The objective was to evaluate the effect of the omission of macronutrient and micronutrient boron in dry matter production, the characterization of the symptoms of nutritional deficiencies and mineral composition in plants of ipeca, an experiment was conducted in greenhouse conditions by the technique the missing element and visual diagnosis. A randomized block experimental design with four repetitions and the treatments were: complete and omissions of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S and B. The analytical results demonstrated that the production of dry matter was affected in all of the treatments with omission of nutrients and that the ipeca plants presented characteristic symptoms of nutritional deficiencies due to the omissions of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S and B and the concentrations of the macronutrients and of the micronutrient boron in the different parts of the ipeca plant varied when a certain nutrient was omitted in the solution.

Considering that milk is susceptible to fraud, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of sodium citrate and fortifier in density and freezing point of milk. The addition of citrate in 0.1%, the maximum regulated by Brazilian legislation, was sufficient to decrease the average freezing point for 0.021 °H and increase the density average in 0.0008 g cm - 3 . In these samples was possible to add up to 5.6% water without exceeding the Brazilian standards density and freezing point. The fortifier added to milk in con- centrations higher than 0.05% decreased the average freezing point 0.0024°H compared to the control treat- ment. The average density difference only in the group with addition of 0.44% of tonic, an increase of 0.0034 g cm - 3 compared to the control treatment. However, the dilution recommended by the manufacturer (0.007%) not changed density and freezing point average of milk. The results showed that the addition of citrate in percent- ages permitted by Brazilians law was able to change the freezing point and the density of milk. It should be pointed that in direct UHT process the evaporation of water excess from milk with 0.1% of citrate is based on - 0.530 o H, it is possible that the removal of the incorporated water in UHT process could be incomplete, and can be present in percentages higher than 5%. Thus, the manufacturer recommended concentration of fortifier did not change the density and the freezing point of milk.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the g rowth of cowpea under the effect of herbicides fomesafen and bentazon + imazamox. The experiment w as conducted in a randomized block design, using th e split-plot scheme. In the plots were evaluated thre e weeds management systems (culture kept weeded by hoe- ing, with application of fomesafen (250 g ha -1 and the mixture of herbicides bentazon + imazamox (1.200 + 56 g ha -1 )) and in the subplots, 10 evaluation periods: 05, 12, 19, 26, 33, 40, 47, 54, 61 and 68 days after em er- gence (DAE). In each evaluation were collected rand omly in two of the four rows of the floor area of t he plots, three plants of cowpea to determine the following c haracteristics: leaf area, dry mass of leaves, stem , pods and total per plant, leaf area index, leaf area ratio, as well as the rates of absolute and relative growt h and of net assimilation. At harvest, we evaluated the number o f plants (stand), number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, 100-grain weight and grain yield. The fome safen caused severe intoxication in cowpea, delayin g flow- ering and harvest in seven days, while reducing pro ductivity. The mixture of the herbicides bentazon + ima- zamox did not affect the characteristics related to the growth of cowpea plants as well as the product ion compo- nents.

The morphogenesis determines the model of plant growth, and is, among other factors, under the influence of nutrient availability. In this context, the aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of using wastewater from the dairy industry (RLL) as a supplier of nutrients in the morphogenesis of grass Mombaça. For this we studied six doses of liquid dairy waste, corresponding to: 10, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 400 m³ ha-1 evaluated in four production cycles and compared to chemical fertilizer. The treatments were arranged in a completely randomized design with four replications compounds. We measured the characteristics of expansion and leaf appearance, leaf senescence, stem elongation and tillering. The application of wastewater from the dairy industry has positively influenced the leaf elongation rate, leaf appearance rate, stem elongation rate and the rate of tillering. A reduction in the rate leaf senescence and the phyllochron in the grass. The application of 400 m³ ha-¹ RLL guarantees satisfactory morphogenic indices in intensive grazing system, replacing up to 25% of phosphorus and potassium fertilization of 100%, having also a positive residual effect on the growth of grass. The liquid waste is a potential supplier of dairy grazing potassium for the pastures.

The Ceara State has a variety of species of non-traditional fruits that are consumed in natura and/or processed by local population, with economic potential for agro-industrial processing, however, still poorly studied. In this context, the aim of this research was to evaluate the genetic variability of puçazeiro ‘Coroa de Frade’, native tree from coastal vegetation of Beberibe, Ceará, Brazil, by physico-chemical and chemical characteristics of their fruits. Fifteen genotypes were evaluated. The traits analyzed were: soluble solids (SS), titrable acidity (TA) (% of citric acid), pH, SS/TA ratio, total sugars, reducing sugars, starch and, total and soluble pectin. The genotypes were characterized as a good alternative to the market of exotic fruits, showing high values of SS (20,40 a 31,00 °Brix) and low mean values of titrable acidity (0,27 a 0,58 % of citric acid), producing SS/TA ratio ranged between 37,5 and 102,43, with emphasis on the genotype '8', which pre- sented SS/TA ratio of 95.05. The genotypes showed fruit netting with high starch (> 1%). The values of total pectin (0.35 to 0.98%) and soluble pectin (0.13 to 0.74%) reinforcing the use of this fruits in the industry, with low cost to manufacture of candy and jellies. The repeatability analysis showed that most of the observed varia- tion among genotypes is associated with the genetic component. Therefore, it can be concluded that the studied genotypes of puçazeiro 'Coroa de Frade' showed wide genetic variability and have fruits indicated even for fresh consumption as well as for processing.

This study was carried out during April to August of year 2009, in field conditions at the horti- culture department Centro de Ciências Agrárias – Universidade Federal da Paraíba, in Areia – PB, aiming to evaluate the effect of nitrogen rates in the presence and absence of bovine manure in the sweet potato yield. The experimental design used was randomized blocks, with four repetitions in factorial scheme 6 x 2, being six nitrogen doses ( 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 kg ha-1 of nitrogen) in the presence and absence of bovine manure. The evaluated variables were commercial roots average weight, commercial roots production plant-1 and com- mercial productivity of roots. The average weight of commercial roots, depending on nitrogen doses in the presence of bovine manure has increased in a linear way in order 0,31 g each kg of nitrogen applied, with maxi- mum weight 233,6 g with 250 kg of nitrogen ha-1. In bovine manure absence it was achieved average weight of 192,1 g. The maximum productivity of commercial roots plant-1 in the presence of bovine manure was 235,42 g, obtained with 243,75 kg ha-1 of nitrogen. In organic fertilizer absence, it was achieved the average of 127,1 g of commercial roots plant-1, depending on nitrogen doses. The dose of 183 kg ha-1 of nitrogen was responsible by maximum productivity of 13,6 t ha-1 of commercial roots, in the presence of bovine manure, while in its absence was achieved medium productivity of 7,9 t ha-1. The cattle manure increased the efficiency of nitrogen production characteristics of sweet potato and set nitrogen use in coverage and cattle manure at planting pro- vides marketable yield of sweet potato than the national average.

The systems of harvesting sugar cane can cause changes in fertility, quantity and quality of organic matter and the degree of oxidation, altering soil carbon stocks. Given this context, the objective was to evaluate the production of dry biomass (DB), soil fertility, the content of total organic carbon (TOC), the car- bon in particle size fractions (particulate organic carbon (COp) and organic carbon associated with minerals (COam)) and oxidizable organic matter fractions (F1, F2, F3, F4 and F1 / F4) in manual harvesting (CMa) and mechanized (CMe) of sugar cane. The sampling for biomass production was conducted in area of 1 m 2 at four points per plot, soil samples were collected at depths of 0.00 - 0.05; 0.05 - 0.10; 0.10 - 0.20 and 0.20 - 0.40 m. The average annual production of dry biomass in the area CMe was 17 times higher when compared to the area of CMa; The pH and phosphorus content was significantly lower in the larger depths area CMa when compared with that of Cme; the harvesting system caused significant CMe in TOC, COp and COam depth 0.00 - 0.05 m increases when compared to the CMa system; There were not significant differences in the oxidizable fractions (F1, F2, F3 and F4) of the organic carbon in the areas of CMa and CMe.

It is proposed to evaluate the growth of tomato plants grown in soil covered with different types of material. The experiment was conducted at WG Fruit Farm in Baraúna-RN during the period from July to November 2008. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with four replications. The treat- ments were arranged in split plots. The plots were the types of ground cover: bare soil (control), black polyeth- ylene film (double-sided black), silver polyethylene film (double-sided black and silver), white polyethylene film (double-sided black and white) and black row cover (TNT), and the subplots sampling dates of plants of the hybrid tomato Mariana at intervals of fourteen days, from the seedling stage (14, 28, 42, 56, 70, 84 and 98 days after transplanting, DAT). The plants were harvested in the surface area of each plot, partitioned into leaves, stems, flowers clusters and fruit, and placed in an oven with forced circulation at 65 oC, until constant weight is gotten. The characteristics assessed were: dry matter accumulation of leaves, twigs, flower clusters, fruit, total leaf area and leaf area index. Based on the dry mass of leaves, twigs, flower clusters, fruit and total, it was quantified partition of treated tomato grown in different mulching. Mulching treatments affected the growth of tomato plants with black row cover, white polyethylene and bare soil registering the highest mean of total dry matter, leaf area and leaf area index. The maximum leaf area index was obtained at 71 DAT in the treatments with black row cover (2.88), non-covered soil (2.36), white polyethylene (2.21), 77 DAT in silver polyethylene (2.17) and black polyethylene (1.72). At the end of the cycle, the plant has accumulated a mean of 28.30%, 11.98%, 3.92% and 55.82% of dry leaves, twigs, flowers and fruit clusters, respectively. Key words: Solanum lycopersicon L, dry mass accumulation, assimilate partitioning, leaf area.It is proposed to evaluate the growth of tomato plants grown in soil covered with different types of material. The experiment was conducted at WG Fruit Farm in Baraúna-RN during the period from July to November 2008. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with four replications. The treat- ments were arranged in split plots. The plots were the types of ground cover: bare soil (control), black polyeth- ylene film (double-sided black), silver polyethylene film (double-sided black and silver), white polyethylene film (double-sided black and white) and black row cover (TNT), and the subplots sampling dates of plants of the hybrid tomato Mariana at intervals of fourteen days, from the seedling stage (14, 28, 42, 56, 70, 84 and 98 days after transplanting, DAT). The plants were harvested in the surface area of each plot, partitioned into leaves, stems, flowers clusters and fruit, and placed in an oven with forced circulation at 65 oC, until constant weight is gotten. The characteristics assessed were: dry matter accumulation of leaves, twigs, flower clusters, fruit, total leaf area and leaf area index. Based on the dry mass of leaves, twigs, flower clusters, fruit and total, it was quantified partition of treated tomato grown in different mulching. Mulching treatments affected the growth of tomato plants with black row cover, white polyethylene and bare soil registering the highest mean of total dry matter, leaf area and leaf area index. The maximum leaf area index was obtained at 71 DAT in the treatments with black row cover (2.88), non-covered soil (2.36), white polyethylene (2.21), 77 DAT in silver polyethylene (2.17) and black polyethylene (1.72). At the end of the cycle, the plant has accumulated a mean of 28.30%, 11.98%, 3.92% and 55.82% of dry leaves, twigs, flowers and fruit clusters, respectively.

The use of compatible rootstocks, besides protecting sensive plant risk of soil- borne pathogens, can increase the yield and improve the quality of the fruit. The study aimed evaluated compatibility, yield and fruit quality of rootstocks and seedless watermelon. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with a 2x3 (two varieties of seedless watermelon: Shadow and RWT8154; three type of root system: without rootstock and upon BGCIA229 and BGCIA941, selected for their resistance/tolerance to nematodes and/or Fusarium spp) with four blocks and six plants/plot. The grafting method was approaching. Hipocotyl diameter of seed- lings of ‘Shadow' was similar to BGCIA229, and 'RWT8154' to BGCIA941. Verified a hight compatibility in combinations 'RWT8154' with BGCIA941 and BGCIA229. Through grafting it was found: Higher survival was observed in 'Shadow' grafted on BGCIA229. increased vegetative growth of 'Shadow' and reduction in 'RWT8154'; delayed of the 'RWT8154' female flowering; increase in fresh plant weight; increase in the yield of 'RWT8154', and reduction in 'Shadow'; increased fruit weight in 'Shadow' grafted on BGCIA229 and 'RWT8154' grafted on BGCIA941; increase in 'RWT8154' peel thickness; greatest firmness; increase in bright- ness and color intensity of the 'Shadow' pulp. The titratable acidity of the cultivars increased and that the SS/ TA ratio decreased in the tested combinations. So there is specificity among cultivars and rootstocks. The com- bination 'RWT 8154' grafted on rootstock BGCIA 941 provided higher yield and fruit quality.

The aim of this study was evaluate the agronomic p erformance of common bean cultivars ac- cording to phosphate fertilizing in the south of To cantins State. The experimental design was randomiz ed blocks with four replications. The treatments were constituted by 19 common bean cultivars submitted t o low and high levels of phosphorus in the soil (20 and 1 20 kg ha -1 of P 2 O 5 at planting, respectively). The increase of phosphorus promoted an addition in average of plant height, height of insertion of the first pod, stem diameter, number of pods per plant, number of grains per pod, number of grains per plant, weight of hundreds gra in and grains yield an cultivars IAC-Centauro, IAC-Galante , IPR-Juriti and IPR-Eldorado . The cultivars IAC-U na and IPR-Siriri present higher grains yield when sub mitted to the application of 120 kg ha -1 of P 2 O 5 .