Journal of the Professional Association for Cactus Development

Floral morpho-anatomy and reproductive biology of Mammillaria lasiacantha Engelm. (Cactaceae) at Sierra of Juárez, Chihuahua

2024-02-04T02:00:59+00:00

Mammillaria lasiacantha is a small cactus that inhabits at Sierra of Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Their populations have been affected by habitat destruction, illegal extraction, and uncontrolled tourism in the region that steps on the seedlings; therefore, knowing its reproductive biology is necessary for its conservation. Our main questions were: What is the floral morphology and anatomy like? What type of sexual and mating system do M. lasiacantha present? Do the seeds produced by the crosses germinate, how and in what percentage? Sixty individuals from a population of 120 plants were studied at Sierra of Juárez, Juárez Chihuahua from January to August 2021. The study of the floral morpho-anatomy was carried out. Four treatments were applied: natural selfing, forced selfing, geitonogamy and forced outcrossing plus a control. Pollinated flowers, fruits, number of seeds and germination percentage were recorded. Flowers have naked pericarp, funnel-type nectary, nectarostomata, closed style and collateral vascular bundles. The anatomical characteristics of M. lasiacantha agree with those reported for other species of Mammillaria. The flowers of M. lasiacantha present herkogamy, with an obligate outcrossing system. The seeds produced from the outcrossing and control group germinated in 32 and 76%, respectively. The herkogamy and strict outcrossing system of M. lasiacantha should be confirmed in other populations. The seeds are positive photoblastic, without dormancy, but the study of the seed bank and seedling survival in the field would be pertinent. The ex-situ conservation of M. lasiacantha in the site will be feasible, since species high percentage of germination may contribute to produce plants for restoration programs.

Formation of calcium oxalates and carbonates due to water stress in “nopalitos”

2024-02-18T19:03:39+00:00

The “nopalitos” (Opuntia ficus-indica L. Miller) is an essential source of calcium in the human diet; however, the bioavailability and viability of the mineral are limited by precipitating in the form of calcium oxalate (CaC₂O₄) when the plant is exposed to water stress. The objective of this study was to quantify calcium oxalates and carbonates in cactus subjected to water differentials of 10, 30 and 60% of available water (AW) through photomicrographic analysis. The micro mosaics are composed of sequential images of a 10x amplitude, taken in a petrographic microscope with different light sources, plane-polarized light (LPP), cross-polarized light (LPC), and light compensated (LPC). High spectral resolution mosaics were produced using geospatial operators (ArcGIS v.10.1 and ERDAS Imagine, 2014v®). The CaC₂O₄ and CaCO₃ were identified by spectral signature or brightness degrees in RGB format images, quantifying the minerals and surface they occupy in the cladode. The quantification of minerals in situ in nopal cladodes at different water stresses showed significant differences (p<0.05) in the area occupied by oxalates at 10% water stress and calcium carbonates at 60% within the vegetal structures of nopal vegetables. Consequently, using high-resolution mosaics and spatial operators allows the identification and quantification of mineral biomarkers in plant tissues in situ. Therefore, using image overlay, the proposed method is an alternative to the in situ quantification of minerals in plant tissues.

Effect of using hydrogel polymers on morphometric, forage production, and nutritional characteristics of cactus pear

2023-12-17T02:01:10+00:00

The use of cactus pear has shown poor performance in some areas of semi-arid climate regions, as the species needs a wide gradient between temperatures during the day and night to develop, which does not occur in such zones. To lessen this negative occurrence, moisture availability provides better performance for the species, such as using hydrogel instead of irrigation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of using hydrogel polymers on the production of cactus pear (Opuntia stricta cv. Mexican Elephant Ear). Three treatments with six replications were used, totalling 18 experimental units. The treatments were, (1) Conventional fertilization using fertilizer in granulated format; (2) Foliar fertilization with polymer using a dilution dose of 6 grams of polymer L^-1of water associated with the fertilizer in liquid form through the foliar route; (3) Foliar fertilization without polymer using only foliar fertilization in the same formulation as the treatment with polymer. There was no effect of fertilization strategy on plant height, cladode length, cladode width, cladode thickness, cladode area, and biomass. There was an effect of the fertilization strategy on dry matter, in which higher estimates were measured for conventional fertilization and foliar fertilization without polymer. On the other hand, foliar fertilization with polymer promoted increases of 13% in mineral matter and 42% in crude protein in relation to conventional fertilization. The fertilization strategy did not change the other chemical attributes of cactus pear. The use of the hydrogel did not influence the morphometric development of the Mexican Elephant Ear cultivar but promoted increments in the chemical composition.

Agronanotechnology in the arid zones of northern Mexico: Research, challenges, and new trends

2023-10-02T14:18:59+00:00

The agri-food systems in arid zones face challenges related to climate change, desertification, and soil contamination from agrochemicals' actions, among others. The agronanotechnology can generate alternatives to these problems, but it is necessary to monitor its development to have elements to apply policies that are oriented to the attention of these regions with a social perspective. This scientific paper aims to present provide a study of the situation of agronanotechnology in the arid zones of northern Mexico. Using bibliometric tools, the academic output in the field and map the public research agenda, focusing on providing the set of crops to which the local research is directed was analyzed. Furthermore, the literature associated with the risks to human health and the environment derived from some nanomaterials of agri-food interest and clarify the areas of opportunity and trends was reviewed. The results show a total of 224 research articles authored by 1029 scholars in 161 journals published from 2004 to 2022; that research on this topic reached its highest value in 2018 and then levels off at a value around of ~37%. The findings show a research agenda related to crops of economic interest for the export market like tequila, tomato, avocado, chili, watermelon. In México, agronanotechnology is an emerging field that deals with some crops of economic interest, but its development needs to be intertwined with the needs of rural producers.