This study evaluated the effect of different salt concentrations on growth, synthesis of organic solutes and ionic balance (Na+, Cl- and K+) of Jatropha curcas L. for 28 days. Seven treatments were established: 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 mol m-3 NaCl in a completely randomized design with five replicates per treatment. The largest concentrations of NaCl the addition of the salt was made gradually to avoid osmotic shock. The number of leaves and leaf area were reduced in plants subjected to salinity from 30 to 45 mol m-3 NaCl, respectively. The production of fresh and dry matter were reduced from 60 mol.m-3 NaCl up to 36%. The concentration of soluble carbohydrates and total soluble proteins increased significantly only in plants exposed to 15 and 30 mol.m-3 and 30 mol.m-3 NaCl, respectively. The total phenol content increased in plants subjected to salinity from 30 mol.m-3 NaCl. The increase in the levels of total phenols, soluble carbohydrates and soluble proteins and the absence of reduced growth in seedlings subjected to 30 mol.m-3 NaCl indicates the activation of an efficient mechanisms of acclimatization of this stress magnitude. The levels of Na+ and Cl- increased in all parts of the plant were increased concentrations of salt in the nutrient solution. The high levels of Na+ and Cl- indicate the absence of extrusion mechanisms of these ions.

In order to quantify the growth, accumulation and exportation of macronutrients by carrot ‘Forto', and obtain equations that best represent them, it was conducted an experiment in the São Gotardo (MG), from May to September 2004. Samples were taken at 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110 and 120 days after sowing (DAS) to determine dry matter and accumulation of macronutrients in leaves and roots. At 40 DAS, five days after thinning, the plants had 0.18 g and 0.04 g in dry leaves (LDM) and of roots (RDM), respectively. From then, until 88 DAS, the partitioning of photoassimilates and accumulation of matter in the shoots were more pronounced. The RDM was low until 80 DAS, which corresponded to two thirds of the crop cycle, from when the amount of material allocated in this part of the plant had strong growth, surpassing, at 88 DAS, the amount of LDM. The nutrient accumulation was small in the first 60 DAS, coinciding with the period of lower dry matter accumulation. The order of decreasing macronutrient accumulation by the crop were: K > N > Ca > P > S > Mg, in the amounts of 906.7, 438, 155.46, 87.4, 58 and 37.63 mg plant-1, respectively. The root participated with 60.5% of the accumulation of N, 86.1% of P, 58% of K, 25.5% of Ca, 55.6% of Mg and 65.5% of S. Considering a population of 590,000 plants per hectare, the total quantity of nutrients by the crop of carrots was 258.3, 51.6, 534.8, 91.7, 22.2 and 34.2 kg N ha-1, P, K, Ca, Mg and S, respectively.

Ni was the last nutrient characterized like essenti al for plants. Its essentiality is due to participa - tion as constituent of urease enzyme, which makes i t extremely important for the metabolism of N. Thus , the objective of this study was to investigate the grow th, content and accumulation of urea and nutrients in cowpea bean plants ( Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) ‘IPA 206’ according to nickel rate and two soil types. The experi- ment was carried out in a greenhouse at Universidad e Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, using a 5 x 2 factorial scheme in a randomized block design wit h four replications. Treatments consisted of foliar applica- tions of five nickel concentrations (0, 20, 40, 60 and 100 mg L -1 Ni) in the form of NiCl 2 .6H 2 O and two soils, a Typic Quartzipsamment and a Tb dystrophic Red-Yello w Ultisol. Ni rates promoted Ni toxicity symptoms j ust on young leaves of bean. These symptoms were charac terized by small reddish spots that have not progre ssed during the time and did not influence on the plants development. The foliar application of Ni increase d levels of this micronutrient in stems, mature leaves, youn g leaves and pods of cowpea bean, indicating high m obility of this micronutrient in the plant, but did not alt er the urea contents, indicating no effect on the a ctivity of urease enzyme. The dry mass of the shoots and the c ontent of others nutrients were not affected by fol iar appli- cation of Ni. Plants grown in Ultisol showed higher growth and higher content of urea and Cu in mature leaves; K and B in mature leaves, young leaves and twigs an d Zn in mature leaves and stem.

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 whitefly is the major pest of tomato due to direct damages caused by sucking and indirect damages related to viruses transmition. Was evaluated the distribution and incidence of whitefly nymphs in tomato by using of mineral and organic fertilization in greenhouse. The experiment was carried out at the Experimental Farm of São Luis, Maranhão State University in a greenhouse during the period november 2010 to december 2011. The experimental design was completely randomized plots with five treatments and six replications T1-Soil + NPK, T2-Soil + NPK + micro-nutrient, T3-Soil + NPK + manure, T4-Solo + manure + NPK + micro-nutrient, T5-Solo + manure + rock phosphate + Biofertilizer. Irrigation was performed manually, based on the weight and field capacity of each pot. The number of nymphs of B. tabaci was evaluated by counting performed at 45, 60 and 75 days after transplanting. In the process of sampling three leaflets were removed by plant been each of plant strata lower, middle and top. The use of organic fertilization showed lower incidence of nymphs of B. tabaci in tomato and distribution of this insect pest is higher in middle and apical strata of the plant.

The vegetation of the Caatinga has different types of unique landscapes, in which little is known. Considering the situation, this study aimed to perform a phytosociological survey in area of Ca atinga, located in Bom Jesus, Piauí. Were systematically re leased 15 quadratic plots with 400 m², with spacing of 80 m between plots and between lines. Within each sampli ng unit were measured all individuals with circumfe rence at breast height (CBH) ≥ 6 cm, as measured in these individuals the CBH and the total height. With this, it were calculated the phytosociological parameters, diamet er distribution and diversity index of Shannon-Wean er (H'). In this survey we sampled 640 individuals represent ing 36 species, which provided a density of 1600 in d ha -1 and an estimated basal area of 17.02 m² ha -1 . The species most representatives were Copaifera langsdorffi Desf., Ptyrocarpa moniliformis Benth., Pterodon abruptus (Moric.) Benth and Combretum glaucocarpum (Mart.) Eichl. , with about 43% of the sampled and 40% in the area of ecological importance. The result of the diversity index of Shannon-Weaner was 2.96 nats in d -1 .

The carnauba (Copernicia prunifera (Miller) HE Moore) is a native fruit species to the north- east of Brazil and its exploration is based mainly on the extract of wax powder from leaves. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different management strategies of cutting leaves, developmental stages and leaf age on leaf traits and physical-chemical attributes of carnauba wax in a natural population of carnauba palm located at the Cajazeira Farm, municipality of União, Piauí state, Brazil. The selected plants were identi- fied and classified in two developmental stages: capoteiro and adult palm. The management strategies cutting leaves were: one cut in August; two cuts, the first in August and the second in December; and one cut in De- cember. The leaves were separated according to age into new and old leaf. It was performed the individual analysis of variance of leaf number (LN), wax powder production (WP), ratio WP/LN, moisture content, impu- rities content and wax yield for each management systems as well as the analysis of the different managements. Leaf age presented as the attribute of greater relevance in the commercial use of carnauba. The best manage- ment strategy for cutting leaves of carnauba consists of a single annual cut in December.

The pollination is currently recognized as impor tant factor of production in the driving of many crops. The objective of this research was to study the reproductive biology of fennel in the field int ercropped with colored cotton (BRS Safira) in the presence an d absence of insecticide Actara and evaluate the pe rform- ance of their floral visitors. The evaluations were conducted in an experimental field in the municipa lity of Lagoa Seca-PB. Plots were evaluated: P 1 = fennel in the absence of insecticide; P 2 = fennel in the presence of insecticide; P 3 = fennel intercropped with cotton in the absence o f insecticide; P 4 = fennel intercropped with cotton in the presence of insecticide. In each plot data were recorded on the inflorescence and flower s such as floral morphology, color, time, duration and sequen ce of anthesis and observed aspects related to time , fre- quency, duration and visiting behavior. For analysi s of the reproductive system was evaluated the natu ral polli- nation and self-pollination by the number of fruits formed, weight of thousand seeds and number of see ds/kg. The hermaphrodite flowers are yellow in color, have 5 mm in diameter, have five petals, have short cor olla and inferior ovary containing two ova. After anthesis, the flowers remained open for approximately 24 hour s. Ob- served self-pollination in this species, but there is increased production of fruits and seeds in the natural polli- nation. The bee Apis mellifera is the most efficient pollinator of this species, with a higher number of visits to the plots without insecticide application, regardle ss of single planting or intercropping system.

There are few studies related to the in vitro cultivation of plants from theTheobroma genus and no effective micropropagation protocols for T.grandiflorum. The aim of this study was to evaluate the calli formation in cupuassu floral explants, targeting their organogenic or embryogenicdevelopment. Experiments were conducted in the Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory of EMBRAPA, Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil. Floral parts from unopened immature flower buds taken from seedless cupuassu trees were sterilized and employed as a source of explants. These explants were cultivated in Petri dishes in an induction medium consisting of MS salts and vitamins, supplemented with glycine(3 mg.L-1), lysine (0,4 mg.L-1), leucine (0,4 mg.L-1), arginine (0,4 mg.L-1), tryptophan (0,2 mg.L-1), 2,4-D (1 mg.L-1), kinetin (0,25 mg.L-1), coconut water (50 ml.L-1), sucrose (40 g.L-1), Gelrite (2,2 g.L-1) and pH adjusted to 5,8. Cultures were maintained in the dark for 3 weeks at 27°C and then subcultured for six weeks in medium without growth regulators supplemented with glycine (1 mg.L-1), lysine (0,2 mg.L-1), leucine (0,2 mg.L-1), arginine (0,2 mg.L-1), tryptophan (0,1 mg.L-1), coconut water (100 ml.L-1), sucrose (40 g.L-1), Gelrite (2,2 g.L-1) and pH 5,8. We used a completely randomized design with 10 replications of 5 explants per plate and four different explant sources: staminode, petal, ligule and ovary. As a result, we obtained a highercalli formation in theinduction medium when ovaries were used as source of explants. However, there was no development of somatic embryosor organogenic response in medium without growth regulators and further studies are being conducted.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the emergence and development of lettuce seed- lings, cv. Babá de Verão, when produced with organi c substrates made from sheep manure. The experiment was accomplished at a nursery in the Universidade F ederal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), Unidade Acadêmica de Serra Talhada (UAST), Serra Talhada to wn, State of Pernambuco, during the month of April 2011. It was used a completely randomized design wi th four replications. The treatments were: T1 – com mer- cial substrate (Tropstrato HT ® ); T2 – sheep manure + sand (1:1); T3 – sheep manur e + sand (2:1); T4 – sheep manure + sand (3:1); T5 – sheep manure + soil (1:1) ; T6 – sheep manure + soil (2:1); T7 – sheep manure + soil (3:1); T8 – sheep manure + sand + soil (1:1:1); T9 – sheep manure + sand + soil (2:1:1); T10 – sheep m anure + sand + soil (3:1:1). Emergence indicators were: per centage, speed index and average time of emergence. Re- garding the development characteristics of seedling s were analyzed: leaf number, seedling height, root length, shoot dry matter and root dry matter. Whereas the i ndicators of emergence and development, it can be i nferred that substrates T3 [EO + A (2:1)], T4 [EO + A (3:1) ], T6 [EO + S (2:1)], T7 [EO + S (3:1)] and T10 [EO + A + S (3:1:1)] provided similar results to those observ ed in the production of lettuce seedlings with the commercial substrate, thus providing the formation of vigorous seedlings more sustainable for the initial stage o f cultivation of this vegetable.