Agronomic performance of cactus with different harvesting practices in the semiarid

The harvest management of forage cactus must be carried out respecting cutting intervals, as this influences its structural characteristics. The objective of the work was to evaluate the agronomic performance of four varieties of forage cactus under different cutting management in rainfed conditions in the north of Minas Gerais. The experiment was in a block design, in a 4 × 4 factorial, with four replications. The first factor consisted of the four fodder palm cultivars (Gigante, Miúda, Orelha de Elefante and IPA Sertânia). And the second factor is the four cladode harvest management: Management C9m_21 - Harvest at nine months preserving the mother cladode; Management C9p_21- Harvest at nine months preserving the mother and primary cladode; Management C15p_21- Harvest at 15 months preserving the mother and primary cladode; Management C21 - Harvest at 21 months preserving only the mother cladode. The harvest management system that preserved the primary cladode on the mother plant with collections at nine and 21 months ensured greater regrowth and greater cladode productivity for the forage cactus cultivars (Miúda, Orelha de elefante, IPA and Gigante). The Miúda forage cactus cultivar under the experimental conditions was more productive.