Journal of the Professional Association for Cactus Development

Ants associated to prickly pear cactus crop in Texcoco, State of Mexico

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In Mexico, center of domestication of prickly pear cactus species (also called “nopales”) few studies exist on insects associated with this crop. The studies are scantier on ants, since the majority are not considered to be pest. For this motive, the population dynamics of the ants was studied in experimental prickly pear crop in the installation of Colegio de Postgraduados, Mexico. The sample was fortnightly performed from February 2013 to March 2014. Ants were gathered with pitfall traps and arboreal traps, all of them with three baits and others without bait. Also recorded raiding, the nests in crop and inside to the cladodes. We collected a total of 10,953 individuals (74 % on ground and 26% on prickly pear cladodes), and seven species were determined: Hypoponera opacior (Forel), Neivamyrmex nigrescens (Cresson), Pogonomyrmex barbatus (Smith), Linepithema humile (Mayr), Camponotus atriceps (Smith), Pheidole obtusospinosa Forel and Monomorium minimum (Buckley). The last four were more abundant and frequent. We discuss the presence and nesting of ants in crop and their association with other insects of prickly pear crop.

Unearthing the Multifaceted Potential of Opuntia spp.: A Comprehensive Exploration

Jiezhang Xu, LI FU — Mon, 01 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Unearthing the Multifaceted Potential of Opuntia spp.: A Comprehensive Exploration. Book review of Opuntia spp.: Chemistry, Bioactivity and Industrial Applications, Mohamed Fawzy Ramadan, Tamer E. Moussa Ayoub, Sascha Rohn (Ed.), 1059 pages, 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 978-3-030-78443-0

Physiological and morphometric characteristics of Pachycereus pringlei (S.Watson) Britton & Rose seedlings applying organic manures

Mon, 22 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The establishment of Pachycereus pringlei seedlings is a scarce event; soil conditions are one of the factors attributed to its high mortality rate in the early stages of development. The use of organic manures as a substrate helps to improve the structure, porosity, and density of the soil where they live, in addition to providing nutrients that would benefit the roots, increasing the possibility of their establishment during the emergence stage. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different proportions of organic manures as a sown substrate in the emergence and establishment of Pachycereus pringlei seedlings, using nine treatments of organic manures in a completely randomized experimental design with four replications. The variables measured were emergence rate (ER) and percentage (EP) and their indices, seedlings’ morphometric, and physiological characteristics in the establishment stage. The results showed that the evaluated variables in the emergence and seedling establishment phase indicate the preference for natural substrate and organic manure combinations in proportions of 50 and 30%, respectively. The analysis of variance showed significant differences regarding the morphometric and physiological variables of the stem and root of the evaluated treatments. The emergence and establishment analyses show that cardon seedlings under different organic manure treatments and controlled conditions had excellent survival results compared to the low rates of recruitment and survival reported under natural conditions. Similarly, the implementation of organic manures improved the physiological and morphometric characteristics of the cardon seedlings compared to the control treatment with the natural substrate.

Integrated Postharvest of Pitahaya fruits (Hylocereus ocamponis) stored at different temperatures

Mon, 22 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Pitahaya (Hylocereus spp.) has been placed successfully in the global fruit market due to its exotic appearance and pleasant flavor; however, its short postharvest life has limited its marketing in national and international markets. The postharvest life and final quality of fruits depend on the state of maturity in which the fruit is harvested, as well on the storage conditions. The aim of this study was to assess the postharvest behavior of pitahaya fruits (H. ocamponis) harvested during two states of maturity (pre-consumer and consumption maturity), stored at 6 ± 1°C and 22 ± 3 °C for 24 days. The color, firmness, epicarp thickness, weight loss, soluble solids, total soluble sugars, betalains, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity showed significant changes during the storage period. The preserved fruits at room temperature maintained their firmness and color of the epicarp, content of soluble solids, soluble sugars and betalains during 9 days of storage, but from the 16th day, they showed rottenness and degradation of epicarp betalains. In contrast, the stored fruits in refrigeration presented a lower weight loss, greater firmness, and epicarp thickness, reaching 24 days of shelf life. The antioxidant activity was greater in the pulp of the stored fruits at 22 °C, due to an apparent higher betalains concentration associated with greater water loss in the fruit.

Advances on polysaccharides from cactus: analysis and review based on bibliometrics

Yuhong Zheng, Pengcong Zhang, LI FU — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Plant polysaccharides are rich in physiological activities, which are beneficial for developing new drugs, nutraceuticals and functional foods. Cactus is of interest to researchers in agronomy, medicine and food chemistry because of its long history of medicinal use, its simple growing requirements and biological basis for becoming a green vegetable. This review provides the first summary and analysis of the research history of cactus polysaccharides through a bibliometric approach. Bibliometrics was used to investigate the focus of different stages of development of the topic, with contributions from different countries and institutions. In addition, keyword analysis and keyword clustering were used to understand the different research directions of this topic. The analysis showed that (1) the study of cactus plant polysaccharides is a long-established topic but did not attract much attention in its early stages. (2) In 2018, research on cactus polysaccharides has received more attention than ever before. (3) Mexican institutions and scholars have contributed the most important contributions to this topic. (4) This theme has only formed one complex network of cooperation, mainly composed of Mexican institutions and scholars. (5) Early studies on cactus polysaccharides focused on the detection, extraction and purification of polysaccharide content. (6) The biological activities of plant polysaccharides have gradually become the focus of research in recent years. (7) The biological activity of plant polysaccharides has been verified from in vitro experiments and in vivo experiments with positive results.