The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential of live larvae of Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) as alternative prey used in the E. connexa and C. maculata rearings developed at the Integrated Center for Pest Management (CIMP) (UFRRJ, Seropédica campus, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), in comparison to the use of flour moth eggs, Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), sterilized by ultraviolet radiation. The obtained results showed that the larvae of the two lady beetles developed adequately, as well as generating fertile adults and viable eggs when fed on live larvae of D. melanogaster, similar to E. kuehniella eggs. It can be concluded that the live larvae of this fly can replace the eggs of the flour moth in the rearing of the two lady beetles in the laboratory.

The practice of using fire by human populations is characterized as a production strategy in rural settlements, being used for several purposes, such as pasture cleaning, pest control, and to eliminate production waste. The study was conducted at the Federal Settlement Project Gleba do Escondido (PA Escondido), located in the municipality of Juara, in the northern region of the State of Mato Grosso, Brazil. In this context, we aim with the present work, to diagnose the previous knowledge of settled farmers on forest fires prevention and control strategies. To accomplish this, we applied a semi-structured questionnaire, with questions related to the use of fire, in addition to the approach on prevention techniques. In addition, we sought to know the social aspects, introducing questions regarding the social and cultural conditions of the interviewees. We applied the interviews to 42 settlers, involving individuals of both genders. The results show that part of the settlers still handle the fire inappropriately, in addition to little knowledge about the potential environmental effects of the fires. Thus, we verified that the socio-environmental profile of the settlers reflects the assistance policies employed in these communities. Therefore, the emergency tangent for maintaining a healthy environment would be the implementation of environmental education programs, with the objective of sensitizing the community about fire’s proper use and management, together with environmental conservation

Nitrogen and boron participate concurrently in the growth and development process of plants by changing   cell division processes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of sources and doses of nitrogen, associated with boron doses and sulfur on the yield and quality aspects of Verona CMS cauliflower. The experimental design was set up under split plot design in randomized blocks, with 3 replicates. The treatments in the plot were sources of ammonium sulphate (NH4)2SO4) and calcium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2) x doses of nitrogen, being 125, 150, 175 and 200 kg ha-1 on topdressing system and in the subplot doses of boron (0, 2, 4 and 6 kg ha-1). The fresh curd mass, curd and stem diameter, total and commercial yield, besides the contents of nitrogen, boron and sulfur in the leaf and curd, were evaluated. The sources and doses of nitrogen and the doses of boron did not influence the fresh curd mass, stem diameter and the total yield of 'Verona CMS' cauliflower. Enhancing doses of Ca(NO3)2 increased curd diameter, however in combination with boron doses there was antagonism effect on curd development. The contents of nitrogen and boron in the leaf were influenced by the fertilization of nitrogen and boron, respectively, when the calcium nitrate source was used.

Interaction between bees and plants ensured success in cross-pollination crops, increasing the vigor of the species, as the production of fruits and seeds. Bees are the main pollinators of angiosperms and several crops. Among the factors related to the disappearance of bees in agricultural areas is the excessive or improper use of insecticides. However, agriculture is extremely dependent on pesticides for pest control and the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam is one of the most used insecticides. The use of these chemicals affects the pollinating bee Apis mellifera. Thus, the aim of the study was to select Africanized A. mellifera queens tolerant to thiamethoxam, producing four generations of bees kept in chronic contamination and perform tests to validate tolerance. Colonies of A. mellifera were subjected to chronic contamination by contact with thiamethoxam at a sublethal concentration of 1.65 mg a.i./L. From the surviving colonies, four generations of new queens were produced, kept in chronic contamination with thiamethoxam. Chronic contamination caused changes in the workers' behavior for 25 days. Validation of selection and tolerance was performed in vitro bioassays to verify mortality and critical electrolyte concentration (CEC). In vitro bioassays showed that there was low mortality after contamination for 24 hours by contact with thiamethoxam at 82.5 mg a.i / L. The analyzes of CEC indicate that there was an increase in gene expression in brain cells, probably as an attempt to detoxify the workers' organism by contamination with thiamethoxam. New tests need to be carried out with colonies tolerant to the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam, but these initial results indicate that these queens have potential to tolerate this neonicotinoid.

Abstract: The species Tecoma stans L. from the Bignoniaceae family, popularly known as the garden ipê or ipê mirim, is considered a natural tree plant in Mexico and in the southern United States. It was brought to Brazil in 1871 as an invasive plant of degraded agricultural and abandoned pastures, much used in ornamentation of cities. The present work aimed to verify the efficiency of the alternative dyes boldo, bacupari, azul crepom and colorau, compared to the synthetic dye Lugol. In the preparation of the Lugol slides and the alternative solutions, the anthers were macerated with a drop of dye and covered with cover slip. For each dye were made five slides and counted 300 pollen grains / blade, adding a total of 1,500 pollen. The visualization of the material was performed through an optical microscope in dimension of 40x by the scanning method. The data were submitted to analysis of variance and the means were compared by the Tukey test at the 5% probability level. According to the data verified in the analyzes it was verified that all the dyes can be recommended for evaluation of the male fertility of the species Tecoma stans L. and that it presents high capacity fecundity. However, in the case of alternative dyes, the solution of paprika and paper crepe were the ones that presented the best results regarding the coloration of the pollen grain, presenting a better visual differentiation of the same between feasible and non viable.Â

Digital image processing, when applied to the study of leaf area, allows the integration of the direct measurement and non-destructive, and thus preserves the integrity of the plant. The objective was the quantification of the leaf area of soybean, cv. FTS Paragominas RR, submitted to different treatments of seed with the use of the computer program ImageJ, and basic presuppositions of image processing. The experiment was conducted at the Center of Agrarian Sciences and Environmental, Federal University of Maranhão, in Chapadinha (MA), in the period from February to June 2018. The seeds of soybean 'Paragominas RR' were submitted to the technique of seed treatment, consisting of three fungicides of the active ingredients, thiophanate methyl + fluazinam, fludioxonil and carbendazim + tiram, an insecticide active ingredient fipronil and the control. The leaf area was analyzed in the growth phase, through the use of digital camera and ImageJ®. The use of the routines in the computer program ImageJ® were effective for the determination of leaf area of the soybean submitted to different treatments of the seed. The thiophanate methyl + fluazinam in the dose 200 mL per 100 kg of seeds showed beneficial effects on growth of the cv. FTS Paragominas RR, as estimated by the leaf area.

Irrigation systems may exhibit variations in performance when poorly dimensioned or depending on the time of use. In this sense, the objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of irrigation systems located by micro sprinkler and drip irrigation in the sweet potato crop in a family property in the municipality of Guaraciaba do Norte-CE. The property under study in this research has a total area of 2.5 ha. The area cultivated with sweet potatoes is 120 m2 with 50% of the area irrigated by drip irrigation and the remainder irrigated by micro sprinkler. In order to analyze the performance of the irrigation systems, the methodology proposed by Keller and Karmeli (1975) was adopted, in which the flow rates of the emitters are determined in pre-established positions. Were determined the coefficients of uniformity of Christiansen (CUC); coefficient of statistical uniformity (CUE); Hart uniformity coefficient and distribution uniformity coefficient (CUD). Irrigation systems presented uniformity coefficients higher than 90%, for all the equations applied in this work, both also presented application efficiency higher than 85%. Due to the high coefficients of uniformity found it was concluded that the irrigation systems located on the property were well sized and mounted

The growth and production of agricultural crops are greatly hampered by weed interference. The objective of this study was to evaluate weed infestation and growth and dry mass of cowpea cultivated in soil with solarization and mulching. The research was carried in the Agricultural Sciences Center of the Federal University of Alagoas, Rio Largo, AL. A completely randomized experimental design was used, with eight treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted of the combination of soil with and without solarization together with different mulching, such as T1: Os tratamentos consistiram da combinação de solo com e sem solarização junto a diferentes coberturas mortas, como sendo T1: solarized soil with mulching of castor bean, T2: solarized soil with mulching of rattlepod, T3: solarized soil with mulching of spontaneous vegetation, T4: solarized soil without mulching, T5: non-solarised soil with mulching of castor bean, T6: non-solarised soil with mulching of rattlepod, T7: non-solarised soil with mulching of spontaneous vegetation and T8: non-solarised soil and without mulching. The number of weeds was higher in treatments without mulching, independent of solarization, T4 and T8. Already, the growth of the plants and the number of bean leaves were higher in the solarized soil with mulching of castor bean, T1, and lower in the non-solarized soil and without mulching, T8, in contrary to the dry mass of the root. Solarization with solar collector when associated with mulching inhibits the infestation of weeds in cowpea, while its growth is benefited by solarization + mulching, by mulching without solarization, as well as the solarization without mulching.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of different doses of silicon on the production of lettuce seedlings. The treatments were arranged in a 4x2 factorial scheme, totaling 8 treatments. The first factor corresponded to 4 Si doses (Ca silicate) added to the substrate for seedling production (0; 13.3; 32.3 and 53.2 g.kg-1 of Si on the substrate). The second factor corresponded to two varieties of lettuce, being Mônica SF31 (Crespa) and Rafaela (Americana). The experimental design was the completely randomized, with 4 replicates. The number of leaves (NF), fresh aerial mass (MFPA), dry shoot mass (MSPA), fresh radicular mass (MFRA) and root dry mass (MSRA) were evaluated. Data were submitted to analysis of variance by the F test, and the means of the treatments compared by the Tukey test at 5% probability. The seedlings of the Mônica SF31 and Rafaela lettuce varieties do not present differences regarding the Si requirement for the production of MFPA, MSPA, MFRA and MSRA. The application of Si to the substrate can be a viable alternative for the production of lettuce seedlings with higher NF, MFPA, MSPA, MFRA and MSRA. Doses of 32.0 to 43.7 g.kg-1 of Si in the substrate are suitable for higher production of MFPA, MSPA, MFRA and MSRA of lettuce Mônica SF31. Doses of 31.5 to 39.8 g.kg-1 of Si in the substrate are suitable for higher production of MFPA, MSPA, MFRA and MSRA of Rafaela lettuce seedlings.

The orchids have a great diversity of genus and species, which contributes to a singular wealth of flowers, that present immense variation of colors and forms. Within the trade of ornamental plants orchids constitute a promising area of agribusiness, with high added value. However, one of the major limitations for the production of these plants is the incidence of diseases, mainly caused by fungi. In this context, the objective of the study was to isolate and identify fungi from orchids with a symptomatological picture of disease of fungal etiology. The incidence of 3 genera of pathogens of fungal etiology in 10 genera of orchids was verified. The causal agent with the highest percentage of frequency was Nigrospora sp.