There is an interest in the knowledge about the fertilizing requirements of melon crops, explored at Pólo Agroindustrial Assú/Mossoró/Baraúnas, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, aiming at obtaining high productivity levels for quality fruits, reducing fertilizer wastes, and decreasing environmental degradation. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of applications of nitrogen (urea) and potassium doses (potassium chloride) on yield and quality of Gold Mine, yellow melon fruits under drip irrigation. Nitrogen doses (0, 50, 100, and 150 kg N ha-1) were combined in a factorial arrangement with potassium doses (0, 50, 100, and 150 kg K2O ha-1) and applied in a randomized complete block design with five replications. Nitrogen increased the number and total mass of fruits, number of marketable melon fruits, and fruit length/width shape ratio; decreased pulp firmness; but did not change pulp total soluble solids content. These effects were independent from potassium doses, which did not influence the evaluated characteristics.

Soil microbial biomass (SMB) is considered a significant nutrient pool in soils, that may be associated to changes in the vegetation cover. In order to estimated the SMB C and N contents, six treatments were installed in mature forests (F), 8-year-old mixed plantations of indigenous tree species (P), and abandoned pastures (G), at both the flooding (V) and the sloping (M) areas of the Poço das Antas Biological Reserve, an Atlantic Rain Forest remnant of ca. 5,200ha. Soil samples were collected at the layers 0-2.5cm, and were incubated to also measure soil respiration rates. There was no significant difference among the treatments for SMB-C content and for the soil respiration rate, but the plantation on the flooding area showed a higher value for SMB-N than that on the sloping area plantation. Higher values of metabolic quotient (qCO2) and of Cmic:Nmic ratio suggest the plantation on the sloping area has a lower stability than the plantation on the flooding area.

With In many areas of the Northeast semi-arid, the native vegetation of caatinga is the main fodder support for ruminants feeding. This experiment was accomplished to evaluate Guzera and 5/8 Holstein/Zebu milk production, having the caatinga vegetation as the base of their diet and with energetic and protein supplement. Eight animals from the two races, with 60 days of lactation and 450 kg of live weight, in the beginning of the experiment, were distributed in two Latin Squares (4X4). Each experimental period lasted 21 days, being 14 for the adaptation of the animals to the ration and seven for the collection. The milk production ranged from 5.29 to 6.19 kg/cow/day for the different treatments. The animals, which received supplementation, produced more milk than those that did not receive it. There were no significant differences among the supplementations. The milk fat percentage did not vary among the treatments. An average consumption of 2.2% of live weight was observed. The animals from the 5/8 Holstein/Zebu had a bigger intake of dry matter, and more milk production than those from the Guzera race.

This work had as objective to evaluate the effect of different calcium sources in the diet of broiler chickens with 1 to 28 days of age, on the food intake, live weight gain, feed conversion, level of ashes and calcium in the tibia bone, longitudinal and transversal length of the tibia bone and retention calcium. The experiment had duration of 31 days being used 576 chicks of one day of age, with the cobb line ancestry. It was used entirely randomized design, being the sources consisting of calcium carbonate, calcium carbo quelate and limestone (calcareous rock) of two distinct deposits, A and B, respectively, being all they also evaluated to the granulometer, solubility and pH. The food intake showed significant difference for the calcium sources, however none of the calcium sources influenced the feed conversion, probably to the observed compensatory physiological effect on the live weight gain of the broiler chicks. With regard to the bone mineralization (tibia), it did not have significant influence of the calcium sources, however, with relation to the diameter and length of the tibia bone, the limestones A and B showed the best values when compared with the calcium carboquelate.

The rational exploration of Tayassu tajacu, popularly known as collared peccaries, may well contribute toward diminishing the predatory hunt for this animal. The object of the present study was to evaluate the effect of sex and castration in relation to amounts of cholesterol and fatty acids found in the meat of animals raised in a captivity. A total of 12 animals was used, 8 being male (of which 4 had been castrated) and 4 female. All of the animals were given the same type of treatment and the same food. After the animals had been slaughtered, the frozen carcasses were carefully packed and sent to the laboratory responsible for examination of meats and fish which is part of the Department of Nutritional Technology of the Federal University of Ceará, in order to determine the quantity of cholesterol and fatty acids present in the meat of these animals. The amount of cholesterol in the meat of the females was less than that found in the meat of the non-castrated males. In relation to the quantity of fatty acids, the meat of the female species presented a smaller percentage of linoleic and arachid acids and a higher percentage of palmitic and palmitoleic acids when compared to both the castrated and non-castrated males. Castration appears to have had no effect on the amount of cholesterol in the meat of the male species, which presented an acceptable lipoid profile due to the presence of considerable quantities of linoleic acid and a lower percentage of cholesterol than that found in other domestic or wild species .

The lack of information on seedlings production mainly with respect to the use of residuary water for irrigation and soil subtracts and the sustainability aspect of the production justified the present study. The work was conducted on a greenhouse using the flamboyant (Delonix regia) a forestall specie widely used on reforestation. It was used a randomized block design with four subtracts: soil, soil + NPK, soil + organic compost and soil + biossolid , and two irrigation waters: normal and residuary water, arranged in a factorial form, totalizing fifty six experimental units in seven blocks. At the end of 100 days the plant variables were measured and the data analyzed statistically. Treatments and interactions affected the number of leaves, leaf area, plant height and the aerial plant weight, observing the best results when the residuary water was used for irrigation and when the plant was developed on the soil + organic compost and soil + biossolid subtracts. For the stem diameter and root weight just the subtract nature affected the seedlings, obtaining the best results on the soil + organic compost subtract. The root length was not affected by the treatments.

With objective to study the effect of the powder of neem (Azadirachta indica L.) dryness and green leaves on the quality of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) seeds, was installed an experiment in the technology of seeds laboratory of the ESAM-RN. Was utilized seeds drip-gold cultured originated of Sierra of honey municipality, submitted four doses (0,25; 050; 0,75; 1,0g) by fifty seeds of powder of neem dryness and green leaves. The experiment was in completely randomized design with eight replications in a factorial arrangement 2 x 4 + 1. The values were submitted variance analyses and compared through tukey test with 1% probability used SISVAR program. NPDL and NPGL caused no toxic effect to seedlings as evaluated through first count of emergenced seedlings, germination rate and dry matter loss in seedlings.

The present work had for objective to evaluate the quality of the yellow passion fruit marketed in Rio Branco, in the state of the Acre. This research was accomplished the months of April and May of 2006. It was collected fruits of four commercial establishments, being three supermarkets (A,B,C) and a free market (D). The experimental design was in randomized complete blocks with four treatments and seven replications (collection time). The experimental unit was constituted of fifteen fruits. Medium mass of the fruit of 177,62 g, revenue of pulp of 44,44%, thickness of the peel of 6,98 mm, color of the peel varying of 2 (partially it yellows) to 3 (totally it yellows), format index of 1,16, length of 90,26 mm, diameter of 73,83 mm and class varying from 3 to 4. The appearance intern e had index of 3,87 (seeds and pulp stuck to the endocarp and 80% of the juice in the arilos). Fruits with light damages in the of peel were 91,18% and 14,96% with deep damages, classified in the category III. The fruits presented the following composition: 38 mg 100g-1 of vitamin C, 11% of total soluble solids, 5,2% of titlatable total acidity total and ratio of 2,3. The medium price to the consumer was of R$2.55/kg. It was verified by the characteristics analyzed that the establishment A, B and C presented better quality of the fruits in relation to the medium mass, diameter, length and format index. The establishment B markets fruits with larger market price (R$3.68/kg). Therefore, the passion fruit marketed in the municipal district of Rio Branco it is of low quality and prices above the production cost.

With the purpose of evaluating effects of salinity of irrigation water on initial development of rootstocks of guava (Psidium guajava L), an experiment was conducted in greenhouse at Experimental Station of Pacajus, belonging to Embrapa Tropical Agroindustry in the State of Ceará. The treatments in randomized block design consisted of five levels of electrical conductivity of water (ECw: 0.5; 1.5; 2.5; 3.5 and 4.5 dS m-1) and two cultivars of guava (Rica and Ogawa) with four replications. The irrigation waters were prepared maintaining equivalent proportion of 7:2:1 respectively of Na:Ca:Mg. Seedlings were appraised 80 days after emergence, the effects, on number of leaves, plant height, diameter of stem, phytomass of the root and aerial parts, total phytomass, diameter, leaf area and root to aerial part ratio were studied. The increment of water salinity affected growth of cultivar in terms of number of leaves, stem diameter plant height, the Ogawa cultivar was found to be more affected. In highest level of water salinity (4.5 dS m-1) the relative reduction in total dry phytomass in case of cultivar Rica was 63.5% while the decrease in cultivar Ogawa was higher (77.4%); with regard to leaf area the effect was linear with reduction of 17.2% and 18.4%, respectively, for unit increase of water salinity. In cultivar Rica roots and in cultivar Ogawa the aerial parts were most affected negatively by water salinity.

The citrus leafminer Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton is an important pest of citrus orchards either by direct damage or by favoring citrus canker contamination. The experiment was carried out inlaboratory conditions to evaluate Chrysoperla externa (Hagen) larvae preying on P. citrella egg, larval and pupalstages. It was observed that all the immature stages were preyed by first, second and third larval instars. The developmental time of the predator had direct influence on preying capacity, reaching 100% for predator larvae on the prey second instar larvae. This is the first record of C. externa preying the citrus leaf miner eggs, larvae and pupae in the world.