• IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE
• PALATABILITY
• NUTRITIONAL VALUE
• COVER VALUE
• VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES
• OTHER USES AND VALUES
• MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE:

Plains prickly-pear is an important seasonal food of the black-tailed prairie dog, composing up to 58% of its winter diet [10,16,27,53,90].

Pronghorn rely on plains prickly-pear [4,92], notably after fire [19,88]. Fires burn the spines off the plants, providing a source of preferred forage.

Other animals reported to eat plains prickly-pear include:

northern pocket gopher [100]
bushy-tailed woodrat [50]
Nuttall cottontail [50,60]
black-tailed jackrabbit [60]
white-tailed jackrabbit [23]
desert cottontail [34]
least chipmunk [39]
bison [73,74]
white-tailed deer [32,33]
collared peccary [33,59]
northern bobwhite [33]

Plains prickly-pear is regarded as an important emergency forage for livestock. Although the moisture content of aboveground tissues of plains prickly-pear is high, nutrient content is low [32,33].

PALATABILITY:

The palatability of plains prickly-pear to livestock and wildlife is generally considered poor to fair, because spines deter grazing [21]. When spines are singed off by wildfires not severe enough to destroy the plants, plains prickly-pear becomes a desirable food source [19,88]. Cattle ranchers in the southwestern U.S. burn plains prickly-pear plants to remove spines and rendering them fit for livestock consumption [32,84].

NUTRITIONAL VALUE:

Prickly-pear in the genus Opuntia have been utilized as a forage substitute for grazing livestock in Texas and Mexico for at least a century. It is highly variable in nutrient content, depending on species or variety, age, and plant part. Most research indicates that Opuntia prickly-pear are low in protein and phosphorus but high in energy, water, fiber, and ash [32].

Singed plains prickly-pear was evaluated as a cattle forage in Colorado. Plains prickly-pear increased total dry matter consumption and weight gain in cattle. Chemical analyses indicated that digestibility of plains prickly-pear was at least equal to that of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) hay. Plains prickly-pear contained about 40% more soluble carbohydrates than alfalfa hay, but only about 3.4% digestible protein. The authors concluded that singed plains prickly-pear was palatable and nutritious, but should be supplemented with protein [84].

COVER VALUE:

In Texas, northern bobwhite quail rely on plains prickly-pear for cover while traveling and escape from predators. Many other small birds and mammals rely on prickly-pear species for protective cover [33,59].

VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:

No entry

OTHER USES AND VALUES:

Many species of Opuntia prickly-pear are used as food by humans [32,33,35,67]. Native Americans ate plains prickly-pear fruit raw, dried, or cooked. Fruit was piled on the ground and stirred with branches, rolled or singed with hot coals to remove spines, then split and dried in the sun. The flesh of plains prickly-pear was used as a binding agent in garment and weapon making. Ripe fruits were used for dye [15,24,36].

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:

Land managers often view prickly-pear cacti as a mixed blessing. In some places dense stands of plains prickly-pear compete with more desirable forage species and grass production is reduced. However, plains prickly-pear grows in sites that will not support a high level of grass production (e.g. drought stricken and dusty, saline, or shallow and gravelly) [32,33,79,103]. Abundant plains prickly-pear is sometimes cited as an indicator of poor range condition.

The presence of plains prickly-pear can reduce both the production and availability of forage [87]. Hyde and others [47] reported forage production doubled where mechanical beaters had been used to control plains prickly-pear. In the Colorado plains, Bement [5] measured percent cover of plains prickly-pear after 25 years of light, moderate, and heavy cattle grazing and observed little effect on the abundance of plains prickly-pear. He concluded, "The illusion that prickly-pear abundance in this area is associated with heavier grazing is because the prickly-pear in the more lightly-used pastures is camouflaged by the ungrazed grass." The cactus was more visible in the heavily grazed areas, thus appearing to be increasing as a result of grazing. He reported no increase in blue grama production after plains prickly-pear control (hand clipping at the root crown) but did report that more forage was physically available for grazing.

Plains prickly-pear is susceptible to damage by several insects, including a moth (Melitara dentata), the blue cactus borer (Olycella subumbrella), and the cactus bug (Chelinidea vittiger) [80,102]. These insects are favored by moist conditions and can be an effective means of natural control during wet periods [17]. Both the cactus bug and the blue cactus borer prefer burned cactus pads (stems) to unburned pads [58,80]. This preference may help to increase prickly-pear mortality after prescribed fire [101].

Because plains prickly-pear colonies can survive and even increase during drought, they provide structural protection for more desirable species, usually grasses, to grow and produce seed. Where soil drifting and blowing occurs, the clusters of plants become microsites where topsoil, moisture and litter collect [5,45,103]. The ecology of prickly-pears during the drought of the 1930's was closely observed by Weaver and Alberston [103], along with other Great Plains species. Their summary comments about the cacti are excerpted here:

"Interrelations of the short grasses to cactus, especially the opuntias which form large clumps, are of interest and importance. During the years of desiccation when the cactus increased so greatly, it furnished a haven for relict blue grama. It could not be grazed and consequently afforded oases for seed production. With the return of a more favorable environment for the enemies of cactus, their death began...Since the more drought resistant blue grama was often the sole survivor in or near the place where the cactus had grown, the ratio of this species to buffalo grass was often higher in soil formerly occupied by the cactus."

Related categories for SPECIES: Opuntia polyacantha | Plains Prickly-Pear