ABSTRACT Alternative management measures have been used to reduce nematode population levels in affected areas. In this perspective, the objective was to evaluate the efficiency of nematicides based on fungus and bacterium, associated with poultry litter applied via ground in the management of Pratylenchus brachyurus and Heterodera glycines in soybean and corn crops in succession. The experiment was conducted in the 2018/19 growing season in the municipality of Ipameri– GO (-17°34’55.58”S−48°12’02.35”O) in naturally infested field, arranged in a randomized block design, with 10 treatments and 4 replicates, being: T1- Witness/ control, T2- Poultry litter, T3- P. lilacinum + T. harzianum, T4- B. subtilis + B. licheniformis, T5- P. chlamydosporia, T6- Abamectina, T7- P. lilacinum + T. harzianum + Poultry litter, T8- B. subtilis + B. licheniformis + Poultry litter, T9- P. chlamydosporia + Poultry litter, T10- Abamectina + Poultry litter. The poultry litter was added in the soil 10 days before planting. The plots were composed of 6 lines of 6 m, with a spacing of 0.5 m. In the soybean crop at 45 and 90 days after sowing (DAS), the fresh weight of the roots (MFR), nematological variables and productivity were evaluated. In corn, only nematological variables were evaluated at 60 DAS. The treatments using P. lilacinum + T. harzianum and B. subtillis + B. licheniformes increased the MFR and reduced the number of P. brachyurus and H. glycines at the root. P. chlamydosporia associated with poultry litter increased in productivity in soybean plants.

ABSTRACT Sorghum is a commonly grown plant in the Central-West region of Brazil as a second crop; however, it is grown almost exclusively as a second crop after maize in the state of Paraná (South region). The growth of sorghum crops is an option for areas or times in which the growth of maize crops can be risky. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the agronomic characteristics of eight sorghum hybrids (ADV-123, ADV-114, 1G100, 50A10, 1G244, 50A40, 50A50, and 1G282) grown in three sowing times in two agricultural years: 2014 (February 20, March 02, and March 03) and 2015 (February 09, February 19, and March 01), and four maize hybrids in 2014 (DKB-330-Pro, P-3431-HX, Formula-TL, and AG-9010-Pro) and five maize hybrids in 2015 (DKB-330-Pro, P-3431-HX, Formula-TL, DKB-275-Pro, and DKB-290-Pro), in the same sowing times used for sorghum. A randomized complete block experimental design with a split-plot factorial arrangement was used, with the sowing times in the plots and the hybrids in the sub-plots. The variables evaluated were: number of days from sowing to flowering, leaf area index, 1,000-grain weight, grain yield, number of spikelets per panicle, for the sorghum crop; and number of rows per ear and number of grains per row, for the maize crop. The comparison between the two crops showed that the sorghum maintained higher production stability in the different sowing times.

ABSTRACT The objective of this work was to estimate and compare phenotypic and genetic parameters after three cycles of intrapopulation recurrent selection for fresh corn grown under three nutrient availability conditions. Three experiments derived from the same population (MV-003) were conducted to assess the ability of progenies to absorb nutrients, one under adequate fertilization (control; MV-006), one under low nitrogen availability (N; MV-006N), and one under low phosphorus availability (P; MV-006P). The experiments were carried out in randomized blocks, with 64 half-sib progenies and three replications for each nutritional condition. Chlorophyll index, plant height, ear insertion, ear diameter, ear length, unhusked ear yield, and marketable husked ear were evaluated. The populations showed variability for the three nutrient availability conditions. The variability reduced after only three selection cycles; thus, evaluating a higher number of half-sib progenies, above 64, under low N and P availability is indicated. The rates used to identify the most efficient progenies in breeding programs should be close to the appropriate one, with a slow reduction after the selection cycles. The variability will be thus maintained, with a greater possibility of identifying more promising progenies. In addition, the frequency of favorable alleles increases more gradually and effectively. The N and P rate of 60 kg ha-1 is not indicated as a critical level for the initial phase of the program.

ABSTRACT Maize is one of the main cereals cultivated worldwide and wild poinsettia is among the weeds that cause damage in grain production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relative competitive ability of maize hybrids in the presence of a wild poinsettia biotype through experiments in replacement series. In preliminary experiments, it was determined the plant population in which the dry mass becomes constant. For the maize hybrids ‘Agroeste’, ‘Morgan’, ‘Nidera’, and ‘Velox’, as well as the wild poinsettia, the population was 20 individuals vase-1. Subsequently, experiments were carried out in replacement series in different combinations of species that varied the relative proportions (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100%). The analysis of the species' competitiveness was carried out using diagrams applied to the replacement experiments and by the relative competitiveness indexes. The height (PH), chlorophyll index (CI), leaf area (LA), and the shoot dry mass (DM) of the plants were evaluated 50 days after emergence. There was competition between the maize hybrids and the wild poinsettia; both were negatively affected, regardless of the proportion of plants, causing reductions in the species' PH, CI, LA, and DM. The competition between maize and wild poinsettia occurs for the same resources in the environment, and interspecific competition caused greater damage to maize and wild poinsettia than intraspecific competition. In general, it was observed that only the hybrids ‘Nidera’ and ‘Velox’ were more competitive than the wild poinsettia.