Native Cultivars of Cactus Pear in México

Cactus pears or prickly pears (Opuntia spp. Cactaceae) are omnipresent plants of the Mexican landscape and have great historical and ethnobotanical significance. Ripe fruits and tender cladodes (pads), have been collected from the wild since pre Columbian times, and the mature cladodes are used as a forage for livestock. Opuntia originated in Central Mexico and some parts of the Caribbean region (Benson 1982; Russel and Felker 1987). Today cactus pear is a well recognized fruit crop in Mexico cultivated throughout the central semiarid highlands.

Effect of Opuntia ficus indica on female goat nutrition

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of barley substitution by cactus during pre-mating phase on some reproductive parameters and blood metabolites of goats.
Forty adult goats of local breed were allocated to two groups based on live their weight. Each goat of both groups received 0.9 kg of barley straw. Goats on concentrate group (CC) received in addition 425g/goats/day of a concentrate (mixture of 80% barley and 20% soybean). Goats in the cactus group (CAC) received 256g of a concentrate (mixture of 68% barley and 32% soybean) and 2600g of cactus pads. Feeding regimes were applied on the average for one sexual cycle before mating and continued until 5 weeks after.

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