Growth and predicted productivity of Opuntia ficus-indica for current and elevated carbon dioxide
- Univ. of California, Los Angeles (United States)
- Univ. de Chile, Santiago (Chile)
Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill., a prickly pear cactus cultivated worldwide for its fruits and stem segments, can have an annual dry weight productivity exceeding that of many crops. Using a recent introduced environmental productivity index (EPI), the influences of water status, temperature, and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) on its productivity can be predicted. This investigation calculated the water index, the temperature index, and the PAR index, whose product equals EPI, for 169 sites distributed approximately uniformly across the contiguous USA for present climatic conditions as well as for those associated with an elevated CO{sub 2} concentration of 650 {mu}L L{sup {minus}1}. The effect of elevated CO{sub 2} on growth of O. ficus-indica was directly measured, and low temperature limitations on productivity were considered. The dry weight gain of O. ficus-indica during 6 mo in an environmental growth chamber was 23% greater at 650 compared with 350 {mu}L L{sup {minus}1} CO{sub 2} and increased as the duration of the wet period increased. For closely spaced plants that lead to a high productivity per unit ground area, EPI averaged about 0.10, except in desert regions where the water index lowered EPI, in the far North or South and at high elevations where the temperature index lowered EPI, and in the Northeast and Northwest where the PAR index lowered EPI. The predicted annual dry weight productivity for O. ficus-indica was 12.8 Mg ha{sup {minus}1} yr{sup {minus}1} under current conditions, and 16.3 Mg ha{sup {minus}1} yr{sup {minus}1} under those associated with 650 {mu}L L{sup {minus}1} CO{sub 2}.
- OSTI ID:
- 5678545
- Journal Information:
- Agronomy Journal; (United States), Vol. 83:1; ISSN 0002-1962
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CACTI
PRODUCTIVITY
CARBON DIOXIDE
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
ARID LANDS
CROPS
MOISTURE
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
PLANT GROWTH
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
GROWTH
MAGNOLIOPHYTA
MAGNOLIOPSIDA
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHOTOCHEMICAL REACTIONS
PLANTS
SYNTHESIS
560300* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
540120 - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)