cm between plants) and doses of phosphorus (10, 15, 20 and 25 g of simple superphosphate/ plant-1) in an area of 2040 m2. The parameters used for evaluation were: mineral matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), productivity of cactus, calcium and phosphorus. Doses of single superphosphate and spacings not provide significant effect in MM, OM, CP, NDF, ADF, productivity, Ca and P. The P contents ranged from 0.13% to 0.25%. The crude protein contents ranged from 5.93% to 8.79%, with a tendency for the plants that were fertilized with 25 g of superphosphate, had higher levels of CP. There was a significant effect for dry matter (DM) depending on spacing and phosphorus. There was no significant difference in green and dry matter productivity depending on the treatments applied.