Corn and sorghum are standard silage crops because of their fermentative characteristics. While corn and sorghum silages have lower crude protein (CP) contents than other crops, intercropping with legumes can increase CP content. Furthermore, one way to increase CP content is the addition of legumes to silage. Consequently, the research objective was to evaluate the fermentative and bromatological characteristics of corn (Zea mays) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) silages added with forage peanuts (Arachis pintoi). The experimental design was completely randomized with four replicates. The treatments consisted of corn silage, sorghum silage, forage peanut silage, corn silage with 30% forage peanut, and sorghum silage with 30% forage peanut. The results showed that the corn and sorghum added with peanut helped to improve the silage fermentative and bromatological characteristics, proving to be an efficient technique for silage quality. The forage peanut silage had lower fermentative characteristics than the corn and sorghum silages. However, the forage peanut silage had a greater CP content, which increased the protein contents of the corn and sorghum silages when intercropped with forage peanuts.

The identification of brown rot control derivatives has been the focus of intense research owing to the negative effects of the unrelenting usage of fungicides. Brown rot, caused by Monilinia fructicola, is an important post-harvest disease of peaches. The goal of this study was to estimate the optimum sample size of peaches in order to assess the average lesion size and the influence of different plant extracts on the fruits. Three preparation forms (FPE) were evaluated, as well as another seven forms of application (FAE) of canola and mustard extracts on peaches, with applications of the pathogen’s inoculum. Five fruits were utilized in five repetitions per treatment. Evaluation involved measurement of the fruits’ lesioned areas. The necessary sampling size was determined for estimation of the averages for each treatment and experiment. For measurement of the lesion size, 99 fruits in FPE and 23 fruits in FAE were sufficient for estimating the average with an estimation error of 10%. Based on the same estimation error, the sampling size is contingent on the extracts (canola, and mustard), batches of fruits, forms of extraction, and extract application on the fruits.

The evaluation of land use and management by the measurement of soil organic matter and its fractions has gained attention since it helps in the understanding of the dynamics of their contribution to soil productivity, especially in tropical environments. This study was conducted in the municipality of Colorado do Oeste, state of Rondônia, Brazil and its aim was to determinethe quantity of organic carbon and total nitrogen in the light and heavy fractions of organic matter in the surface layers of a typic hapludalf under different land use systems: Native Forest: open evergreen forest, reference environment; Agroforestry System 1: teak (Tectona grandis LF) and kudzu (Pueraria montana); Agroforestry System 2: coffee (Coffea canephora), marandu palisade grass (Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu), “pinho cuiabano” (Parkia multijuga), teak and kudzu.; Agroforestry System 3: teak and cocoa (Theobroma cacao); Silvopasture System: teak, cocoa and marandu palisade grass; and Extensive Grazing System: marandu palisade grass. The experimental design was a randomized block in split-split plots (use systems versus soil layers of 0-0.05 and 0.05-0.10 m) with three replications. The results showed that relative to Native Forest, the Agroforestry System 2 had equal- and greater amounts of organic carbon and total nitrogen respectively (light and heavy fractions) in the soil organic matter, with the light fraction being responsible for storage of approximately 45% and 70% of the organic carbon and total nitrogen, respectively. Therefore, the light densimetric fraction proved to be useful in the early identification of the general decline of the soil organic matter in the land use systems evaluated.

In Brazil, consumer preference of tropical native fruits has increased; however, many fruits are not commercially exploited, such as gabiroba (Campomanesia lineatifolia) and myrtle (Blepharocalyx salicifolius), from the Myrtaceae family. The present study aimed to evaluate the physical, physico-chemical, and functional characteristics of gabiroba and myrtle, harvested from native plants in the mountainous region of Ibiapaba–CE. The following characters were analyzed: pH, soluble solids, total acidity, total extractable polyphenols, ascorbic acid, and antioxidant activity by using the ABTS method. After pulping, the samples were divided into two groups. From the results, it was found that gabiroba had a low total acidity value (0.12 ± 0.01%) indicating a higher level of sweetness relative to myrtle. Myrtle presented values of longitudinal (0.94 cm) and transverse(1.35 cm) diameters, fresh weight (0.85g), pulp yield (68.0%), pH (4.5 ± 0.0), and total soluble solids (23.6 ± 1.7 °Bx) similar to those obtained in other studies. Bioactive compounds in gabiroba and myrtle included phenolics (GAE 229.37 ± 1.04and 511.65 ± 1.34mg/100g), ascorbic acid (74.44 ± 0.03 369.1 ± 0.28 mg/100g), and antioxidants (14.54 ± 1.0 and 16.05 ± 0.63 μ Mtrolox/g). Therefore, these fruits have the potential to be used as functional foods characterized by various health benefits.

This study aimed to evaluate the production of castor beans, cv. „BRS Energia‟, in terms of soil chemical composition as a function of the cationic nature, and salinity levels, of the irrigation water. The experiment was carried out using lysimeters in a controlled environment at the Center of Technology and Natural Resources of the Federal University of Campina Grande, from November 2013 to February 2014. The treatments consisted of six types of salinity (S 1 - Control; S 2 - Na + ; S 3 - Ca 2+ ; S 4 - Na + + Ca 2+ ; S 5 - K + , and S 6 - Na + + Ca 2+ + Mg 2+ ), distributed in randomized blocks with four replicates; each plot consisted of five plants for evaluation, totaling 120 experimental plots. Plants in the control treatment (S 1 ) were irrigated with water with an electrical conductivity (ECw) of 0.6 dS m - 1 , and the other treatments (S 2 ; S 3 ; S 4 ; S 5 and S 6 ) with ECw of 4.5 dS m - 1 , but with (a) different cation(s). Water salinity of 4.5 dS m - 1 hampers castor bean production, regardless of the cationic nature of the water; castor bean „BRS Energia‟ was more sensitive to salinity caused by the presence of potassium salts in the irrigation water; the mass of seeds in the primary raceme is the most sensitive variable to salinity and the cationic nature of the irrigation water; the adopted leaching fraction (0.10) was not sufficient to avoid salt accumulation in the soil; irrigation with low ECw promoted the lowest value of exchangeable sodium percentage.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the development and production of semi-noble garlic cultivars subjected to different bulb-seed pre-planting vernalization periods in two municipalities (Barauna and Governador Dix-sept Rosado) of the Western Mesoregion of Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil. Therefore, two simultaneous experiments were conducted, from April to November, 2012. A complete randomized block experimental design was used with four replications. The treatments were arranged in split-plot design, with the plots consisted of cultivars (Gigante-do-Nucleo and BRS-Hozan) and subplots consisted of bulb-seed pre-planting vernalization (4±1°C) periods (0, 10, 20 and 30 days). In Barauna, the cultivar Gigante-do-Nucleo proved to be adapted, with a yield of 4.56 Mg ha-1 without vernalization, while the BRS-Hozan presented a yield of 4.42 Mg ha-1 when vernalizated for 10 days at pre-planting. In Governador Dix-sept Rosado, the vernalization of 10 days improved the adaptation of both cultivars, however, with no significant yield increases. The use of vernalization improved adaptation of cultivars in the planting locations, facilitating the emergence of plants, increasing plant height and number of leaves, however, not promoting significant yield increases, therefore, this technology should not be used for produce this type of garlic in this region.

In agroforestry systems, annual plants closest to trees may behave differently from plants in rows that are more distant. This study evaluated the proximity effects of Mimosa caesalpiniifolia (sabiá) and Gliricidia sepium (gliricidia) on corn yield under the taungya and alley cropping systems. The two species were evaluated, in randomised blocks with five replications, in 2010 and 2011, under taungya and alley cropping, respectively. Three rows of corn (left, middle, and right) were grown between two rows of trees. Sabiá trees grew higher than gliricidia trees. The difference in crown diameter between species depended on plant age. There was a linear relationship between plant age and plant height and between plant age and crown diameter for both sabiá and gliricidia trees. In the taungya system, left rows produced more green ears than middle and right rows, but grain yield was higher in middle rows. In the alley system, green ear yield was also higher in left rows than in middle and right rows, but grain yield was unaffected by row position. In both agroforestry systems, there were no differences in corn yield for corn grown between sabiá or gliricidia trees.

The aim of this study was to assess the organic matter changes in quantity and quality, particularly of the humic fraction in the surface layer (0–20 cm), of a Typic Plinthustalf soil under different management of plant mixtures used as green manure for mango (Mangifera indica L.) crops. The plant mixtures, which were seeded between rows of mango trees, were formed by two groups of leguminous and non-leguminous plants. Prior to sowing, seeds were combined in different proportions and compositions constituting the following treatments: 100% non-leguminous species (NL); 100% leguminous species (L); 75% L and 25% NL; 50% L and 50% NL; 25% L and 75% NL; and 100% spontaneous vegetation, considered a control. The plant mixtures that grew between rows of mango trees caused changes in the chemical composition of the soil organic matter, especially for the treatments 50% L and 50% NL and 25% L and 75% NL, which increased the content of humic substances in the soil organic matter. However, the treatment 25% L and 75% NL was best at minimising loss of total organic carbon from the soil. The humic acids studied have mostly aliphatic characteristics, showing large amounts of carboxylic and nitrogen groups and indicating that most of the organic carbon was formed by humic substances, with fulvic acid dominating among the alkali soluble fractions.

The aim of the present study is to assess the antibacterial potential of plants from the Caatinga biome of the semi-arid region of Pernambuco, against Staphylococcus spp. isolates from cases of subclinical mastitis in small ruminants, such as goats and ewes. Ethanolic extracts of the following plants from the Caatinga biome were used: Encholirium spectabile Mart., Bromelia laciniosa Mart., Neoglaziovia variegata Mez., Amburana cearensis (Fr. Allem.) A.C.Smith, Hymenaea martiana Hayne, and Selaginella convoluta Spring. The presence of phenolic components, flavonoids, steroids, and terpenoids was verified for all the tested extracts. The mean minimal bactericide concentrations of the extracts of E. spectabile, B. laciniosa, and N. variegate were 11,379, 11,405, and 11,995 μg/mL, respectively. The highest inhibitory activities were observed for A. cearensis and H. martiana, which inhibited 88.1 and 99.4% of the isolates, respectively. Other studies focusing on in vitro and in vivo activities should be undertaken.

Tambaqui is intensively farmed because of its production characteristics; however, there is a lack of information lacks about the nutritional requirements of this species. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of various crude protein (CP) levels in the diets of tambaqui fingerlings. A total of 750 fingerlings with an initial weight of 0.35 ± 0.09 g were selected in a completely randomized design with six treatments (experimental feeds with 20%, 24%, 28%, 32%, 36%, and 40% CP), five replicates, and 25 fish per experimental unit. Performance, survival rate, carcass yield, body composition, protein deposition, body fat, and nitrogen retention efficiency were evaluated after 45 days. CP levels did not affect the following: feed conversion, survival rate, moisture content, and carcass yield. However, with increasing CP levels, protein efficiency ratio decreased. Weight gain, feed conversion, and specific growth rate improved until CP levels of 31.57%, 28.90%, and 31.12%, respectively, were achieved. Quadratic effects of elevated CP levels on body fat and body fat deposition were observed at minimum CP levels of 26.55% and 23.77%, respectively; and on body protein, body protein deposition, and nitrogen retention efficiency at maximum CP levels of 29.26%, 32.50%, and 27.21%, respectively. We conclude that a CP level of 31.57% is recommended for the diets of tambaqui fingerlings weighing between 0.35 and 15.11 g, which corresponds to a digestible energy:CP ratio of 9.50 kcal DE/g CP.