Biomass Production and Bromatological Composition of Forage Cactus Clones Subjected to Sewage Water Irrigation and Cutting Management

The aim was to evaluate the growth, biomass production and bromatological composition of forage cactus clones under irrigation with treated sewage water and cutting management in semiarid region. For two years, the clones Orelha de Elefante Mexicana-OEM; IPA 20-MAO; Mi & uacute;da-MIU e IPA Sert & acirc;nia-IPA were subjected to irrigation with raw water (RW) and treated sewage (TSW), and to cutting managements (preserving the basal cladode-BC; preserving the 1st-order cladodes-FOC, and 2nd order-SOC). Data on total number (TNC), length (LC), width (WC), area (AC), and cladode area index (CAI) were obtained. Fresh matter (FM, Mg ha-1) and bromatology were determined. The use of TSW favored higher TNC (14.4 units), LC (24.4 cm), WC (5.74 cm), AC (210.6 cm2), and CAI (1.04 cm2 cm-2). FOC and SOC enabled better plant development. Higher FM values were observed for MIU (57.60 Mg ha-1), OEM (131.7 Mg ha-1), and IPA (44.65 Mg ha-1) under TSW and FOC and SOC management. Bromatology varied depending on the interaction between clones, water type, and cutting. The adoption of irrigation with TSW along with FOC and SOC cuts is viable for forage cactus production in the semiarid.