The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential of live larvae of Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) as alternative prey used in the E. connexa and C. maculata rearings developed at the Integrated Center for Pest Management (CIMP) (UFRRJ, Seropédica campus, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), in comparison to the use of flour moth eggs, Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), sterilized by ultraviolet radiation. The obtained results showed that the larvae of the two lady beetles developed adequately, as well as generating fertile adults and viable eggs when fed on live larvae of D. melanogaster, similar to E. kuehniella eggs. It can be concluded that the live larvae of this fly can replace the eggs of the flour moth in the rearing of the two lady beetles in the laboratory.

The practice of using fire by human populations is characterized as a production strategy in rural settlements, being used for several purposes, such as pasture cleaning, pest control, and to eliminate production waste. The study was conducted at the Federal Settlement Project Gleba do Escondido (PA Escondido), located in the municipality of Juara, in the northern region of the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil. In this context, we aim with the present work, to diagnose the previous knowledge of settled farmers on forest fires prevention and control strategies. To accomplish this, we applied a semi-structured questionnaire, with questions related to the use of fire, in addition to the approach on prevention techniques. In addition, we sought to know the social aspects, introducing questions regarding the social and cultural conditions of the interviewees. We applied the interviews to 42 settlers, involving individuals of both genders. The results show that part of the settlers still handle the fire inappropriately, in addition to little knowledge about the potential environmental effects of the fires. Thus, we verified that the socio-environmental profile of the settlers reflects the assistance policies employed in these communities. Therefore, the emergency tangent for maintaining a healthy environment would be the implementation of environmental education programs, with the objective of sensitizing the community about fire’s proper use and management, together with environmental conservation

Nitrogen and boron participate concurrently in the growth and development process of plants by changing   cell division processes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of sources and doses of nitrogen, associated with boron doses and sulfur on the yield and quality aspects of Verona CMS cauliflower. The experimental design was set up under split plot design in randomized blocks, with 3 replicates. The treatments in the plot were sources of ammonium sulphate (NH4)2SO4) and calcium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2) x doses of nitrogen, being 125, 150, 175 and 200 kg ha-1 on topdressing system and in the subplot doses of boron (0, 2, 4 and 6 kg ha-1). The fresh curd mass, curd and stem diameter, total and commercial yield, besides the contents of nitrogen, boron and sulfur in the leaf and curd, were evaluated. The sources and doses of nitrogen and the doses of boron did not influence the fresh curd mass, stem diameter and the total yield of 'Verona CMS' cauliflower. Enhancing doses of Ca(NO3)2 increased curd diameter, however in combination with boron doses there was antagonism effect on curd development. The contents of nitrogen and boron in the leaf were influenced by the fertilization of nitrogen and boron, respectively, when the calcium nitrate source was used.

Interaction between bees and plants ensured success in cross-pollination crops, increasing the vigor of the species, as the production of fruits and seeds. Bees are the main pollinators of angiosperms and several crops. Among the factors related to the disappearance of bees in agricultural areas is the excessive or improper use of insecticides. However, agriculture is extremely dependent on pesticides for pest control and the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam is one of the most used insecticides. The use of these chemicals affects the pollinating bee Apis mellifera. Thus, the aim of the study was to select Africanized A. mellifera queens tolerant to thiamethoxam, producing four generations of bees kept in chronic contamination and perform tests to validate tolerance. Colonies of A. mellifera were subjected to chronic contamination by contact with thiamethoxam at a sublethal concentration of 1.65 mg a.i./L. From the surviving colonies, four generations of new queens were produced, kept in chronic contamination with thiamethoxam. Chronic contamination caused changes in the workers' behavior for 25 days. Validation of selection and tolerance was performed in vitro bioassays to verify mortality and critical electrolyte concentration (CEC). In vitro bioassays showed that there was low mortality after contamination for 24 hours by contact with thiamethoxam at 82.5 mg a.i / L. The analyzes of CEC indicate that there was an increase in gene expression in brain cells, probably as an attempt to detoxify the workers' organism by contamination with thiamethoxam. New tests need to be carried out with colonies tolerant to the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam, but these initial results indicate that these queens have potential to tolerate this neonicotinoid.

Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is one of the most cultivated and consumed legumes worldwide. Brazil is one of the world's largest producers of this crop, which constitutes an important primary source of protein in the diet of its population. In the Northeast region, this legume is a key crop, especially for small family farmers. However, this region has high production susceptibility, which is mainly due to local climatic conditions and the low degree of technification employed. In this sense, the objective of this study was to analyze the productive variations of the bean crop in the municipality of Dois Riachos, Semi-arid of Alagoas, in the period 1998-2015. The production data were obtained from the IBGE Municipal Agricultural Production database, using the Automatic Recovery System (SIDRA), and subjected to correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed high interannual variability in the production of beans, reflected in the strong oscillation of the analyzed variables. Significant correlations were observed between all variables. The PCA gathered 93.8% of the original data variance in its first two axes, generating 4 clusters that grouped years with similar productive characteristics. The reductions observed for the variables may be linked mainly to abiotic factors, such as the occurrence of prolonged droughts, and the low degree of technification used for this culture.

Resistance to Penetration (RP) can be found on various soil conditions and even on different agricultural production systems. The present work aimed to diagnose compacted layers along the soil profile. For the development of the work, it was necessary to use a specific equipment for data collection of RP whose name and Digital Penetrometer (Falker). Able to measure compacted layers every 5 cm depth up to a distance of 60 cm. along the soil profile in addition, it is able to provide data via graphs through a computer system. Random collections were carried out on different farms in the Araguaia Xingu region, so the criterion used to develop the work was to collect 15 points per plots at a maximum depth of 40cm and the same should be found in its third year of soybean cultivation. Corn (Safrinha). A total of 135 points were collected along 9 farms in the region, and after analyzing the points through the PenetroLOG Software. An average of the 15 points of each farm was carried out, as well as the final average of all the farms to reinforce the individual means. It was concluded that, in the soybean and maize out-season system, the compacted layer is between 14 and 20 cm deep along the soil profile with mean values of pressure of 1975 and 2504 kpa. This suggests alteration of the management used in the soils of the evaluated areas.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the precision and accuracy of smartphone applications for measuring the total height of trees. We measured the heights of 90 trees of different species on the campus of the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro in Seropédica, equally distributed in three height classes: (1) h ≤ 11.5 m; (2) 11.5 <h < 20 m; and (3) h ≥ 20 m. The heights measured by the Vertex III® hypsometer was the reference for the comparison of the tested applications: Measure Height (MH and MDH), Hypsometer (HYP), Simple Measure (SM), Height Calculator (HC), Smart Tools (ST), Height and Distance (HD), Two Point Height (TPH and TPH2) and Tree Meter (TM) using the MOTO G5 smartphone. For data analysis, we performed an F (α = 0,05) test, and if there is a significant difference Dunnett's mean test (α = 0,05) was applied, and height variation coefficients (CV%) were analyzed for all applications used. Then, we carried out the graphical analysis of the differences and the statistical parameters of Bias (V), Mean of Absolute Differences (MD), Standard Deviation of Differences (DPD), ending with the performance index (c). We concluded that the applications Height Calculator (HC), Smart Tools (ST) and, Two Point Height, (TPH) present greater precision and accuracy in the measurement of the total height of the trees. However, we observed that increasing the height of the trees, reduces the performance of the applications, mainly using the Simple Measure (SM) and Height and Distance (HD) applications. The Tree Meter (TM) can be used on trees smaller than 20 m in total height. Measure Height (MH and MDH) and Hypsometer (HYP) applications have low precision and accuracy in estimates.

The yellow passion fruit tis cultivated and commercialized throughout the Brazilian territory, it contributes to the generation of employment, and can be cultivated from micro to large producers. The Passifloraceae family is one of the most studied in breeding programs, aiming at the production of hybrids. The objective of the work was to identify the pollen viability of Passiflora edulis, using three dyes, being Lugol 2%, Alexander reactive 2% and blackcurrant juice. The data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance, followed by Tukey’s test to compare means at a significance level of 5%, using the R software.  The results indicated a high rate of viable pollens, with no difference between the dyes used, since that the reactive dye Alexander was the one that best enable the identification of viable and non-viable pollens.

Hair is a complex natural fiber consisting mainly of keratin that can be divided into four main structural units, namely: cuticle, cortex, medulla, and membrane complex. The use of pigments in hair care preparations, mainly derivatives of aromatic amines, has been a topic of discussion due to toxicity and ecotoxicity concerns. In this background, Myrciaria cauliflora Berg is a native fruit occurring from northeastern to southern Brazil. Among the diversity of compounds detected in this fruit species are bioactive flavonoids and anthocyanins, which are responsible for the purple pigmentation of the fruit peels. This study reports on the use of a microencapsulated Myrciaria cauliflora Berg. peel extract as a temporary pigment to reduce the yellow tone of the hair. The extract was obtained by maceration with 70% ethanol (v/v) in an acidic milieu (6.0% citric acid). The extract was submitted to phytochemical profiling and a shampoo formulation was developed and applied onto a chemically treated hair. The preliminary characterization of the extract confirmed the presence of phenolic compounds and anthocyanins, in addition to the acid/base character of the extract. When tested on discolored hair samples with a yellow tone, the Myrciaria cauliflora Berg. shampoo reduced the yellow color, which was visually perceived by the enhancement of the hair brightness. These results demonstrate the potential of M. cauliflora extract – obtained from a fruit widely found in Brazil, as a temporary pigment to be used in cosmetic hair care.

Stingless bees are important pollinators for the native forest of tropical and subtropical regions, predominantly in Latin America. This group contains more than 300 species, many of them native from Brazil. Their colonies present various types of structures, formats and materials. Scaptotrigona bipunctata (Lepeletier, 1836) is a species of stingless bee that builds large colonies within tree trunks. They are ecologically important as pollinators, maintaining the ecological balance. However, studies indicate that the number of bees has been decreasing drastically over the years due to habitat destruction and intensive use of agrochemicals. High doses of insecticides can lead to the death of bees, but low concentrations may promote behavioral changes that affect the colonies and its services to ecosystem and agricultural crops. Around 40% of all insecticides applied in Brazil are toxic to bees. Cypermethrin insecticide belongs to the pyrethroid group and it is widely used in several crops, such as cotton, potato, coffee, maize and tomato. This study aimed to investigate the mortality rate, alterations in total protein and esterase expression in S. bipunctataafter contamination by ingestion and contact with cypermethrin. At the end of the bioassays, there was found a low mortality rate, however, sublethal effects were expressive. Esterases showed different expression patterns after contamination, both by ingestion and contact and total protein analysis presented changes in expression, as well.