The bovine biofertilizer applied through irrigation water in the soil (bio fertigation), can be a viable organic source to maintain fertility levels in agricultural production systems. So, this work was aimed at evaluating the effects of different concentrations of bovine biofertilizer applied by fertigation on corn growth, gas exchange and yield. The experiment was conducted under full sun exposure, in Fortaleza, Ceara, in 100 liter (100 L) vessels. The experimental design was that of randomized blocks with five treatments and five repetitions. Treatments consisted of 0.5 L doses (per plant) of a fertigating solution (biofertilizer + water) weekly applied, with a different biofertilizer concentration to each treatment, as follows: C0 = 0% biofertilizer (control), C1 = 12.5%, C2 = 25% biofertilizer, C3=50% biofertilizer, C4 = 100% biofertilizer. We analyzed the effects on the following variables: plant height, stem diameter, leaf number, shoot dry weight, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration and yield. The biofertilizer was the most efficient considering the initial growth and gas exchange. Also, the bovine biofertilizer treatments (as a whole) favored the increase in the weight of 1000 seeds and grain yield.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of varieties of common bean in notillage on biomass of fallow vegetation as a function of crop fertilization. The study was conducted at Bujari, AC. The experimental design was a randomized complete block split plot with four replications. The experiment consisted in the cultivation of three varieties of common bean in no-tillage on weed straw, with and without fertilization at planting subplot. The variables analyzed were grain yield, final stand, number of pods per plant, number of grains per pod and weight of hundred grains. The data were submitted to the F test and means were compared by Tukey test (p<0,05). The bean variety Carioca Pitoco has better grain yield than the Carioca and Rosinha varieties on the first year of no-tillage system. The crop fertilization increases the yield of varieties of beans grown on straw till the fallow vegetation.

The silicon fertilization has a beneficial effect in enhancing the resistance of plants to diseases, however, this effect can be reduced in the presence of high levels of nitrogen. Given the above, this study aimed to investigate the effect of silicated and nitrogen fertilization in control of rice blast in irrigated system. Plants were grown in an area of tropical lowland and evaluated as to the severity of leaf blast incidence on pan-1 of calcium and magnesium silicate associated with 45 kg ha - 1 of nitrogen topdressing on had lower severity of leaf blast and higher grain yield compared to plants not supplemented with silicon. The combination of silicated fertilization with 90 kg ha - 1 of nitrogen topdressing resulted in a greater incidence of panicle rice blast. After analyzing the results, it was concluded that supple- mentation with silicon and nitrogen promoted reduction in the severity of blast in rice plants in irrigation sys- tem without affecting the yield.

The fruits and seeds of tucumã-of-Goiás have important nutritional properties and are used in human consumption and feed. Thus, the study of the thermodynamic properties in the drying process is critical to project analysis equipment, preservation and packaging process of seeds. The aim of this study was to determine and evaluate the thermodynamic properties for different hygroscopic moisture contents of seeds tucumãof- Goiás. For the experimental data we used the static indirect at temperatures of 10, 20, 30 and 40 °C and moisture content of 12.8; 8.9; 5.8 and 3.6% dry base (d.b). The model Copace was that got the best fit to hygroscopic equilibrium moisture content. The thermodynamic properties are affected by moisture content, and the latent heat of vaporization of water from the seeds increases with the decrease in the equilibrium moisture content ranging from 3049.00 to 2666.73 kJ kg-1 for moisture content of 3.6 to 12.8% d.b., respectively. The enthalpy and differential entropy are strongly related to the moisture content of seeds. The isokinetic temperature of 210.93 K confirms the chemical linear compensation between differential entropy and enthalpy seeds of tucumã-of-Goiás, the desorption process being controlled by the enthalpy of seeds.

The study was conducted to evaluate the intake, digestibility, production and composition of milk from goats fed with diets containing different protein sources (soybean meal, cottonseed cake, aerial part cassava hay, leucaena hay). Were used eight goats with 96.5 ± 3.7 days in lactation, producing 2.0 ± 0.44 kg of milk and with an average initial weight of 47.5 ± 6.6 kg distributed in two Latin square 4 x 4. The animals fed the diet containing aerial part cassava hay presented (P<0.05) higher intake of rumen undegradable protein and an intake neutral detergent fiber corrected for ash and protein higher than (P<0.05) the diet with soybean meal. The use of cottonseed cake as protein source have provided (P<0.05) intake of rumen degradable protein and ether extract higher than the remaining diets. The nutrient digestibility, production and milk composition were similar (P>0.05) between the protein sources evaluated. The efficiency of nitrogen utilization and secretion of urea in milk presented significant effect (P<0.05) in that diet with aerial part cassava hay had lower average compared to the diet with soybean meal. Diets containing soybean meal, cottonseed cake, aerial part cassava hay or leucaena hay can be used as a protein source in diets for lactating goats, not to change the digestibility of nutrients or interfere with the production and composition of milk.

Organic fertilizing promotes changes in the physical, chemical and biological attributes of soil making it more productive. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different amounts of hairy woodrose (Merremia aegyptia L.) and their times of incorporation on the chemical attributes of an Alfissol Eutrophic cultivated with lettuce. The experiment was conducted from April to June 2006 at the Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido (UFERSA) in Mossoró-RN. The experimental design was complete randomized blocks with treatments arranged in a 4 x 4 factorial with 3 replications. The first factor consisted of four amounts of hairy woodrose incorporated into the soil (2.2, 4.4, 6.6 and 8.8 t ha-1 dry matter) and the second factor was the four times of their incorporations (0, 10, 20 and 30 days before transplanting lettuce). The soil pH remained alkali, decreasing with the amounts of hairy woodrose incorporated into the soil and with the times of incorporation. The contents of N, Ca and Mg in the soil increased with increasing amounts of hairy woodrose and with the times of incorporation in soil. The levels of available P and K increased with increasing amounts of hairy woodrose incorporated into the soil. However, in relation to the incorporation times, they were optimized at 16 and 14 days, respectively, after the manure incorporation. The utilization of hairy woodrose as organic fertilizer, generally, indicated improvement in soil chemical attributes in relation to the original values evaluated before its incorporation.

Aiming to evaluate the sorghum intercropping on the line in two seeding dephts of brachiaria species, a trial was conducted on the field in february 2009 in Rio Verde, GO. The experimental design used was randomized blocks in factorial scheme 2x3+1+3, with four replications, being made up two brachiaria sowing depths (2 and 10 cm), three brachiaria species (Brachiaria decumbens, B. brizantha cv. Marandu and B. ruziziensis) intercropped with the sorghum DKB 599, plus four additional treatments of sorghum and brachiaria monocultures. At 52 days after to harvest the sorghum grains, it was made up the cutting on brachiaria at 30 cm from the soil to explore the regrowth of plants in off-season cultivation, and further evaluation of forage yield at 36 days after the cutting. The intercropping in the line with B. brizantha, at 2 or 10 cm sowing depth, and with B. decumbens, sown at 2cm, appeared as the most promising for sorghum grain production. The brachiaria and sorghum intercropping in the line increased the total dry matter and crude protein yields. The regrowth of brachiaria plants in the intercropping showed to be a technique viable for forage production and soil cover in dry season at Brazil cerrado.

The aim of this study was to analyze the physical characteristics of the fruits of cocoa and co- coa producing clonal CCN - 51 submitted to irrigation and nitrogen fertigation applied in semi - arid of Bahia in an experiment conducted in the field on the property in Vale do Sol, Jequié, BA. The statistical experimental design was randomized blocks in a 4x4 factorial with treatments consisting of the sheets of water (L1 = 1146.35 mm, L2 = 1335.66 mm 1525.58 mm = L3, L4 = 1717.58 mm) and the nitrogen (N1 = 249.3 kg ha - 1 , N2 = 307.2 kg ha - 1 , N3 = 365.0 kg ha - 1 , N4 = 422.9 kg ha - 1 ), with four replications. Nitrogen doses and the in- teraction between them with water slides positively influenced the number of seeds per fruit, number of fruits per plant and weight of almonds per fruit; water slides influenced the number of fruits per plant clonal cacao CCN - 51. The water slides, nitrogen and the interaction between these positively influenced the production of dry almonds of cocoa clonal CCN - 51. Treatment L3 N3 showed higher productivity of cocoa almonds for sale with 1025.69 kg ha - 1 .

Culturas de cobertura são usadas para cobrir o solo e também podem liberar nitrogênio para o solo durante a mineralização. No entanto, é necessário identificar espécies que combinem liberação rápida de nutri- entes com maior persistência da palhada na superfície do solo. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar a degrada- ção da palha e a liberação de nitrogênio por culturas de cobertura sob plantio direto. O experimento de campo foi conduzido durante dois anos no verão (2008/2009 e 2009/2010) na região do Cerrado do Brasil. O delinea- mento experimental foi em blocos ao acaso no esquema fatorial. Os tratamentos foram a combinação de cinco plantas (quatro espécies de plantas de cobertura 1- Panicum maximum, 2- Brachiaria ruziziensis, 3- Brachiaria brizantha e 4- Pennisetum glaucum [milheto] e pousio como controle) com seis épocas de avaliação (seis pri- meiras semanas após a aplicação de glifosato nessas plantas de cobertura). Entre as espécies avaliadas, Penise- tum glaucum e pousio tiveram rápida degradação da palhada e liberação de nitrogênio. As culturas de cobertura Panicum maximum, Brachiaria brizantha e Brachiaria ruziziensis se destacaram na produção de biomassa e na quantidade de nitrogênio nas suas palhadas, mas apresentaram baixos coeficientes de degradação e persistiram por mais tempo na superfície do solo em relação a Pennisetum glaucum e pousio.

The Ceara State has a variety of species of non-traditional fruits that are consumed in natura and/or processed by local population, with economic potential for agro-industrial processing, however, still poorly studied. In this context, the aim of this research was to evaluate the genetic variability of puçazeiro ‘Coroa de Frade’, native tree from coastal vegetation of Beberibe, Ceará, Brazil, by physico-chemical and chemical characteristics of their fruits. Fifteen genotypes were evaluated. The traits analyzed were: soluble solids (SS), titrable acidity (TA) (% of citric acid), pH, SS/TA ratio, total sugars, reducing sugars, starch and, total and soluble pectin. The genotypes were characterized as a good alternative to the market of exotic fruits, showing high values of SS (20,40 a 31,00 °Brix) and low mean values of titrable acidity (0,27 a 0,58 % of citric acid), producing SS/TA ratio ranged between 37,5 and 102,43, with emphasis on the genotype '8', which pre- sented SS/TA ratio of 95.05. The genotypes showed fruit netting with high starch (> 1%). The values of total pectin (0.35 to 0.98%) and soluble pectin (0.13 to 0.74%) reinforcing the use of this fruits in the industry, with low cost to manufacture of candy and jellies. The repeatability analysis showed that most of the observed varia- tion among genotypes is associated with the genetic component. Therefore, it can be concluded that the studied genotypes of puçazeiro 'Coroa de Frade' showed wide genetic variability and have fruits indicated even for fresh consumption as well as for processing.