This paper presents the results of a taxonomic study of the family Poaceae held in Parque Nacional Serra de Itabaiana, with the objective of contributing to the knowledge of species richest of the Park. The PARNA Serra de Itabaiana (10 45'15''S and 37 25'15''O) is located in the state of Sergipe and covers an area of 7966 ha which includes three units, the serra do Cajueiro, Comprida and de Itabaiana. Collections were made between April 2006 and April 2008 and deposited in UFP, ASE, MO, and RB. Information on distribution have been raised from herbaria, literature and databases available on the Internet. We identified 40 species in the PARNA classified into 19 genera, the richest of which is Paspalum L., with eight species. Five species had their distribution extended in this work. A key to identify the species is presented, as well as comments on distribution and ecology.

The present study had as objective evaluates the physiologic behavior of different genetic groups of sheep created in the semi-arid paraibano in the dry and rainy times. Forty sheep were used, eight of each genetic group, distributed entirely in a randomized design. There was shift effect, for all the environmental variables and studied physiologic parameters. There were significant interactions of the factors genotypes, time and hour for the parameters, rectal temperature and breathing frequency. With relationship to the Index of tolerance to the heat (ITC) significant effect of the studied factors was not verified. With these results it can be ended that the races Santa Inês, Cariri and the products, resultants of crossings of the animals ½Dorper and ½Damara with sheep without defined race (SRD) they resemble each other in the adaptation aspect to the conditions of the semi-arid.

The objective of this paper was to evaluate the effect of water availability in the initial development of maize, sorghum and millet. The experiment was carried at Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Campus Rondonopolis the period from May to June 2010. The design was completely randomized in factorial 3x3, with three water availability (30, 60% field capacity and flooded soil), three grasses (maize, sorghum and millet) and three replications. Soil moisture was maintained by the weight of the experimental plots. The variables were: plant height, dry weight of shoots, leaf number and SPAD. Maize, sorghum and millet gets greater development in water availability of 60% of field capacity, and this condition provides the highest SPAD reading. The sorghum is tolerant to flooding and drought, unlike maize which is sensitive to these conditions and millet that is tolerant to drought only.

An experiment was carried out at Remigio, State of Paraíba, Brazil, to assess the water requirements of yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims f. flavicarpa Degener) from transplanting to fruiting irrigated with water without restriction salinity (0.5 dS m-1) and saline (4.5 dS m-1) in substrate with and without biofertilizer, with and without mulch. The experimental design was randomized blocks in factorial design 23, with three replications and three plants in lysimeters with 130 dm3 of substrate. In relation to witnesses, the use of organic raw material and the cover was reduced by 11.2% and 4.5% in water consumption of plants irrigated with water without restriction salinity and saline, respectively. In non-saline water interaction biofertilizer x mulch, plant water consumption to 2.76 mm day-1 in apical vegetative growth, 4.97 mm day-1 in growth and production of side branches and 5.65 mm day-1 on flowering and fruiting. In the periods of growth and production of side branches, flowering and fruiting, the water consumption of witnesses with water without restriction salinity are higher by 18.4% and 7.7%, respectively, of control plants irrigated with saline water. The electrical conductivity of the leached solution is enhanced by the use of saline water and the treatment without mulch. Plants irrigated with saline water present crop coefficients lower than those irrigated with water without restriction salinity.

This paper aimed to collect, to characterize and to estimate the phenotypic divergence of Dimorphandra spp. from different regions of Brazil. Dimorphandra species are sources of rutin, quercetin and rhamnose for pharmaceutical industry. Fruits at mature stage were collected from 21 areas, totaling 84 trees in cities of Minas Gerais, Maranhão and Tocantins states. The following descriptors were used to characterize the collected fruits: mean fruit fresh weight; mean seed fresh weight; fruit length and diameter; length, diameter and thickness of seed; seed color; number of viable and unviable seeds per fruit, and boron content in mesocarpand endocarp. The data were analyzed using a standardized average Euclidian distance matrix. The areas were clustered based on Neighbor Joining algorithm. Phenotypic variability among areas was detected. The clustering of the groups was consistent with geographic region of the collection and the species were separated in different groups. The D. wilsonii Rizz. species was the most divergent considering the three studied species. However, for germplasm conservation, more expeditions to collect samples are needed to increase the effective population number and to ensure an adequate accuracy to assure the occurrence of minimal genetic erosion.

Aiming to evaluate the nodulation and grain yield by cowpea inoculated with rhizobia isolates obtained of soil samples from Brazilian Northeast region, an experiment was carried out in Leonard jars under greenhouse conditions. The experiment was performed on a randomized block design with five replicates and five sampling times, performed at 15, 30, 45, 60 and 75 days after emergence (DAE). Nine rhizobia isolates and the recommended strain (BR 2001) were inoculated on cowpea. Besides, it were used two control treatment: mineral nitrogen (TN, applying 150 mg N plant-1) and an absolute control (T0). Evaluating the number of nodules per plant (NN), nodule dry mass (NDM), plant dry matter (PDM), Accumulated N (Nac), grain dry mass (GDM) and straw dry mass of pods (DMP). Results showed that the NN, NDM, PDM and Nac content increased until 45 DAE. Although variations had been occurred after 60 DAE for these parameters, significant difference was only found for Nac content at 75 DAE. Evaluated parameters (NN, NDM, PDM and Nac) showed a high correlation with GDM. Although no statistical difference had been observed to the strain BR 2001, five of the nine Bradyrhizobia isolates provided GDM production from 1.6 to 2.4 times more than the recommended strain, indicating high potential of use of these isolates as inoculant. However, further experiments are needed, mostly under field conditions to confirm these results.

The net radiation is of great importance in studies related to energy and mass exchanges between the land surface and atmosphere, although it is not measured routinely in a meteorological network. In this sense, the use of satellite images over the last decade has been increasingly used for its determination. The present study aimed at determining the radiation balance in the Irrigated São Gonçalo Project - PISG and surrounding areas based on satellite images and a few meteorological data measured within the PISG. Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper images available in 2008 and procedures of SEBAL - Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land were used for mapping albedo and net radiation. Three selected areas into the study scene were used to discuss the behavior of different components of the radiation balance under different soil cover types. It was observed that the waters of São Gonçalo dam presented albedo in the range of 3.3 to 7,5%, while in the soil with low vegetation cover the albedo ranged between 32 and 38,7% over the studied period. In the irrigated coconut orchard the albedo ranged between 15.0 to 18.7%, while the net radiation values over the dam and the coconut orchard were consistently higher than those in other areas. It was concluded that the irrigated areas have lower albedo and surface temperature and thus increased net radiation, contributing to reduce the air temperature locally.

Trichogramma species are found naturally parasitizing eggs of several lepidopteran species. Among the Trichogramma species, however, there is preference for certain lepidopteran species as host. Therefore, to succeed in a biological control program using Trichogramma is recommended to seek for more related parasitoid species to the target lepidopteran pests. Four species of the parasitoid were studied: Trichogramma acacioi Brun, Moraes & Soares, Trichogramma atopovirilia Oatman & Planter, Trichogramma exiguum Pinto & Planter and Trichogramma pretiosum Riley (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae).Thus, this study investigated three methods of evaluating Trichogramma species parasitizing Plutella xylostella Linnaeus(Lepidoptera: Plutellidae): parasitism within 24 h period, daily parasitism rate during adult stage, and fertility life table. The parasitism within 24 h-period and the daily parasitism rate showed that T. atopovirilia and T. pretiosum. Otherwise, the fertility life table parameters showed the better performance of T. atopovirilia. Therefore, the parasitism within 24 h-period can be considered the most efficacious selection methods because requiring less time to achieve the results, however with limitations when compared with daily parasitism rate during adult stage, and fertility life table.

The objective of this research was to evaluate the wood natural resistance of Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth. of phenotypes (plants) with and without prickles to subterranean termite (Nasutitermes corniger Motsch.) in forced feeding and feeding preference assays, under laboratory conditions. Wood test samples measuring 2.54 x 1.50 x 0.64 cm (forced feeding) and 10.00 x 1.50 x 0.64 cm (feeding preference), with the largest measurement in the fiber direction, were obtained from three positions from pith to bark direction. The samples were exposed for 28 days (forced feeding) and 45 days (feeding preference) to Nasutitermes corniger Motsch. termites. In forced feeding assay the termites caused superficial attack in wood and lived during 8 to 10 days, thus the wood was classified as resistant. In forced feeding assay more mass loss and attack in wood of external positions to both phenotypes was observed. To the waste and survival time of termites were similar to both types. In feeding preference a larger mass loss and waste to inner position in both phenotypes was observed. In general, the plants with prickles lost more mass than the one without prickles. Therefore, the wood of plants without prickles is more suitable to be use in construction of fences, sheepfolds and other similar uses where the wood shall be subject to attack by termites.

We analyzed the viability and effectiveness of restricted-use protected areas aiming to identify gaps in the definition of priorities to protect wild regions from Ceará. Based on the creation of legal documents and interviews with managers of protected areas, we analyzed the size, we verified the existence of the management plan, monitoring activities and the criteria used in selecting the area. We found that in eight of the sixteen protected areas had not followed technical-scientific criteria, nor had carried through previous studies of the resources when they had chosen the areas to be transformed into completely protected areas. Fifteen do not possess management plans and 13 do not have environmental monitoring activities. Eleven protected areas have less than 10,000 ha, and insufficient studies that accurately ascertain the extent appropriate to maintain the biodiversity of the ecosystems of Ceará. It is necessary to deploy tools for maintaining these forests to protect the wildlife and the environmental services provided by these areas.