Micropropagation purpose of spineless cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica Mill.) for fodder production

Spineless cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica Mill.) has been promoted as a source of fodder for livestock in arid and semi-arid areas of India.
During the dry season, other sources of fodder are not available.
The aim of this project was to standardize protocols for tissue cultured cactus pear plants for large scale fodder production.
Young cladodes of 6-cm length were surface sterilised using 0.1% HgCl₂ for 10 min and washed thrice with sterilised distilled water.
Areoles were dissected and were inoculated in Murashige and Skoogs media supplemented with 3% sucrose and 0.7% agar and concentration ranges of growth regulators e.g., 0-5 mg L^‑1 BAP, 0-2.5 mg L^‑1 NAA and 0-0.5 mg L^‑1 kinetin.
At least 20 aerioles were inoculated in each media composition.
The highest shoot multiplication rate was obtained on 1.5 mg L^‑1 BAP and 0.5 mg L^‑1 NAA and 0.5 mg L^‑1 kinetin with 6.1 shoots explant^‑1. Rooting was obtained on half-strength MS media supplemented with 1% sucrose.
After hardening plantlets for 6 months, it was transplanted to the field.
After two years of growth under field conditions, the tissue cultured plants were taller than plants cultivated from cladodes.
This was due to slender basal cladodes of the tissue cultured plants.
Cladode number, cladode biomass and cladode area were higher for the plants propagated by cladodes than the tissue cultured plants.
The standardised protocol can be used for mass propagation of true-to-type and disease-free cactus pear plants.

X International Congress on Cactus Pear and Cochineal: Cactus – the New Green Revolution in Drylands

R.A. Bahulikar, V.K. Kauthale, K.K. Punde

areoles, field conditions, growth, MS media

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2022.1343.15