Abstract

VELASQUEZ, Roger; VELIZ, José  and  BELLO, Jesús. PROLIFIC FRUIT PRODUCTION Cylindropuntia caribaea (Britton and Rose) F.M.Knuth in Backeb. AND F.M.Knuth (CACTACEAE) AS REPRODUCTIVE STRATEGY. Saber [online]. 2013, vol.25, n.2, pp.160-165. ISSN 1315-0162.

The  objective  of  this  study  was  to  test  whether  some  morphological  and  biochemical  variables  of  the prolific fruits of Cylindropuntia caribaea allow the species to have an efficient vegetative reproductive strategy compensating the failure of its sexual reproduction. The study was conducted in the town of Guayacán, Araya Peninsula, Sucre state. Fifty flowers and 100 fruits were collected from 20 adult plants. The variables analyzed, in the flowers, was the number of ovules, while in the fruits were the fresh biomass, number of pads or knuckles, diameter of each fruit, seed number, humidity and total carbohydrate concentration. The flowers have an inferior ovary with an average of 19 (¿±DE?) ovules. The prolific fruits showed a number of knuckles that varied from two to nine. The fruits of this species are smaller than those of other species of the same family, so they had lower biomass, lower moisture content and of total carbohydrates. This type of fruit has been described previously in other species of the genera Cylindropuntia and Opuntia. However, these fruits differ from those detailed above because although there is formation of ovules, they are aborted and there is no seed development. This leads to conclude that the spread of this plant in the study area is purely vegetative, both through knuckles that detach easily and by the development of prolific fruit ,which guarantee the survival of the species.

Keywords : Guayacan; carbohydrates; seeds; knuckle.

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