This study evaluated the effect of different salt concentrations on growth, synthesis of organic solutes and ionic balance (Na+, Cl- and K+) of Jatropha curcas L. for 28 days. Seven treatments were established: 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 mol m-3 NaCl in a completely randomized design with five replicates per treatment. The largest concentrations of NaCl the addition of the salt was made gradually to avoid osmotic shock. The number of leaves and leaf area were reduced in plants subjected to salinity from 30 to 45 mol m-3 NaCl, respectively. The production of fresh and dry matter were reduced from 60 mol.m-3 NaCl up to 36%. The concentration of soluble carbohydrates and total soluble proteins increased significantly only in plants exposed to 15 and 30 mol.m-3 and 30 mol.m-3 NaCl, respectively. The total phenol content increased in plants subjected to salinity from 30 mol.m-3 NaCl. The increase in the levels of total phenols, soluble carbohydrates and soluble proteins and the absence of reduced growth in seedlings subjected to 30 mol.m-3 NaCl indicates the activation of an efficient mechanisms of acclimatization of this stress magnitude. The levels of Na+ and Cl- increased in all parts of the plant were increased concentrations of salt in the nutrient solution. The high levels of Na+ and Cl- indicate the absence of extrusion mechanisms of these ions.

The whitefly is the major pest of tomato due to direct damages caused by sucking and indirect damages related to viruses transmition. Was evaluated the distribution and incidence of whitefly nymphs in tomato by using of mineral and organic fertilization in greenhouse. The experiment was carried out at the Experimental Farm of São Luis, Maranhão State University in a greenhouse during the period november 2010 to december 2011. The experimental design was completely randomized plots with five treatments and six replications T1-Soil + NPK, T2-Soil + NPK + micro-nutrient, T3-Soil + NPK + manure, T4-Solo + manure + NPK + micro-nutrient, T5-Solo + manure + rock phosphate + Biofertilizer. Irrigation was performed manually, based on the weight and field capacity of each pot. The number of nymphs of B. tabaci was evaluated by counting performed at 45, 60 and 75 days after transplanting. In the process of sampling three leaflets were removed by plant been each of plant strata lower, middle and top. The use of organic fertilization showed lower incidence of nymphs of B. tabaci in tomato and distribution of this insect pest is higher in middle and apical strata of the plant.

The pollination is currently recognized as impor tant factor of production in the driving of many crops. The objective of this research was to study the reproductive biology of fennel in the field int ercropped with colored cotton (BRS Safira) in the presence an d absence of insecticide Actara and evaluate the pe rform- ance of their floral visitors. The evaluations were conducted in an experimental field in the municipa lity of Lagoa Seca-PB. Plots were evaluated: P 1 = fennel in the absence of insecticide; P 2 = fennel in the presence of insecticide; P 3 = fennel intercropped with cotton in the absence o f insecticide; P 4 = fennel intercropped with cotton in the presence of insecticide. In each plot data were recorded on the inflorescence and flower s such as floral morphology, color, time, duration and sequen ce of anthesis and observed aspects related to time , fre- quency, duration and visiting behavior. For analysi s of the reproductive system was evaluated the natu ral polli- nation and self-pollination by the number of fruits formed, weight of thousand seeds and number of see ds/kg. The hermaphrodite flowers are yellow in color, have 5 mm in diameter, have five petals, have short cor olla and inferior ovary containing two ova. After anthesis, the flowers remained open for approximately 24 hour s. Ob- served self-pollination in this species, but there is increased production of fruits and seeds in the natural polli- nation. The bee Apis mellifera is the most efficient pollinator of this species, with a higher number of visits to the plots without insecticide application, regardle ss of single planting or intercropping system.

Rio Grande do Norte state despite having favorable conditions for growing garlic, currently depends on imports of this product to meet its domestic demand. Evaluation of cultivars from of other regions of Brazil was determined in order to verify the agronomic performance under the edaphoclimatic conditions of the Mossoró. region The study consisted of an experiment conducted in the city of Mossoro from June to November/ 2011. The experimental design was a randomized block design with four replications and eleven treatments, cultivars Amarante, Branco Mossoró, Caturra, Chinês Real, Chinês São Joaquim, Cateto Roxo, Gravatá, Gigante do Núcleo, Gigante Lavinia , Gigante Roxo and Hozan. Cultivars Branco Mossoró, Caturra, Cateto Roxo and Gravatá had a greater percentage of plants with bulb and larger diameter bulb, indicating adaptability conditions of Mossoró. Most total yield bulbs) was recorded by cultivar Branco Mossoró presented 65.22% and 11.53% distributed in bulb diameter grades 3 (32 to 37 mm) and 4 (37 to 42 mm), respectively.

With purpose of evaluating the salinity’s effe cts of the nutrient solution at different stages of development of the culture of pepper grown in a hyd roponic system, an experiment was conducted in a pr o- tected environment at the Department of Environment al Sciences, Federal University of the Semi - Arid (UFERSA). The experimental design was completely ra ndomized design with 15 treatments and three replic a- tions. The treatments consisted of five levels of s alinity of the nutrient solution (1.2, 3.49, 5.69, 7.07 and 9.23 dS m -1 ), applied at three stages of crop development (24, 85 and 120 days after the transplanting) .The leve ls salt obtained by mixing two sources of water (water supply (AB) and waste water desalination (RD)) .Th e nu- tritive’s solution salinity above 1,2 dS m -1 reduced the growth and yield of pepper grown in c oconut fiber sub- strate. The nutrient solutions prepared with water saline waste can be used in the pepper’s grown nutr ition in coconut fiber substrate with the lowest yield loss for increment the electrical conductivities (CEs), when ap- plied at 85 and 120 days after the transplanting , corresponding to fruiting phase.

The cassava flour is a product known in the Brazil as part of daily meals of the population, mainly in northern and northeastern country. Much of this product is processed by hand, making it difficult to standardize the heterogeneity mainly from the manufacturing processes themselves. In this sense, the physical and chemical attributes of handmade cassava flour sold in Acre, the levels of the Brazilian legislation, were to evaluate. Samples of 20 brands of handmade cassava flour were collected from commercial establishments in Rio Branco, Acre, classified and analyzed for nutrient composition. The results that the flours analyzed, classi- fied as Group Thick and low acidity, are in accordance with the legislation limits for moisture content and starch, but only 10% to be consistent with the actual classification. 25% of the samples were disqualified and 75% were classified as "out of type", which implies that the flour trade of Rio Branco are not in accordance with the standards of the current Brazilian legislation.

This work was carried out with the objective to study the foam-mat drying of Cereusjamacaru pulp fruit with albumen (2%) and “Super Liga Neutra” (2%) with whipping time of 5 min, dried inoven with air circulation at 70; 80, and 90 °C with three different foam thicknesses (0.5; 1.0 and 1.5 cm). The drying curves were fitted with the Page, Henderson and Pabis and Cavalcanti Mata models. Drying time was influenced by the foam thickness and process temperature being the process faster for smaller thickness and higher temperature. The Cavalcanti Mata model presented the best fit of the experimental foam drying kinetics data.

The aim of this study was to identify the main cat egories of use of native plants in a rural com- munity from Caicó Municipality, Rio Grande do Norte , Northeastern Brazil. From March 2007 to August 20 08 semi-structured and structured interviews were cond ucted with 23 local specialists (woodsmen, witch do ctors, healers, growers and housewives) aged over 35. We d escribe the uses of 69 species grouped in seven cat egories which are: medicinal, food, wood, mystic , fuel, fo dder and household. The families with the largest r epresenta- tion in the interviews were Fabaceae (14 species), Euphorbiaceae (6 species), Cucurbitaceae and Cactac eae (3 species each). By calculating the value in use, it was found that Amburana cearensis (Allemão) A. C. Sm. (cumaru) and Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poir. (jurema preta) stood out as the spe cies with the highest number of citations and nominated uses. The medicinal use was related to 62 species (89.85 %). Barks and root s were the most consumed parts. The data indicate that the flora of the Potiguar Seridó has a great potential of use and that this community will often use local plant reso urces in their everyday life, for many different pu rposes. Keywords : Caatinga. Ethnobotany. Phytoterapy. Northeastern of Brazil.

The supply adequate of lime and phosphorus fertiliz er for cowpea beans can contribute for the increased of the productivity and the nutritional v alue of the grains. Therefore the effect of the pho sphate fer- tilization and the base saturation was evaluated on the growth and the productivity of the cowpea bean s of a Typic Hapludox. The experimental delineation was bl ock randomized, with eight replicates in factorial project 4 x 2, corresponding to the combination of four of phosphorus (P) levels (0, 25, 50 and 100 kg ha -1 of P 2 O 5 ) and two base saturations (50 and 60%). It was used to c ultivate BR3-Tracuateua, sown to provide 80,000 pla nts/ha. In period of flowering were collected two samples r epresentative in each plot for the determination of the dry mass aerial part. The dry mass aerial part producti on had a significant effect for interaction between the base saturation and phosphorus rate, the maximum product ion was reached in saturation of 50%, corresponding to the dose of 45 kg ha -1 . The components of output and weight of dry mass o f pods and grains also had signifi- cant effects on the interaction P x base saturation , and the highest production occurred in the base s aturation of 60% with the initial dose (25 kg ha -1 of P 2 O 5 ) of phosphorus. The maximum production estimated o f grains that corresponding to 90% was hit with the doses of 11.3 and 10.2 kg ha -1 P 2 O 5 , with base saturation of 60%.

There are few studies related to the in vitro cultivation of plants from theTheobroma genus and no effective micropropagation protocols for T.grandiflorum. The aim of this study was to evaluate the calli formation in cupuassu floral explants, targeting their organogenic or embryogenicdevelopment. Experiments were conducted in the Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory of EMBRAPA, Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil. Floral parts from unopened immature flower buds taken from seedless cupuassu trees were sterilized and employed as a source of explants. These explants were cultivated in Petri dishes in an induction medium consisting of MS salts and vitamins, supplemented with glycine(3 mg.L-1), lysine (0,4 mg.L-1), leucine (0,4 mg.L-1), arginine (0,4 mg.L-1), tryptophan (0,2 mg.L-1), 2,4-D (1 mg.L-1), kinetin (0,25 mg.L-1), coconut water (50 ml.L-1), sucrose (40 g.L-1), Gelrite (2,2 g.L-1) and pH adjusted to 5,8. Cultures were maintained in the dark for 3 weeks at 27°C and then subcultured for six weeks in medium without growth regulators supplemented with glycine (1 mg.L-1), lysine (0,2 mg.L-1), leucine (0,2 mg.L-1), arginine (0,2 mg.L-1), tryptophan (0,1 mg.L-1), coconut water (100 ml.L-1), sucrose (40 g.L-1), Gelrite (2,2 g.L-1) and pH 5,8. We used a completely randomized design with 10 replications of 5 explants per plate and four different explant sources: staminode, petal, ligule and ovary. As a result, we obtained a highercalli formation in theinduction medium when ovaries were used as source of explants. However, there was no development of somatic embryosor organogenic response in medium without growth regulators and further studies are being conducted.