Two experiments were conducted in Petrolina, State of Pernambuco (PE), Brazil, in order to evaluate the performance of mini tomato cultivars under the conditions of the Sub - Mid São Francisco Valley. One on crops of the second half of the year (SH) from August to December 2012, and other on crops of the first half of the year (FH) from March to July 2013. Six mini tomato cultivars were evaluated in both seasons: E5663 , Kada , F1170 , Tanzimech , E1275 and Abirú . A randomized block experimental design was used, with four replications, arranged in split plot, with the growing seasons in the plots and cultivars in the subplots. The total and commercial fruit yield, soluble solid contents, fruit yield per plant, number of fruits per plant, and fruit fresh weight were evaluated. The total yield was higher in the FH, regardless of the cultivar used. The cultivar E5663 presented yield of 40.3 Mg ha - 1 in the SH and 104.0 Mg ha - 1 in the FH. Commercial yield, soluble solid content and yield per plant followed the same trend. The number of fruits per plant ranged from 390.8 to 941.4 (FH) and from 80.5 to 315.4 (SH). The cultivar E5663 presented the best yield and soluble solid content responses, thus, it may be recommended for the conditions of Petrolina PE, and can be adopted for planting in both seasons evaluated.

This study aimed at assessing the effect of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), gas-nitric oxide (NO) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) on ripening of ‘Packham’s Triumph’ pears. The treatments consisted of T1) control; T2) 300 ppb 1-MCP; T3) 1 mM SNP; T4) 10 ppm NO; and T5) 20 ppm NO. The fruit treated with 1-MCP showed significantly higher values for flesh firmness, texture, and peel green color, besides lower respiratory rates and ethylene production. On the other hand, NO and SNP treatments did not reduce fruit respiratory rate and ethylene production. Flesh firmness and textural features were maintained by treating fruit with 20 ppm NO after leaving chambers. Treatments using 1 mM SNP and 20 ppm NO kept peel green color (higher hue angle) when compared to control, without decreasing fruit yellowing during the shelf life. The application of 300 ppb 1-MCP prevented buttery texture and yellowing in 'Packham’s Triumph' pear fruit during environment condition exposure. The use NO at 20 ppm kept flesh firmness during storage, however, with subsequent reduction of this variable in environmental conditions. The treatments with 1mM SNP and 20 ppm NO maintained green peel of pear fruit, even after exposure to environmental conditions, but not limiting yellowing.

Addition of Silicon (Si) to culture media has been shown to improve the development of seedlings grown in vitro , and to reduce losses during the acclimatization phase. The objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro growth of Cattleya forbesii (Orchidaceae) in MS medium containing five different concentrations of SiO 2 (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 g·L −1 ). At day 200, the following variables were measured: number of roots, average length of the root system, leaf area, number of leaves and shoots, shoot height, fresh and dry masses of roots and shoots, water content of roots and shoots, and pH of the culture medium. Most variables decreased as the concentration of Si increased, reducing the in vitro vegetative growth of C. forbesii . Accumulation of Si in leaf tissues was detected by scanning electron microscopy, confirming uptake by plants. The Si source and concentrations tested showed no beneficial effect on in vitro growth of C. forbesii .

Saflufenacil is absorbed by the plant leaves and roots, thus the residual permanence of this herbicide can cause losses to the crop plants. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the selectivity of the saflufenacil herbicide, applied singly and in combination with glyphosate, on coffee and citrus plants grown in a sandy soil. Two experiments were implemented and conducted in completely randomized design with four replications. The chemical treatments consisted of three sequential applications, with directed spraying of saflufenacil at rates of 0.035, 0.07 and 0.105 kg a.i. ha - 1 , glyphosate at rate of 2.160 kg a.e. ha - 1 , the two herbicides combined at the same rates, and a control without chemical treatment. The saflufenacil applied singly and in combination with glyphosate was selective for coffee and citrus plants, which presented no visual toxicity symptoms. The sequential application of saflufenacil, singly and in combination with glyphosate did not affect the growth of coffee and citrus plants. The saflufenacil has potential for use, in combination with glyphosate on controlling many weed species in coffee and citrus areas without any interference on the development of these species.

Physalis peruviana L. is a perennial plant, but commonly referred as annual in commercial crops. The cultivation of this species might be successful in Brazilian subtropical areas with an adequate and planned management. The objective of the present study was to quantify the production of Physalis peruviana L. with or without plastic covering over plant canopies, using two planting densities, managing the number of stems, and pruning side stems. This study was divided in two experiments; the first experiment evaluated the effect of spacing between each plant and the use of plastic covering in fruit production. The second experiment investigated the effect of the number of productive stems and of pruning in fruit production. The experimental design used for both experiments was randomized blocks, in 2 x 2 factorial scheme, which contained 6 blocks and 10 plants per plot. The following were analyzed for both experiments: production variables, estimated production, number of fruits per plant, mean fruit mass, mean fruit length and diameter, and chlorophyll relative index. Plastic covering and number of stems did not influence fruit production. The 3.0 x 0.5 m spacing without pruning side stems provided a larger production.

The knowledge about genetic diversity of jatropha crop is important for genetic conservation resources and breeding of this species. The aim of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity and performance of jatropha clones through morphological characterization to selection of clonal varieties for biofuels production. The clones were obtained through shoot cuttings from previous selection in a population of half - sibs progenies. The morphoagronomic analyses of clones was carried out at 180 days after transplantation and were evaluated plant height, stem diameter, number of primary branches and number of secondary branches, number of bunches and number of fruits per plant. Evaluating clones performance, significant results were found for the number of secondary branches. About analysis of genetic diversity, the measures of dissimilarity genetic varied from 0.62 to 13.11, this way, the UFRBPR14 and UFRBPR15 clones were more divergent. The Tocher method was efficient to verify formation of four groups. The characteristics that most contributed to the divergence among clones were branches number, height and number of bunches, and, stem diameter had lower contribution. The jatropha clones differed only in the secondary branches number and multivariate analysis showed divergence among the jatropha clones with formation of four groups. Also, branches number, plant height and number of bunches were characteristic that contributed to genetic divergence.

The objective of this study was to determine the genetic variation in milk production, milk components, and reproductive traits in dairy buffaloes. A total of 9,318 lactation records from 3,061 cows were used to estimate the heritability of milk yield (MY), fat percentage (%F), protein percentage (%P), lactation length (LL), calving interval (CI), and age at first calving (AFC), as well as genetic and phenotypic correlations between these traits. Covariance components were estimated by Bayesian inference in a multitrait animal model using the GIBBS2F90 program. Contemporary groups and number of milkings (1 or 2) were included as fixed effects, age of dam at calving (linear and quadratic effects) as a covariate, and additive genetic , permanent environmental, and residual effects as random effects. The heritability estimates (± standard deviation) were 0.24 ± 0.02, 0.34 ± 0.05, 0.40 ± 0.05, 0.09 ± 0.01, 0.05 ± 0.01, and 0.16 ± 0.04 for MY, %F, %P, LL, CI, and AFC, respectively. The genetic correlations between MY and %F, %P, LL, CI, and AFC were - 0.29, - 0.18, 0.66, 0.08, and 0.24, respectively. Milk production and milk components showed sufficient genetic variation to obtain genetic gains through selection. The genetic correlations between MY and milk components were negative, and thus, undesirable because efforts to increase MY may decrease milk quality . Reproductive traits had little genetic influence, indicating that improvement of management would be sufficient to obtain better performance.

The squamous cells carcinoma (SCC), also known as epidermoid carcinoma, is a malign neoplasia of the squamous layer of the skin’s epidermis, very common in bovines of tropical countries such as Brazil, due to the chronic exposure of animals to ultraviolet radiation. The objective of this work was to describe SCC cases in sheep ( Ovis aries ), because it is known that this disease is rare in this species. A standard animal of approximately six years old was assisted in the municipality of Rio Branco, State of Acre, in Brazil, presenting cachectic state and multifocal tumors. Despite the rarity of this neoplasia in sheep, it is important to use preventive measures, such as: avoiding acquisition of depigmented animals, with absent or sparse fur coverage and, mainly avoiding prolonged exposure to ultraviolet lights, which could cause the appearance of this morbid disease.

Herbicides with high persistence in soil can cause problems for crops sown in succession to their application. Thus, the aim of this study was to estimate, in greenhouse conditions, the safe period of time after application of preemergent herbicides used on cotton crops (isolated or in mixtures) for the crops grown in succession (bean, corn, and soybean). The experimental design was completely randomized in a factorial scheme (5 x 11) + 1, with five repetitions. For each experiment, treatments combined different time periods between herbicide application and sowing of crops (280, 210, 140, 70, and 0 days before sowing of crops) with eleven herbicide treatments: fomesafen (625 g ha - 1 ) prometryne (1250 g ha - 1 ), diuron (1250 g ha - 1 ), S - metolachlor (768 g ha - 1 ), clomazone (1000 g ha - 1 ), fomesafen + prometryne (625 + 1250 g ha - 1 ), fomesafen + diuron (625 + 1250 g ha - 1 ), fomesafen + S - metolachlor (625 + 768 g ha - 1 ), fomesafen + clomazone (625 + 1000 g ha - 1 ), fomesafen + clomazone + diuron (625 + 1000 + 1250 g ha - 1 ), and fomesafen + clomazone + prometryne (625 + 1000 + 1250 g ha - 1 ), plus an untreated control. Applications of diuron showed the greatest persistence, causing the largest carryover effects for the three crops evaluated. The other treatments showed residual effects or affected crop development when sowings were performed up to 70 days after application. At later periods no significant damage was observed.

Com objetivo de resgatar germoplasma de Cucurbita spp. da agricultura familiar do estado do Rio Grande do Norte, quantificar a variabilidade fenotípica e identificar as principais espécies cultivadas, foram organizadas 17 expedições para coleta de acessos, nos municípios de Baraúna, Rio do Fogo e Touros (principais fornecedores de frutos para o comercio estadual) e de mais oito municípios de diferentes microrregiões do Estado (Apodi, Caraúbas, Ceará Mirim, Cerro Corá, Currais Novos, João Câmara, Lagoa Nova e Macaíba). Cada acesso coletado foi composto por um fruto ou aproximadamente vinte sementes fornecidas pelo próprio agricultor. Todos os acessos foram identificados quanto à espécie botânica e realizados os procedimentos de acondicionamento, identificação e armazenamento das sementes em câmara fria para preservação do material. Uma amostra dos acessos coletados como frutos e uma pequena parte dos acessos obtidos como sementes da espécie C. moschata foram multiplicados usando-se autofecundação das plantas. Plantas e frutos foram caracterizados preliminarmente com auxílio de descritores morfológicos. Resgatou-se acessos em todos os municípios visitados, sendo 112 de C. moschata e 50 de C. maxima. Verificou-se predominância do cultivo da espécie C. moschata bem como constatou-se grande variabilidade para vários descritores de planta e fruto nos acessos que foram caracterizados.