The crop demand by nitrogen varies from one crop to other as well as the amount and applica- tion time, and this nutrient can be lost by leachin g, volatilization and erosion. The objective of thi s study was to evaluate doses, sources and times of nitrogen appli cation in rice of high lands cropped in no till sys tem. The work was conducted in Selvíria, State of Mato Gross o do Sul, Brazil, in a soil originally under Cerrad o vegeta- tion. A randomized blocks design, with the treatmen ts disposed in a factorial scheme 5x3x2 was used. T he treatments were constituted by five nitrogen doses (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kg ha -1 ), three nitrogen sources (urea; ammonium sulfonitrate plus nitrification inh itor and ammonium sulfate) and two application time s (at sowing or at flower bud differentiation), with four repetitions. The sources of nitrogen, as well as t he applica- tion times had similar effects for most of evaluati ons. The N doses influenced linearly or with quadra tic adjust- ment the plant height, N leaf content and grains yi eld, in the two growing seasons. The chlorophyll co ntent and the number of ears m -2 were affected only, in the first year. The highest yield in the growing season of 2007/08 was obtained with the dose of 149 kg ha -1 of N. In 2008/09 growing season the increase of N doses provided increment in the grains rice yield, until the maxim um dose evaluated (200 kg ha -1 of N).

The objective this work was to study the drying of integers grains of pumpkin, grains without tegument and grain flour of pumpkin in an oven with forced air circulation at temperatures of 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 °C and adjust the mathematical models of the Diffusion Approximation, Two Term Exponential, Hen- derson and Pabis, Logarithmic and Page, to the experimental values. The fit of the mathematical models to data from the drying kinetics was performed using analysis of nonlinear regression, through Quasi-Newton method, using the software Statistica 5.0. As a criterion for adjustment of the models the coefficient of determination and mean-square deviation were used. It was observed that processing influenced the time of drying, where the samples of grain flour of pumpkin demanded a shortest time to reach equilibrium. For samples of integers grains of pumpkin and grains without tegument, the model that best fitted the experimental data was of the Dif- fusion Approximation at all temperatures studied; for samples of grain flour, the logarithmic model was the best fit to drying curve.

The cassava flour is a product known in the Brazil as part of daily meals of the population, mainly in northern and northeastern country. Much of this product is processed by hand, making it difficult to standardize the heterogeneity mainly from the manufacturing processes themselves. In this sense, the physical and chemical attributes of handmade cassava flour sold in Acre, the levels of the Brazilian legislation, were to evaluate. Samples of 20 brands of handmade cassava flour were collected from commercial establishments in Rio Branco, Acre, classified and analyzed for nutrient composition. The results that the flours analyzed, classi- fied as Group Thick and low acidity, are in accordance with the legislation limits for moisture content and starch, but only 10% to be consistent with the actual classification. 25% of the samples were disqualified and 75% were classified as "out of type", which implies that the flour trade of Rio Branco are not in accordance with the standards of the current Brazilian legislation.

The use of manure as a nutrient source is of fundam ental importance in the restoration and maintenance of soil fertility, especially in semiar id regions. The purpose of this study was to evalua te the nutri- ent release during decomposition of different manur es in the Paraíba semiarid region. The experiment w as con- ducted at the Experimental Field belonging Embrapa, in Patos/PB. The treatments were arranged in block s with split plot with four replications using a factorial arrangement 4 x 2 x 6, referring to four types of manure (donkey, cow, goat and sheep), two forms of deposit ion (surface soil and buried 10 cm deep) and six sa mpling times for assessment (30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 days after the experiment). Were determined the con centra- tions of N, P, K, Ca and Mg. The N in goat and shee p manure were higher than 50% of the donkey and cat tle manure and also showed the highest levels of calciu m and magnesium. The sheep and cattle manure showed the highest levels of phosphorus and potassium, res pectively. The goat and sheep manure showed the hig hest levels of N, Ca and Mg. The release of nutrients fr om manure spread on the soil surface and incubated showed little variation in the initial phase of the experi mental period. Increases in soil water content prov ided higher activity of the microbial community, with more inte nse release of nutrients in the manure treatments were in- cubated in soil.

This study had the objective to evaluate the action of aqueous (EAC), ethanolic (EEC) and decoction (EDC) extracts of juremapreta bark Mimosa tenuifloraand aqueousroot extract (EAR) on the control of alternaria black spot on watermelon, as well as evaluating the mode of action of these extracts, either by presenting toxicity to the pathogen and the ability to alter the metabolism of the host by activating protective enzymes. M.tenuiflora extracts were tested for inhibition of germination, mycelial growth and sporulation of A.cucumerina in vitro. Under controlled conditions (in vivo), the plants were sprayed with the four extracts in three concentrations (05, 4.0 and 10 mg.mL-1) 48 hours before inoculation. The evaluations were based on disease severity and determination of enzymatic activity. In the field the four extracts were sprayed at two concentrations (4.0 and 10 mg.mL-1), evaluating the severity of the disease with the help of descriptive scale. The EAC inhibited 100% germination, mycelial growth and sporulation of A.cucumerina in vitro. The EAC induced synthesis of β-1,3 glucanase and peroxidase, reducing 97% of the disease, in a controlled environment and 31% in the field, being superior to the other extracts and commercial fungicides: copper oxychloride which controlled 79% and 21% for environmental controlled and field respectively, and tebuconazole + trifloxystrobin which controlled 15% in the field. These extracts showed potential to control alternaria leaf spot is caused toxicity to the pathogen or by inducing resistance.

Chicory is a vegetable Amazon unconventional flavor that has attracted the attention of researchers for its great versatility, which makes it a promising vegetable. However, jobs are scarce in the literature on cultivation techniques for the species. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of pruning tassel floral and different spacing, the yield on Amazon chicory. Three different spacings: E1 = 0.15 x 0.15 m, with 44 plants m2, E2 = 0.20 x 0.20 m, with 25 plants m2, and E3 = 0.25 x 0.25 m, with 16 plants m2, with and without pruning floral tassel. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design in a split plot design 3 x 2, with six replications. The characteristics evaluated were: number of leaves, fresh weight and dry weight of shoots, number of tassel floral tassel floral fresh weight, yield (kg m-2), and leaf area index (LAI). The largest production of chicory Amazon was obtained in plants grown at a spacing of 0.25 x 0.25 m subjected to pruning floral tassel. The highest yield for Amazon chicory was obtained in plants grown at a spacing of 0.15 x 0.15 m submitted pruning floral tassel.

This work was carried out with the objective to study the foam-mat drying of Cereusjamacaru pulp fruit with albumen (2%) and “Super Liga Neutra” (2%) with whipping time of 5 min, dried inoven with air circulation at 70; 80, and 90 °C with three different foam thicknesses (0.5; 1.0 and 1.5 cm). The drying curves were fitted with the Page, Henderson and Pabis and Cavalcanti Mata models. Drying time was influenced by the foam thickness and process temperature being the process faster for smaller thickness and higher temperature. The Cavalcanti Mata model presented the best fit of the experimental foam drying kinetics data.

The aim of this study was to identify the main cat egories of use of native plants in a rural com- munity from Caicó Municipality, Rio Grande do Norte , Northeastern Brazil. From March 2007 to August 20 08 semi-structured and structured interviews were cond ucted with 23 local specialists (woodsmen, witch do ctors, healers, growers and housewives) aged over 35. We d escribe the uses of 69 species grouped in seven cat egories which are: medicinal, food, wood, mystic , fuel, fo dder and household. The families with the largest r epresenta- tion in the interviews were Fabaceae (14 species), Euphorbiaceae (6 species), Cucurbitaceae and Cactac eae (3 species each). By calculating the value in use, it was found that Amburana cearensis (Allemão) A. C. Sm. (cumaru) and Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poir. (jurema preta) stood out as the spe cies with the highest number of citations and nominated uses. The medicinal use was related to 62 species (89.85 %). Barks and root s were the most consumed parts. The data indicate that the flora of the Potiguar Seridó has a great potential of use and that this community will often use local plant reso urces in their everyday life, for many different pu rposes. Keywords : Caatinga. Ethnobotany. Phytoterapy. Northeastern of Brazil.

This work was carried out with the objective to study the foam-mat drying of Cereus jamacaru pulp fruit with albumen (2%) and “Super Liga Neutra” (2%) with whipping time of 5 min, dried in oven with air circulation at 70; 80, and 90 °C with three different foam thicknesses (0.5; 1.0 and 1.5 cm). The drying curves were fitted with the Page, Henderson and Pabis and Cavalcanti Mata models. Drying time was influ- enced by the foam thickness and process temperature being the process faster for smaller thickness and higher temperature. He Cavalcanti Mata model presented the best fit of the experimental foam drying kinetics data.

The cowpea is a plant of great importance for small producers of the Brazilian Northeast, in particular the region of the Vale of Pajeú. The destination of this plant for the production of green beans constitutes an important source of income for family farmers and presents itself as a good alternative for industrial processing. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of cultivars of the cowpea for production of green beans in the conditions of Serra Talhada - PE. The experiment was conducted on the campus of Uni- versity Federal Rural of Pernambuco (UFRPE) / Academic Unit of Serra Talhada (UAST) in the period from August to November 2011. We used five developed improved cultivars: BRS-Tucumaque, BRS-Caumé, BRS- Itaim, BRS-Guariba and BRS-Potengi, and three local cultivars: Corujinha, Paulistinha and Sempre-verde. The experimental design was randomized blocks with four replications, where each cultivar was considered a treatment. The characteristics evaluated were: number of days to beginning of flowering (NDIF), plant size (PP), days to maturity of green pods (DMVV), period of production of green pods (PPVV), length of green pods (CVV) number of grains of green pods (NGVV), grain weight of green pods (PGVV), yield of green pods (PRO.VV), productivity of green grains (PRO.GV), index of green grains (IGV). Cultivars BRS-Potengi, BRS- Tucumaque, BRS-Guariba, BRS-Itaim, BRS-Caumé and Paulistinha and showed potential for the production of green beans in Serra Talhada-PE, under irrigated condition.