IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v15y2025i17p1902-d1744683.html

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Inoculation Enhances Nutritional Quality of Prickly Pear ( Opuntia ficus-indica ) Fruits and Cladodes

Author

Listed:
  • Sonia Labidi

    (Laboratoire des Sciences Horticoles, Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie, LR13AGR01, Université de Carthage, 43 Ave Charles Nicolle, Tunis 1082, Mahrajène, Tunisia)

  • Adrien Servent

    (UMR Qualisud, Univ Montpellier, Avignon Université, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Université de La Réunion, F-34398 Montpellier, France
    CIRAD, UMR Qualisud, F-34398 Montpellier, France)

  • Ghofran Bouzoumita

    (Laboratoire des Sciences Horticoles, Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie, LR13AGR01, Université de Carthage, 43 Ave Charles Nicolle, Tunis 1082, Mahrajène, Tunisia)

  • Tina Julien

    (UMR Qualisud, Univ Montpellier, Avignon Université, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Université de La Réunion, F-34398 Montpellier, France
    CIRAD, UMR Qualisud, F-34398 Montpellier, France)

  • Guillaume Cazals

    (IBMM, Univ Montpellier, F-34398 Montpellier, France)

  • Manel Ibrahim

    (Laboratoire des Sciences Horticoles, Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie, LR13AGR01, Université de Carthage, 43 Ave Charles Nicolle, Tunis 1082, Mahrajène, Tunisia)

  • Sofiène B. M. Hammami

    (Laboratoire des Sciences Horticoles, Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie, LR13AGR01, Université de Carthage, 43 Ave Charles Nicolle, Tunis 1082, Mahrajène, Tunisia)

  • Nawel Achir

    (UMR Qualisud, Univ Montpellier, Avignon Université, CIRAD, Institut Agro, IRD, Université de La Réunion, F-34398 Montpellier, France)

Abstract

The effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation on the chemical composition of the fruits and cladodes of two Opuntia ficus-indica cultivars, characterized by their red and yellow fruit color, were investigated under field conditions. AMF treatment was found to significantly influence the concentration of phytonutrients in the fruits. The concentrations of betacyanin and betaxanthin increased by 1.2- and 1.9-fold in red and yellow fruits, respectively. The polyphenol content increased by 50%, with piscidic acid being the most abundant polyphenol in the red fruits. A similar increase in ascorbic acid was observed in the yellow fruits. Regarding the cladodes, AMF treatment was found to significantly affect macronutrient levels, with glucose and fructose contents being 90% and 34% higher, respectively. Additionally, cladodes from plants grown with AMF inoculation showed a 20% increase in ascorbic acid and phosphorus. These results demonstrate cultivar- and part-of-plant-dependent effects of AMF inoculation and confirm the nutritional and sustainable potential of Opuntia ficus-indica , particularly when coupled with mycorrhizal biofertilization practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Sonia Labidi & Adrien Servent & Ghofran Bouzoumita & Tina Julien & Guillaume Cazals & Manel Ibrahim & Sofiène B. M. Hammami & Nawel Achir, 2025. "Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Inoculation Enhances Nutritional Quality of Prickly Pear ( Opuntia ficus-indica ) Fruits and Cladodes," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-15, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:17:p:1902-:d:1744683
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/17/1902/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/17/1902/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carlos Manuel Gaspar Reis & Luiz Carlos Gazarini & Maria Margarida Ribeiro, 2018. "Fruit production from Opuntia ficus-indica ecotypes in comparison to commercial Italian clones," Horticultural Science, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 45(2), pages 92-100.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sofia Trindade & Maria Inês Rouxinol & Ana Cristina Agulheiro-Santos, 2023. "Opuntia ficus-indica L. Fruits Cold Storage Using Different Packaging Materials," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-15, July.
    2. Nadia Palmieri & Walter Stefanoni & Francesco Latterini & Luigi Pari, 2021. "An Italian Explorative Study of Willingness to Pay for a New Functional Pasta Featuring Opuntia ficus indica," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-11, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:17:p:1902-:d:1744683. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.