SUMMARY: In marginal lands Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI) could be used as an alternative fruit and forage crop. The plant vigour and the biomass production were evaluated in Portuguese germplasm (15 individuals from 16 ecotypes) by non-destructive methods, 2 years following planting in a marginal soil and dryland conditions. Two Italian cultivars (Gialla and Bianca) were included in the study for comparison purposes. The biomass production and the plant vigour were estimated by measuring the cladodes number and area, and the fresh (FW) and dry weight (DW) per plant. We selected linear models by using the biometric data from 60 cladodes to predict the cladode area, the FW and the DW per plant. Among ecotypes, significant differences were found in the studied biomass-related parameters and several homogeneous groups were established. Four Portuguese ecotypes had higher biomass production than the others, 3.20 Mg ha⁻¹ on average, a value not significantly different to the improved ‘Gialla’ cultivar, which averaged 3.87 Mg ha⁻¹. Those ecotypes could be used to start a breeding program and to deploy material for animal feeding and fruit production.

The Opuntia spp., most likely few individuals, were introduced in the Iberian Peninsula in the beginning of the 16th century, after the discovery of America, spreading afterwards throughout the Mediterranean basin. We analysed, for the first time, the genetic diversity in a set of 19 Portuguese Opuntia spp. populations from the species O. ficus-indica, O. elata, O. dillenii and O. robusta using nuclear microsatellite (nuSSR) markers. The Italian cultivars ‘Bianca’, ‘Gialla’ and ‘Rossa’ were included in the study for comparison purposes. The nuSSR amplifications produced from five to 16 alleles, with an average of 9.2 alleles per primer pair, and average polymorphism information content of 0.71. The estimated Dice coefficient among populations varied from 0.26 to 1.0, indicating high interspecific genetic diversity but low genetic diversity at the intraspecific level. The hierarchical clustering analysis revealed four major groups that clearly separated the four Opuntia species. Among the O. ficus-indica populations, two sub-clusters were found, one including the white pulp fruits (with cv. Bianca) and the other with the orange pulp ones and including the cv. Gialla, the cv. Rossa, and one pale yellow pulp population. No genetic differences were found between the inermis form, O. ficus-indica f. ficus-indica, and the rewilded spiny one, O. ficus-indica f. amyclaea. The dendrogram indicated that the clustering pattern was unrelated to geographical origin. The results revealed a low level of genetic diversity among the Portuguese populations of O. ficus-indica.

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ISHS International Symposium on Molecular Markers for Characterizing Genotypes and Identifying Cultivars in Horticulture GENETIC DIVERSITY IN COWPEA (Vigna unguiculata) USING ISOZYME ELECTROPHORESIS

The Barrocal Park is a 40-ha geological park located at the edge of the city of Castelo Branco, Portugal, that features diverse granite land-forms. The Barrocal Park is integrated into the classified territories of the Naturtejo UNESCO Global Geopark and the Tejo|Tajo Internacional Transboundary Biosphere Reserve. The present study aimed to characterize the spontaneous flora of the Barrocal Park. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification of this region is Csa. The Barrocal landscape is characterized by fragments of climat-ophilic forests of Quercus pyrenaica , associated with rocky granite outcrops. In the subserial stages, Adenocarpus lainzii , Adenocarpus complicatus , Cistus ladanifer , Cistus inflatus , Cytisus striatus , Cytisus multiflorus , Halimium umbellatum and Lavandula pedunculata predominate. The Arisaro simorrhini-Quercetum pyrenaicae association is the only climatophilic series present in the study area. The plant communities comprise 132 plant species belonging to 108 genera and 45 families. The dominant Raunkiaer life form is therophytes (45.5%), followed by hemicryptophytes (22.7%), and geophytes (12.9%). Eight species are endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, Adenocarpus lainzii , Antirrhinum graniticum , Asphodelus serotinus , Cytisus multiflorus , Digitalis thapsi , Ferula communis subsp. catalaunica , Ornithogalum concinnum and Sedum arenarium . Four invasive species were identified. Some of the native species have great potential as ornamental plants. Despite its main geoheritage value, the Barrocal park can also be valued for its spontaneous flora.