The aim of this paper was to study the decomposition velocity of the sugar cane leaf in the own plantation in the Chã de Jardim Farm, belonging to Agrarian Sciences Center/UFPB-Areia, PB. It was used 10 g of dry leaves in litter bags measuring 30 cm x 20 cm, being these deposited in the soil superficial and in the depth of 15 cm, with biweekly collections during three months. A subplot design was used with 2 depths, 5 collection times and 3 repetitions. The largest decomposition rates happened in the subsuperficial treatment, mainly in the first 15 days, when it was lost 24.5% of the material, happening a stabilization soon after in the rate of disappearance of the biomass starting from the 30 days. The decomposition in the superficial and subsuperficial treatment followed a standard logarithmic with high correlation coefficient. In the surface, the decomposition rate was slower, having a decomposition peak to the 45 days with 24% of material loss and showing stability starting from 60 days. The superficial decomposition at the end of the experiment was the same percentile reached in the subsuperficial treatment before the 30 days, evidencing, therefore slower decomposition process and nutrients liberation for the soil in larger period.

The sugarcane is a widely adapted species to tropical climate and has made key role in economic development in Southeast and Northeast. The ability to adapt in different environments can be evaluated through the growth analysis and yield. This study aimed to evaluate the growth and yield of four sugarcane varieties (RB92579 and SP79-1011, RB931530 and RB93509) in the third ratoon. The experiment was conducted at the CECA/UFAL, Rio Largo (28º02'09''S, 35°49'43''W and 127m). The experimental design was randomized blocks. Was evaluated monthly the number of plants, height, leaf area index and stem diameter. The quality of raw material, dry matter and yield were evaluated at 360 DAC. The data were subjected to analysis of variance and means compared to each other by Tukey test. The results showed that the maximum tillering occurred at 90 DAC for all varieties, and the RB92579 showed greater tillering and greater height at 360 DAC. The variety RB931530 had superior diameter than the others. The RB92579 and RB93509 were higher than the others on the sugar production, dry matter and yield, however, differed ech only on the matter. Varieties RB92579 and RB931530 had similar levels of Brix, PCC and ATR. Since this latter variable responsible for developing the pricing of sugarcane industry.

Hyptis suaveolens (L.) Poit.) (Lamiaceae) is a medicinal plant widely used in folk medicine in Northeast Brazil as a treatment for respiratory diseases, antispasmodic, sweat and useful in the treatment of gout. The aim of this study was to evaluate hereto the influence of different lengths of cuttings in rooting ofbamburral. The test was conducted for 30 days in the greenhouse of the Department of Environmental Sciences, Federal University of Semi-Arid (UFERSA). The experimental design was randomized blocks with four cutting lengths (5; 10; 15 and 20 cm) and four replications and 10 cuttings per plot. After 30 days of planting, characteristics were evaluated: percentage of survival, rooting percentage, longest root length, diameter and initial end of cutting, the dry mass of shoot and root. Conclude that the length of piles does not affect the rooting of bamburral.

Some factories of the State of Alagoas are using the fungus entomopathogenic Metarhizium anisopliae as control against Mahanrva fimbriolata. Being so this work it had how aim to value the quantity of nymphs and adults of spittlebug of the root after the air application of the biological insecticide (M. anisopliae), race PL-43 and of the Imidacloprido, and to analyze the costs of this application. The experiment was driven in the sugarcane region of the Factory Cachoeira, located in Maceió-AL, in the period understood between July and September of 2006, on the sugarcane variety SP813250. The application of the products took place in 19th of July of 2006 and the reapplication in 22th of August of the same year. There was carried out initially a population evaluation of nymphs and adults and others 15, 30 and 45 days after the treatments. The treatments did not differ between them, but when each area was analyzed separately, there were differences between sub-areas of the experimental area and between the periods of application. The total costs of the application of Imidacloprido, were less comparing with the other treatments.

This study aimed to identify the similarities among hydrochemical variables describing the groundwater qualities in the Salgado watershed river (Southern Ceará), with the use of multivariate statistical analysis. Also, the groundwater hydrochemistry was investigated and classified using the Piper diagram. The study was developed from secondary data provided by the CPRM (Centro de Estudo Geológico do Brasil, previously Companhia de Pesquisa de Recursos Minerais). The geological formation of the Salgado basin has two aquifer systems, one on sedimentary rock (porous, karst and alluvial) and another on (fractured) crystalline rock. The research was conducted in 24 groundwater wells spread out over the drainage area of the basin, with data having been collected for the last 10 years. The water samples were analyzed for their content of Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Cl-, CO3, HCO3 -, SO4 2- and CE. Two groups were formed by the use of cluster analysis, and both were independent with respect to their hydrological characteristics, and similar in hydro geological formation. The water quality study showed no temporal interference. The two components explained 78.30% of the total variance of the water quality. According to the Piper diagram, the waters were classified as 55.6% mixed chlorided water and 40% mixed bicarbonate water, in groups 1 and 2 respectively. The hydrochemical characterization of the studied waters implied no limitation to their human consumption.

This paper aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of herbicides [MSMA+diuron], [paraquat+diuron], metsulfuron-methyl and 2,4-D in control of volunteer plants of Roundup Ready® soybean, cultivar BRS Valiosa RR® when applied at various stages of development. The experiment was set up in Rio Verde city, in agricultural year 2007/08, using the randomized complete block experimental design in factorial scheme 5 x 3 (herbicide x application times) with four replications. The herbicide treatments were: metsulfuron- methyl (3,0 g ha-1), 2,4-D (1340 g ha-1), [MSMA+diuron] (1.800+700 g ha-1, respectively), [paraquat+diuron] (600+300 g ha-1, respectively) and control without spraying of herbicide; the second factor was the spraying of herbicides on phenological stages (V2, V6 and R2) of soybean plants. It was evaluated the percentage of controlling of volunteer soybean at 7, 14, 28 and 42 days after application (DAA) of herbicides, beyond the plant height and dry matter accumulation in shoots at 42 DAA. It was found that the herbicide treatments [MSMA+diuron] and 2,4-D provided greater control of volunteer plants of RR® soybean at stage V2 and the 2,4-D with spraying at V6. The treatment [paraquat+diuron] was more efficient in controlling at all phenologic stages. The metsufuron-methyl showed greater effectiveness of controlling when the spraying was done at stage R2.

The objective of this paper was to evaluate the vegetative growth, the chemical composition, the rain use efficiency and to determine the green and dry matter production of cactus forage cv. Italian (Opuntia ficus-indica Mill.), depending on planting spacing. The research was carried out at (EMEPA), in Soledade- Pb, from April 2007 to June 2008. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, with four repetitions. In order to evaluate crop under the four planting spacing (1 x 1; 1 x 0.5; 2 x 1; 2 x 0.5 m ) we measured plant height, number of cladodes per plant, and the order, length, width, perimeter, thickness and area of cladodes. There were no treatment effects (P > 0.05 ) on any of the growth variables evaluated, except for plant height and cladode width. The cactus pear showed low levels of fibrous carbohydrates, and planting spacing influenced levels of neutral detergent fiber. The phytomass production per area and rain use efficiency by cactus pear increased with increases in planting densities, with higher values observed for the spacing of 1 x 0.5 m; resulting in a greater quantity of forage produced per area and per unit of rain.

The cowpea is a leguminous of great importance for human consumption, providing a source of protein for most of urban population of northern Brazil, therefore the aim of this paper was to evaluate the efficiency of strains of Bradyrhizobium out in association with phosphate and potassium fertilization (PK) in cowpea at the field level in the municipality of Capitão Poço - PA. Two experiments were carried out in randomized blocks with four replications, consisting of five treatments, being two strains of Bradyrhizobium - BR 3262 and BR 3267, a treatment only with PK, another one with NPK in the formulation (10-28-20) and a control. It was evaluated the grain yield, the number of pods and weight of 100 seeds. Fertilization with phosphorus and potassium represented a significant increase in the yield of cowpea, however inoculation with both strains did not increase production.

The cladodes size is an important feature when selecting cuttings for red pitaya (Hylocereus undatus (Haw.) Britton & Rose) seedling production. The paper was carried out with the aim of evaluating different sizes of cladodes in the production of dragon fruit seedlings. The experimental design was randomized blocks with five treatments, which were the cladodes sizes: 5; 10; 15; 20 and 25 cm, with four replicates and four cladodes per plot. After 80 days of the experiment, there were evaluated: number of shoots per plant, percentage of rooting, length of greater root and dry weight of roots. The size of cladodes directly influences the production of seedlings. The lengths of cladodes from 15 to 25 cm are the most suitable for the dragon fruit seedlings.

This paper aimed to evaluate the initial growth of castor bean (Ricinus cummunis L.) in response to fertilization with sewage sludge and calcium and magnesium silicate. The experiment was conducted from July to August 2010 at the Institute of Agricultural Sciences (ICA) in Montes Claros, UFMG - MG. The cultivation was carried out on a Cambisol, using as indicator plant castor bean (Ricinus communis) variety BRS Energy. The treatments, in factorial 2 x 4, in randomized block design with three replicates, were: two doses of calcium and magnesium silicate (0 and 1 t ha-1) and four doses of sewage sludge compost (0; 23,81; 47,62 and 71,43 t ha-1, in dry basis). In the experiment, plant height, crown diameter, stem diameter and leaf number were measurement. Calcium and magnesium silicate did not influence the growth characteristics of plant. On the other hand, the castor bean showed response to sewage sludge compost, expressing the maximum value of the growth characteristics at a dosage of 71.43 t ha-1, except for the number of leaves, which did not respond to any treatment.