The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of using different herbicides as desiccants in pre - harvest and the effects of storage on the physiological and sanitary quality of azuki bean seeds ( Vigna angularis Willd). The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design in a split plot scheme, with four replications. Four herbicides were tested: paraquat (400 g a.i. ha - 1 ), glufosinate ammonium (400 g a.i. ha - 1 ), glyphosate (720 g a.i. ha - 1 ), flumioxazin (30 g a.i. ha - 1 ) and a control without herbicide application. In the subplots seed quality was tested in two evaluation periods: at harvest and six months after harvest. Desiccant was applied when the azuki beans were physiologically mature. We assessed the physiological and sanitary quality of the seeds using a vigour and seed health test. The use of glyphosate resulted in a higher incidence of abnormal seedlings and reduced size and weight of the seedlings. With paraquat and flumioxazin the physiological quality was maintained and there was reduced pathogen infestation in the seeds six months after harvest. Storage affected the physiological quality of the azuki bean seeds.

This research aimed to evaluate the effects of different levels of sunflower meal (SFM) and the supplementation of a multienzyme complex in the initial diets of broilers on their performance, intestinal morphometry and carcass characteristics. In all, 1100 1 - d - old male chicks were distributed in a completely randomized design with 2 x 5 factorial arrangement (with and without a multienzyme supplement and five levels of SFM inclusion - 0, 4, 8, 12 and 16%), and five replications per experimental unit. The experimental diets were provided until the chickens were 21 - d - old and thereafter all birds received the same diet up to 42 d, to evaluate the possible residual effects of treatments. The SFM inclusion impaired performance from 1 to 21 d of age and the animals that received SFM during the initial phase, failed to recover from the negative effects on performance parameters. The multienzyme supplement improved the intestinal morphometry and was more effective than non - supplemented diets on performance, independent of the SFM inclusion level. The carcass and cuts yield of the wings and leg were significantly affected by the multienzyme supplementation. In conclusion, the SFM inclusion impaired performance variables and intestinal morphometry without affecting carcass yield; however, the supplementation of an enzyme complex counteracted the negative performance and intestinal morphometry effects.

Phytoremediation is a technique that has been used with increasing frequency to decontaminate soils treated with herbicides that have long - term residual effects, such as sulfentrazone. The goal was to assess phytoremediation of the herbicide sulfentrazone under field conditions by the species Canavalia ensiformis and Crotalaria juncea . The treatments consisted of combinations of the plant species C. ensiformis and C. juncea plus a control treatment (with manual weeding) and four doses of the herbicide sulfentrazone. The experimental design used herein was a split - plot randomized block design with four replicates per subplot. The treatments were kept in the field for 75 days. After this period, the experimental area was again furrowed and fertilized, considering the requirements for Pennisetum glaucum , a plant used as an indicator of the presence of sulfentrazone. Thirty - four days after sowing pearl millet, the fresh and dry shoot masses of the plants were assessed. At the end of the cycle, the plant height, stem diameter, internode length, number of leaves, number of panicles, and fresh and dry panicle masses were determined. Previous cultivation of phytoremediation species C. ensiformis and C. juncea promotes sulfentrazone remediation. C. ensiformis is the most efficient species for the decontamination of the herbicide sulfentrazone under field conditions.

The objective of this study was to determine the periods of weed interference and its impact on productivity of cotton 'IMACD 6001LL'. The experiment was conducted in Jaboticabal, São Paulo, the second crop in 2011 and consisted of two treatment groups: the first culture remained free of competing weeds since of emergence up different periods of its development: (0-15 , 0-25, 0-35, 0-45, 0-55, 0-65, 0-75 and 0-183 days - harvest). In the second treatment group was held to the contrary: the crop was in harmony with the weeds since of emergence up to the same stages of development described above. The treatments were arranged in a randomized block design in four replications. During these periods was evaluated dry matter accumulation by weeds. The cotton yield data were subjected to regression analysis and resulting in a CPWC of 35 DAE, the CPWR was 133 DAE and .The weed community was composed mainly of Raphanus raphanistrum, Amaranthus spp., Cyperus rotundus, Alternanthera tenella and Eleusine indica. Living with this community throughout the cycle resulted in reduction almost 85% in cotton yield.

This study evaluated the effect of different cutting intensities and years of harvesting on the morphological characteristics and production of fresh (FMP) and dry matter (DMP) of cactus pear cv. Gigante (Opuntia ficus-indica Mill) under conditions of irrigation, high planting density and fertilization, with 12 months of regrowth. The experimental was completely randomized in a factorial design (3 × 2) with 12 replicates. The treatments were three cutting intensities (preserving the mother cladode (PMC), primary cladodes (PPC), or secondary cladodes (PSC)), and two years of harvesting. The soil was classified as Cambisol Haplicum and the irrigation water was classified as C4S1 (EC 5.25 dS.m-1) density of 50,000 plants ha-1. The research evaluated plant height, number of cladodes per plant (NCP), length, width, perimeter and thickness of the cladodes, cladode area (CA), cladode area index (CAI), FMP and DMP. There was no significant interaction between treatments (P > 0.05) for the variables plant height, NCP, CAI and FMP. The variables related to cladode morphology showed a significant interaction (P < 0.05). The treatment PSC resulted in a greater DMP (P < 0.05) with a mean of 27.17 Mg ha-1 yr-1, compared to PPC (18.58 Mg ha-1 yr-1) or PMC (11.78 Mg ha-1 yr-1). The treatment PSC promoted greater NCP and forage productivity at harvest and can be considered as a management practice for the sustainability of cactus pear cv. Gigante under irrigation. The more important morphological characteristics were also influenced by the lower cutting intensities.

Mineral fertilizer management is one of the most important agronomic techniques applied in papaya cultivation, which generally extracts large amounts of nutrients from soil, especially nitrogen. This study aimed to assess the phytotechnical and physiological attributes and yield of „Formosa‟ papaya hybrid Caliman 01 as a function of different doses of coated and conventional urea in the region of Bom Jesus - PI, Brazil. The treatments were arranged in a factorial scheme (2 × 4) and distributed in a randomized block design with four replications, corresponding to 2 nitrogen sources (coated urea, 43% of N; and conventional urea, 45% of N) and 4 doses nitrogen (350, 440, 530 and 620 g per plant). The N doses used corresponded to 80, 100, 120 and 140% of the nitrogen fertilization. It was used six plants per plot with two row borders, totaling 192 plants cultivated in the field. It was assessed the intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (int.PAR), radiation interception efficiency (PAREff.), leaf area index (LAI), plant height, stem diameter and yield. The coated urea promotes a higher growth and yield of „Formosa‟ papaya compared to the conventional urea. The application of 1.0 g of coated N promotes the production of 2.87 g of fruit per hectare while the application of 1.0 g of conventional N produces only 1.89 g of fruit per hectare, showing that the source of polymerized N increases the use efficiency of N applied to soil.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the symbiotic efficiency of three novel nitrogen-fixing bacterial strains with cowpea cv. BRS Guariba as forage. Two experiments were carried out in the field in Balsas and São Raimundo das Mangabeiras, MA, in a randomized block design with seven treatments and four replications: three novel strains efficient in symbiotic nitrogen fixation with cowpea (UFLA 3-153, UFLA 3-154 and UFLA 3-164), two strains already approved as inoculants by MAPA (UFLA 3-84/SEMIA 6461 and INPA 3-11B/SEMIA 6462), and two controls without inoculation, with and without mineral N. Symbiotic efficiency of strains was determined by the number of nodules, nodules dry matter, shoot dry matter, relative efficiency, crude protein content and shoot N content. Strains UFLA 3-154 and UFLA 3-164 were the most efficient in Balsas, whereas UFLA 3-153 and UFLA 3-164 were the most efficient in São Raimundo das Mangabeiras. Strains UFLA 3-153, UFLA 3-154 and UFLA 3-164 were more efficient in symbiotic nitrogen fixation with cowpea than the strains already approved as inoculants UFLA 3-84 and INPA 3-11B in the climatic and edaphic conditions of southern Maranhão. UFLA 3-164 is the most efficient strain in this region.

Brazilian coffee farming is carried out both on flat and steep lands. In flat areas, mechanized operations are intensive; however, in steep slope areas, certain mechanized operations cannot be performed, such as harvesting. Based on this, the industry has developed machinery to harvest coffee in areas with up to 30% slope. However, harvesters have their efficiency and operational performance influenced by land slope. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the operational performance and harvesting efficiency of a steep-slope harvester under different situations, using different speed settings. The experiment was carried out in the county of Santo Antônio do Amparo, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, using five coffee stands with 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30% slope. Evaluations were performed with a self-propelled harvester (Electron, TDI®, Araguari, MG, Brazil) at three rotation speeds (600, 800 and 1.000 rpm) and two ground speeds (800 and 1.000 m h-1). The results showed the lower speed (800 m h-1) was suitable for 10% slope areas since the amount of fallen coffee berries. For areas of 20% slope, harvesting time was 21.6% longer than in flatter areas. Downtime varied from 10.66 to 29.18% total harvest due to a higher number of maneuvers.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the agronomic efficiency of intercropping combinations of carrot and arugula at different population densities in bicropping in the semi - arid conditions of the Brazilian Northeast. The study was conducted at the "Rafael Fernandes" Experimental Farm of the Universidade Federal Rural do Semi - Árido (UFERSA) during the period September 2011 to February 2012. The experimental design was of randomized complete blocks with treatments arranged in a 4 x 4 factorial scheme with four replications. The combinations were four population densities of carrot (40, 60, 80 and 100% of the recommended population in sole crop – RPSC) with four population densities of arugula (40, 60, 80 and 100% of the RPSC). The recommended population densities for sole crops of carrot and arugula are 500,000 and 1,000,000 plants per hectare, respectively. All treatments were fertilized with hairy woodrose ( Merremia aegyptia L.), a spontaneous species of the Caatinga biome. The highest agronomic efficiency of carrot intercropped with arugula in bicropping was achieved in the combination of 40% of RPSC for the carrot and 100% of RPSC for the arugula. The commercial maximum yield (33.74 t ha - 1 ) of carrot roots and the maximum yields of arugula green mass (8.06 and 2.67 t ha - 1 ) in both cultivations were also obtained in the combination of population densities of 40% of RPSC for carrot and 100% of RPSC for arugula.

The objective of this study was to determine the genetic variation in milk production, milk components, and reproductive traits in dairy buffaloes. A total of 9,318 lactation records from 3,061 cows were used to estimate the heritability of milk yield (MY), fat percentage (%F), protein percentage (%P), lactation length (LL), calving interval (CI), and age at first calving (AFC), as well as genetic and phenotypic correlations between these traits. Covariance components were estimated by Bayesian inference in a multitrait animal model using the GIBBS2F90 program. Contemporary groups and number of milkings (1 or 2) were included as fixed effects, age of dam at calving (linear and quadratic effects) as a covariate, and additive genetic , permanent environmental, and residual effects as random effects. The heritability estimates (± standard deviation) were 0.24 ± 0.02, 0.34 ± 0.05, 0.40 ± 0.05, 0.09 ± 0.01, 0.05 ± 0.01, and 0.16 ± 0.04 for MY, %F, %P, LL, CI, and AFC, respectively. The genetic correlations between MY and %F, %P, LL, CI, and AFC were - 0.29, - 0.18, 0.66, 0.08, and 0.24, respectively. Milk production and milk components showed sufficient genetic variation to obtain genetic gains through selection. The genetic correlations between MY and milk components were negative, and thus, undesirable because efforts to increase MY may decrease milk quality . Reproductive traits had little genetic influence, indicating that improvement of management would be sufficient to obtain better performance.