LA ZEOLITA MODULA LAS PROPIEDADES DEL SUELO Y MEJORA EL CRECIMIENTO DE LA PLANTA Y EL RENDIMIENTO FORRAJERO DE TRES MORFOTIPOS DE NOPAL (Opuntia spp.) BAJO RIEGO LIMITADO

Resumen

Nopal is a succulent plant with a crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) pathway that allows it to adapt to dry environments. The study aimed to evaluate plant growth, cladode development and fresh forage yield responses to zeolite application in three nopal (Opuntia spp.) morphotypes under water deficit conditions. A randomized complete block design in a split-plot arrangement with three replicates was used. The main plots consisted of zeolite doses applied to the soil: 10 and 20 t ha^-1, and the control without application. The split plots were the nopal morphotypes identified as C-CH, C-NA and C-HE. Soil moisture content (SMC) was maintained at approximately 15.6 % above the permanent wilting point (PWP) (13 %) during the study period. Higher soil moisture contents were recorded in May, August and September 2024, associated with irrigation (May) and rainfall (August and September) with values of 15.4, 14.5 and 36.4%, respectively, compared to the control, where zeolite was not applied. Plant growth responses varied according to the zeolite dose and nopal morphotype. In the C-CH morphotype, plant height, width and thickness of cladode were larger in 15.3, 9.2 and 7.8 %, respectively, when applying 20 t ha^-1 of zeolite at the first percentage value, and 10 t ha^-1 in the second and third percentage values, and 15.3 % higher in fresh forage yield (FFY) when applying 20 t ha^-1, all this compared to the control, whereas the C-HE morphotype had a 35.1 % increase in cladodes per plant at 20 t ha^-1 dose of zeolite compared to the control; the FFY in the C-NA morphotype is enhanced by increasing the zeolite dose. In conclusion, Opuntia spp. is a viable option for fresh forage production, and productivity can be significantly improved by applying a soil moisture retainer and biostimulant agent, such as zeolite, to mitigate water stress in drought conditions.