An experiment in greenhouse with maize culture was carried through to evaluate the performance of Acithiobacillus inoculated in biofertilizer, with natural fosfato and sulphur. The biofertilizer was used as phosphorus fertilization in one argisoil degraded. The plants had been fertilized with four concentration of the biofertilizer during 50 days in two successive cultive. The soil fertility was evaluated, after the cultive as well as nutrition and development of the plants. The increase in the concentration of P-soluble in soil induced for the fertilization with the biofertilizer occurred in the second cultive. The application of the biofertilizer did not promote acidification of the soil however it increased the sulphur concentration. The rate of application of the biofertilizer for supply of 160 kg of P ha-1 revealed as of better performance in the supply of phosphorus and development of the plant.

The human specie has always been developing and improving its ways of exploring the natural resources. Among these ways, farming stands out for including various activities which are moving according to the time and space where they are implemented, which makes necessary to consider and study farming as a system. In this work, the concept of farming system was set up, showing that it is formed of several parts that interact with each others and with external components, generating a dynamic. To facilitate the comprehension of the current farming systems in the semi-arid northeast of Brazil, a revision of the evolutionary paths of these systems was done, considering livestock like a subsystem of the sugarmills, and of its importance in the economy and culture of the northeast. Observations about the fragmentation of the land and the appearance of systems of family production were also conducted. This study draws the conclusion that besides the physical characteristics of the area, some socio-political and economical factors have influenced a lot the way in which the farming systems were constituted in the semi-arid northeast.

Seeds of Caesalpinea ferrea Mart. ex Tu. var. leiostachya Benth. present low and irregular germination due to dormancy caused by the impermeability of the tegument. With the purpose to determine an efficient method to accelerate and uniformize seed germination, they were submitted to different immersion periods (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 minutes) in sulfuric acid (95-98%), influence emergency and vigor (first count, speed index, medium time and relative frequency of emergency, length and dry matter of the seedlings). The experiment was carried out under greenhouse conditions with an experimental design of completely randomized, with seven treatments and four replications. The pre-conditioning of the seeds with immersion in concentrated sulfuric acid was efficient to overcoming seed dormancy, by increasing the percentage and speed emergency, the first count of emergency, length and dry matter of seedlings and reduction in the medium time for emergency. The efficiency of this chemical treatment with concentrated sulfuric depends on the immersion time, and 10 to 20 minutes were the most adequate to provide larger emergency uniformity percentages and vigor.

An unidentified Lepidoptera species was found defoliating Eucalyptus cloeziana (Myrtaceae) in a cerrado area of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Pupae of this insect, collected in the area, were brought to the laboratory and maintained in Petri dishes (9.0 cm x 1.5 cm) under 25 ± 2oC, relative humidity of 60 ± 10% and 12 hours photophase to obtain adults and eggs. This insect was identified as Hylesia paulex Dognin (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae), and, in that way, the objective of the present study was to register for the first time its herbivory in E. cloeziana plants. Newly-emerged caterpillars were reared in 10 plastic pots (500ml), with 30 caterpillars per pot and fed, daily, with fresh leaves of Eucalyptus cloeziana (Myrtaceae). The egg incubation period of H. paulex was 32.00 ± 1.19 days. The total duration of the seven instars of this insect was 67.83 ± 0.84 days. Hylesia paulex completed its life cycle with E. cloeziana plants, what proves its adaptability to this kind of exotic Myrtaceae in Brazil.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the accumulation of matter, dry matter content of Brix and two varieties of sugar cane, influenced by the phosphorus cultivated on "Zona da Mata" region, State of Alagoas. The experiment, a factorial 2 x 6, was composed of two varieties of cane; RB867515 and RB92579 and six phosphorus levels: zero, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 kg ha-1, with the source of the phosphorus triple superphosphate . Was also used nitrogen and potassium in doses equivalent to 100 and 200 kg ha-1 and K, respectively. The soil of the experimental area was set to raise the base saturation to 60%. At the beginning of the first rainfall of the rainy season of 2006 was performed with micro fertilization in coverage, in doses equivalent to 6,0; 6,0 and 7,0 kg ha-1 of Cu, Zn and Mn, respectively. Was The chemical control of weeds. Every month, from August to October 2006, samples were collected in the cane plant. There was initially the number of plants m2, followed by weighing the material. It was subsequently withdrawn a subsample containing ten plants for weighing. After weighing the material was passed in horsemanship and homogenized, again drew up a sample of approximately 300g, leading them to forced ventilation oven at 65 ºC, to obtain constant weight. Resulting in the production of natural (MN) and dry matter (DM). In July, we analyzed the levels of Brix% juice in the refractometer Brix. The average values of production of natural (MN), dry matter (DM) and contents of Brix% were subjected to analysis of variance and regression for variables. The accumulation of dry matter and were influenced by fertilization. The contents of Brix% in two varieties did not suffer significant influence of fertilization.

Cordia oncocalyx is abundant among the woody community, nevertheless it presents low density on the soil seed bank. Our hypothesis is that C. oncocalyx presents higher fruit density in areas with higher adult density, once it¿s fruit, although proper for wind dispersal, but not being dispersed though long distances. The low density, result of unproper sample size and methodology used during analyses. To test these hypothesis, a caatinga area was selected in the end of the dry season a hectare was chosen and in it¿s inside thirty 100 m2 squares were selected to count the adult trees and thirty 1m2 squares to count the fruit bank among the leaf litter. Our results showed a fruit density of 67,5 ± 90,17 fruits/m2 and 2 ± 2 trees/100m2. The predation rate was 20%, value similar to the ones found in arid and semiarid systems. A positive correlation was found between the adult tree density and i) the fruit density (rs = 0,5836, p < 0,05) and ii) the proportion of predated fruits (rs = 0,3665 , p < 0,05). The seed density was higher than the ones found in previous studies. Nevertheless, these results agregad dispersal and seed density estimate method.

This work deals with the survey of the family Boraginaceae in a lowland seasonal dry forest in the municipality of Aliança, Pernambuco, Northeast Brazil. Seven species and three genera were recorded: Cordia L., with three species (C. sellowiana Cham., C. taguahyensis Vell. and C. trichotoma (Vell.) Arráb. ex Steud.); Heliotropium L., with only one species, H. elongatum (Lehm.) I.M. Johnst. and Tournefortia L., represented by three species (T. bicolor Sw., T. gardneri A.DC. and T. rubicunda Salzm. ex A.DC.). A key to the recognition of the species, as well as descriptions and illustrations were given. Data about distribution, flowering and or fruiting of the species also are provided.

The experiment was carried out at a greenhouse of Plant Science Department of the Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido (UFERSA), Mossoró-RN, with the objective of determing the effect green manuring with scarlet starglory in coverage in agronomic performance of lettuce. A completely randomized desing with six treatments and four replications. The treatments consist of: T1 (scarlet starglory in coverage 35 days ; T2 (scarlet starglory in coverage 28 days); T3 (scarlet starglory in coverage 21 days); T4 (scarlet starglory in coverage 14 days); T5 (scarlet starglory in coverage 7 days); T6 - Control (no fertilized soil). The evaluated traits were: plant height, Horizontal and vertical diameter of the root (mm), shoot fresh and dry mass (g); roots fresh and dry mass (g). The time of decomposition of 42 days was the maximum provided for all characteristics evaluated.

This work aimed to evaluate melon cultivars under salt stress conditions. The work was carried out in green house of the Tecnology and Social Sciences Department (DTCS) of the University of the Stete of Bahia (UNEB), at Juazeiro - BA. The experimental design was totally randomized, with four replications in a factorial squeme 3 X 4 (cultivars and salt solutions) and the averages were compared by Tukey test at 5% probability. Melon seeds of the cultivars AF682, Gaúcho e Sancho were sowed in 15 L vases with previously salinizied soils with the conductivities 0,17; 2,23; 4,95 e 6,10 dS.m-1. The emergence percentage and emergence speed rate (IVE) were evaluated. Once the plants have reached blossoming, the were harvested and the fresh matter weight was obtained. After that the plants were dried at 75oC for 72 hours, for dry matter obtention. Were also messuered shoots length and number of leaves per plant. The relative chlorophyll index was obtained after 13, 20, 26 and 40 days after sowing, in three leaves per plant, with a portable chlorophyllmeter Minolta. The leaves of all plants were fotocopied and identified for leaf area (cm2) evaluation. The salt stress induced by the 6,10 dS.m-1 condictivity brought up the information that AF682 cultivar, is less tolerant to soil salinity than Gaúcho and Sancho cultivars.

This work aimed to estimate the phenotypic correlation coefficients and to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of these correlations (path analysis). It was studied the effect of the explanatory independent variables tiller number, stem diameter, and stem length on the main dependent variable leaf number of "Capparis flexuosa" plants during two evaluation periods in the Cariri region of Paraiba State, Brazil. There were significant differences between the evaluated periods for the studied variables. Tiller number during the dry season and stem length during the rainy season explained best the leaf number, acting respectively in a direct and inversely proportional way on the main variable, changing according to the environmental conditions during the growth period. The results allowed the conclusion that tiller number exerts great influence on leaf number in both evaluation periods.