Aptitud agroclimática de áreas áridas y semiáridas de Argentina para el cultivo de tuna (Opuntia ficus indica) como fuente de bioetanol

the tuna (opuntia ficus indica) fulfills the requirements expected for crops that produce energy growing in arid and semiarid zones. great part of its ability to grow in marginal habitats is due to it can complete its cycle in areas with a precipitation of 150 mm per year. the aim of the present paper was to evaluate the agroclimatic aptitude of argentina to plant opuntia ficus indica in marginal areas for the double purpose to produce tuna as edible fruit and to use the cladodes to produce bioethanol. taking on account the available climatic data, the bioclimatic necessities of the tuna and the resistance to frost in its different ontogenetic stages; optimal, appropriate and marginal areas could be delimited for its possible implantation in argentina. it must be considered that the marginal areas delimited because of frost are not the same for young and adult plants but on the other hand, the marginal zoning because of moisture could be modified by irrigation, thus increasing the agroclimatic area for this specie. the agroclimatic zoning of tuna let us see the potentiality of this crop to produce energy growing in marginal areas in argentina.