The current paper was proposed to analyze and determine the behavior and the direct and indirect relation between the sign of live cattle value and the main components of supplementation. The database was obtained by consulting secondary sources, which underwent path analysis to study the unfolding of the correlation coefficient (dependent variable x independent) in direct and indirect effects. The analysis period was from January 1999 to December in 2008. The corn presented a total correlation of 0.5080 indicating a substantial contribution for the increasing of beef value. The value of wheat bag had a direct effect of 0.4897 and an indirect effect through the soybean (0.5601), like this, the main components of concentrate supplementation (soybean, corn and wheat) showed high correlation with the sign of live cattle value in the state of Sao Paulo.

This paper has evaluated the alterations in the number of spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and enzymatic activity in soil under cultivation of banana trees in Chapada of Apodi. The hypothesis was tested that the agricultural use causes environmental alterations that they reduce the presence of population of AMF and the microbial activity. An area was selected under cultivation of banana trees (Farm Frutacor) and its control (natural vegetation). Four soil samples were collected in three depths in which analyses were accomplished, the number of spores of AMF by Gerdemann and Nicholson (1964) and enzymatic activity: acid phosphatase, arylsulphatase and b-glucosidase by Tabatabai, (1994). The number of spores of AMF show values decreasing with the rise in depth in area cultivated. The activity of the arylsulphatase and acid phosphatase were stimulated by the competition of the anions H2PO4- and SO4- for the same ranches of adsorption in the colloids of the soil. For b-glucosidase, there was a larger activity in the cultivated area, influenced by the amount and quality of the vegetable residue. The enzymatic activity evidences a difficulty of establishing correlations between the biochemistry and chemistry of the soil in area where the entrance of nutrients is high.

This work aimed to evaluate the alimentary behavior of grazing lamps. Twenty-seven Santa Ines males, weighting 21.5 kg and 120 days old, were distributed in three different groups: no shade (NS), under shade (S) and under artificial shade (AS), receiving increasing levels of concentrate (0.0; 1.0 and 1.5% of corporal weight). It was observed no interaction between the studied factors. The variance analysis showed significant effect of supplementation in time for grazing by the animals which received 1.5% of corporal weight for supplementation. The resting time at AS was different (P<0.05) of the others p groups NS and S, which were similar between each other. Animals from NS looked for shade 2.3 times, differing (P<0.05) from AS group that looked for shade only 1.29 times. In conclusion, supplementation and use of shade systems affect the alimentary behavior and the performance of Santa Ines sheep grazing in the semiarid. The animals looked for more natural shade than for artificial shade, although, the total time that animals stayed under natural or artificial shade was the same, indicating the possible use of artificial shade systems to improve animals¿ thermal comfort in pastures with no shades.

The objective of this research was to evaluate the behavior of thermal conductivity in the apparent surface in caatinga predominantly cactus, especially eunapolis [Pilosocereus gounellei (A. Weber ex K. Schum.)]. The study area was the river basin Taperoá, located in the region of Cariris Velhos in the State of Paraíba. Data were used for temperature and heat flux on the surface of vegetated soil. It used the law of heat conduction, who modeling time series of apparent thermal conductivity of the vegetation was made by Fourier methods, linear regression and polynomial. The results are partial, but antagonistic to literature, and they point out that the heat transfer by conduction in the caatinga has significance and should provide support for parameterization and incorporation of vegetation dynamics in the models are, hydrological, environmental or atmospheric circulation.

In response to defense against herbivores, plants produce one versatile bioactive molecules synthesized in plant secondary metabolism. This paper aimed to evaluate the efficiency of plant extracts on the population level of whitefly nymphs on tomato cv. IPA 6, assess the number of fruits per treatment, fruit weight, ripeness and irregular pith. The experiment was installed in the field with the tomato crop IPA 6, block design, making use of substances extracted from plants, etanolic extract straw (Ipomoea carnea subsp. Fistulosa), etanolic extract castor (Ricinus communis L.), aqueous extract tingui (Mascagnia rigida Griseb ), aqueous extract Mexican poppy (Argemone mexicana L.) and neem oil (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) for the control of whitefly (Bemisia tabaci biotype B). The spraying was carried out by spraying, between 16 and 18 h, with an interval of seven days. Statistical analysis performed by WinStat and percentage of treatment efficiency calculated by Abbott (1925). The straw (72.41%) and neem oil (67.26%) were the most effective on nymphs. The number and weight of tomato fruits did not differ significantly between treatments. In relation to irregular maturation, extracts of I. carnea and M. rigida were significant. The extracts of I. carnea, M. rigida and A. Mexicana shown to be effective in controlling the pith. All plant extracts used in this experiment show efficiency on nymphs of B. tabaci.

The objective of this work was to assess the agronomic performance and plant morphological traits of eight lima-bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) accessions in the edafoclimatic conditions of Mossoró, RN, Brazil. A randomized complete blocks design with eight treatments and four replications was used. The treatments consisted of the BSF 01, BSF 02, BSF 04, BSF 07, BSF 08, BSF 08A, BSF 12 and BSF 15 lima-bean accessions. The following traits were evaluated: growth habit, mean time of blooming, pod length and width, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, weight of 100 seeds and seed yield. It was observed that all lima-bean accessions were of indeterminate growth habit, except for BSF 07B and BSF 12 that show determinate growth habit. BSF 12 and BSF 15 accessions were, respectively, the earliest and the largest seed size. They was not distinction between the lima-bean accessions for pod length, but significant differences were observed on pod width, with BSF 12 and BSF 02 accessions showing the highest and the less width. The accession BSF 01 can be the best alternative for Mossoró country growers because this material had higher number of pods per plant and higher seed yield. The accessions BSF 04, BSF 07B and BSF08 are potentially useful for lima-bean because these materials had higher number of pods per plant, higher seed yield and characteristics of pods satisfactory.

Due the expansion of atemoya cultivation and its increasing consumption in the principal Brazilian markets, it is necessary to investigate the postharvest physiology of fruit as well as the use of technologies to increase their shelf life. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the quality attributes of atemoya 'Gefner' harvested in two maturation stages. The fruit, from commercial plantation located in Neopólis, SE, Brazil, were evaluated at harvest and after three days, staying at 25 ° C throughout the experiment. The experimental design was completely randomized in a factorial 2 x 4 (maturity stage x time), with five replicates. The characteristics evaluated were: color, firmness, weight loss, color, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TTA), pH and vitamin C. The color, the mass loss and the SS and ATT increased during storage, with decrease in pH and a dramatic reduction in the level of vitamin C. The storage time directly influenced all traits. Among the stages of maturation, only firmness differed significantly and may be used as an indicator of ripeness.

We studied the spatial distribution of a galling insect species that induces galls on the leaf veins of Caryocar brasiliense Camb. (Caryocaraceae) trees. Galls/leaflet predominantly occurred at the northern (1.06) tree slope, with decreasing number at the western (0.92), eastern (0.65), and southern (0.60) slopes. Higher number of galls/leaflet were found in the interior of the tree crown, i.e., on the proximal region (1.99) of the stems compared to the terminal portion (1.26). On the other hand, the average number of vein galls/leaflet did not differ statistically among the three leaflets of C. brasiliense (right = 0.79, central = 0.78, left = 0.84). Galls/leaflet were most abundant on the distal (0.46) and median (0.52) regions compared to the proximal (0.24) longitudinal region of the leaflet. This gall/leaflet insect was most frequent on the central (1.01) portion than in the leaf margin (0.05) or near mid vein (0.14) on transversal regions of a leaflet. Keywords: Savanna. Insect distribution. Leaf galls. Brazil.We studied the spatial distribution of a galling insect species that induces galls on the leaf veins of Caryocar brasiliense Camb. (Caryocaraceae) trees. Galls/leaflet predominantly occurred at the northern (1.06) tree slope, with decreasing number at the western (0.92), eastern (0.65), and southern (0.60) slopes. Higher number of galls/leaflet were found in the interior of the tree crown, i.e., on the proximal region (1.99) of the stems compared to the terminal portion (1.26). On the other hand, the average number of vein galls/leaflet did not differ statistically among the three leaflets of C. brasiliense (right = 0.79, central = 0.78, left = 0.84). Galls/leaflet were most abundant on the distal (0.46) and median (0.52) regions compared to the proximal (0.24) longitudinal region of the leaflet. This gall/leaflet insect was most frequent on the central (1.01) portion than in the leaf margin (0.05) or near mid vein (0.14) on transversal regions of a leaflet. Keywords: Savanna. Insect distribution. Leaf galls. Brazil.We studied the spatial distribution of a galling insect species that induces galls on the leaf veins of Caryocar brasiliense Camb. (Caryocaraceae) trees. Galls/leaflet predominantly occurred at the northern (1.06) tree slope, with decreasing number at the western (0.92), eastern (0.65), and southern (0.60) slopes. Higher number of galls/leaflet were found in the interior of the tree crown, i.e., on the proximal region (1.99) of the stems compared to the terminal portion (1.26). On the other hand, the average number of vein galls/leaflet did not differ statistically among the three leaflets of C. brasiliense (right = 0.79, central = 0.78, left = 0.84). Galls/leaflet were most abundant on the distal (0.46) and median (0.52) regions compared to the proximal (0.24) longitudinal region of the leaflet. This gall/leaflet insect was most frequent on the central (1.01) portion than in the leaf margin (0.05) or near mid vein (0.14) on transversal regions of a leaflet.

To evaluate the nutrient content of leaves of gerbera fertigated with treated domestic effluents with and without mineral supplementation, a study was carried out in a greenhouse located at the Embrapa Meio-Norte in Teresina, Brazil from July to October 2007. The treatments studied were: T1 - 100% water and nutritional needs furnished with fertigation (N e K2 O); T2 - 25% volume of water through fertigation and 75% treated wastewater effluents (TWE); T3 - 50% volume of water through fertigation and 50% TWE; T4 - 75% volume of water with fertigation and 25% TWE; and T5 - volume of water 100% supplied through TWE. The leaf growth and plant development were favored by the application of 50% fertigation and 50% TWE (T3). At the end of experiment two adult leaves were collected in each treatment and content of nutrients was determined. Soil samples were also collected for analysis to verify alterations in physical and chemical properties. The soil irrigated with 100% wastewater effluent showed high concentrations of P, organic matter and low concentration of Na and K, but these changes did not cause any alteration in nutritional status of leaves and quality of gerberas flowers.

This work aimed to evaluate the influence of daily supplementation with 10 g of polyethyleneglycol (PEG) associated with Sabiá shrub hay (Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth.) on the intake and digestibility of in goats and sheep. Twenty animals, ten sheep and ten goats were allocated in a randomized block design, with two treatments and two species: PEG group (supplemented with 10 g of PEG) and control group (without supplementation). Significant differences were not observed between treatments and species regarding the intake and digestibility of dry matter and neutral detergent fiber. Nevertheless, PEG supplementation enhanced the crude protein digestibility of Sabiá shrub hay from 33.96% to 38.74% in sheep and from 43.29% to 54.41% in goats, showing that the supplementation with PEG could become a good feeding strategy against the antinutritional effects of tannin of the forage plants.