The phenotypic manifestations of genetic knowledge of important agronomic traits in plants is an activity of great importance, whose results are widely used in plant breeding . The objective was to study the type of genetic segregation that occurs when crossing a dwarf genotype versus indeterminate growth habit gen- o t y p e . Their plant was found growing spontaneously in Piracicaba (SP), on - site disposal of fruits per tomatoes producers along with normal plants. Seeds of both plants were harvested separately for baseline and coded as follows: a plant with a normal phenotype (FN) and plant with atypical phenotype with characteristics of dwarf- ism (FA). The methodology consisted of biparental and reciprocal backcrosses of the F 1 to the parent FA and obtained the F 2 generation. The data derived from the plant count populations obtained (F 1 , F 2 and backcrosses) were tested using the χ 2 according to the expected frequency and observed the normal phenotype (FN) and plant with atypical phenotype with characteristics of dwarfism (FA), under the hypothesis Mendelian segrega- tion 3:1, obtained by monogenic inheritance. From the results, it can be concluded that the phenotype observed in the plant in this study is recessive genetic origin can be inserted into other plants by crossing.

Aiming to study the genetic control of Papaya ringspot virus, type watermelon (PRSV-W) in watermelon, the cultivar Crimson Sweet (P1 – susceptible) and L26 derived from PI 244019 (P2 – resistant), as well as the resulting populations F1, F2, RC11 and RC21 of the cross of both lines were evaluated. The trials were carried out in a greenhouse, and the evaluations were done using artificial inoculations with PRSV-W isolates. The seedling symptoms were recorded using a graded scale, and the serological evaluation was done with specific antiserum using indirect ELISA. The estimated variances of the populations were used to obtain the genetic (σ 2 G), the environmental (σ 2 E), phenotypic (σ 2 F2), additive (σ 2 A) and dominance (σ 2 D) variances as well as the broad (h2 a) and narrow sense (h2 r) heritabilities. The hypothesis of monogenic inheritance was tested under different presumed average degrees of dominance as well as using the maximum likelihood. The distribution of resistant plants in the segregating populations was different from a distribution based on monogenic inheritance for all presumed average degrees of dominance, therefore, the hypothesis of monogenic inheritance was rejected indicating that this character in the line L26 is controlled by more than one major gene with the presence of modifiers. The additive-dominant model was adequate to explain the type of gene action involved, and the epistatic effects were not important in the expression of the resistance. The estimated average degree of dominance indicated complete dominance. The broad sense heritabilities for the two variables analyzed were intermediate.

The process of protein enrichment of cactus pear (Nopalea cochenillifera (L.) Salm Dyck) by solid state fermentation with the use of Aspergillus niger and Rhyzopus sp. was studied for improving the nutritional value of this cactus species for use as animal feed. The experiments were conducted in the Agroindustrial Waste Laboratory of State University of Southwest Bahia (Brazil). To this end, we have evaluated the effects of biotransformation on the levels of protein, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, as well as the potential degradability. Bioconversion was carried out using cactus pear as the only substrate, without supplementation with nitrogen, mineral and vitamin sources. The fermentation with Aspergillus niger promoted a 78% increase in/of protein content and reductions of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin of 40%, 36%, and 28%, respectively. Degradability, in turn, was observed to have increased by 66 % after 240 h. On the other hand, the fermentation with Rhyzopus sp. was less efficient, with a 69% increase in protein content, and reductions in cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin contents of 30%, 28%, and 18%. In turn, degradability was seen to have increased by 51%. The fermentation of cactus pear by Aspergillus niger and Rhyzopus sp. exhibited the protein enrichment and increased protein degradability of this Cactaceae. Moreover, this is the most ever efficient micro-organism used in bioconversion. Based on the results, bioconversion of cactus is an excellent alternative to ruminant feeding in arid or semi-arid land.

The aim was to study during a year, the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the thinning Caatinga grazing sheep at continuous stocking, in Serra Talhada-PE. The research consisted of data collection of vegetation and sheep, in 38 hectares of Caatinga from a private farm. We evaluated the herbage mass, herbal chemical composition, botanical composition, bare soil, litter, plants height, stocking rate, animal performance and herbage allowance. Herbage mass ranged from 422 ± 42 to 1262 ± 95 kg DM.ha-1within the period January 2011 to January 2012, which led to decreased herbage allowance (13,1± 1,3 a 56,4± 4,2 kg MS.kg PV- 1 ). The weight gain of sheep observed was 2.0 ± 2.2 kg. head-1 .period-1 and 3.8 ± 4.0 kg.ha-1 .period-1 . The litter during the dry season was higher in October 2011 (38.8 ± 4.1%) and January 2012 (41.4 ± 4.3%). Increased values were observed on bare soil, mainly in dry season, averaging 24.4 ± 1.5%. With the advance of the dry season, the concentrations of DM, NDF, ADF and TC of pasture increased, while the CP, MM, and NFC decreased. In general, the Caatinga show varieties in the range of herbage mass, forage chemical composition, and animal performance, over the year.

Twenty-eight uncastrated male Saanen goat kids, on a feedlot, with an average slaughter weight of 28 kg were used to evaluate the effects of feeding goat kids with metabolizable energy levels by the addition of protected fat to the diet. The effects on the quantitative characteristics of the carcass and qualitative characteristics of the loin were assessed. The animals were randomly distributed into one of the four groups: one control group (without protected fat) was fed a diet containing 2.5 Mcal of metabolizable energy/kg dry matter (ME/kg DM). The other three groups were fed diets containing 2.6, 2.7 or 2.8 Mcal of ME/kgDM, using protected fat to increase the energy levels. The carcass quantitative characteristics were not influenced by the diets; however, a reduction was observed on the days of the feedlot and slaughter age for the animals fed protected fat diets. The short length and fat thickness in the loin has improved from diets with protected fat addition. The muscle, fat and bone proportions and the chemical composition of the Longissimus dorsi were similar between the diets. There was an increase in the fatty acid profiles of the polyunsaturated fatty acids linoleic and linolenic and improvements in the total omega-3 levels and the ratios of omega-6: omega-3. The protected fat can be used to feed Saanen kid goats as an alternative, increasing the energetic density of the diets up to 2.8 Mcal of ME/kg DM with improvements on the omega-3 quantity. And it can also be used to increase the ratio of omega-6:omega-3 in the Longissimus dorsi.

– The downy mildew, caused by the fungus Pseudoperonospora cubensis is a major foliar disease that attacks the melon crop in the rainy season in northeastern Brazil. The objective of this study was to identify and characterize morphologically resistant melon accessions to P. cubensis. Thirty-six accessions and four commercial cultivars were evaluated in a randomized block design with three replications. The plot was composed of seven plants. The evaluation was conducted in the under field conditions with a diagrammatic scale and calculating the disease percentage index (DPI). Resistance sources and references genotypes were characterized morphologically. The accessions C-RN-2, C-SE-2, C-CE-2, C-PE-2, C-PI-1, and C-BA-2 show resistance to P. cubensis and are promising for use in programs breeding for resistance to downy mildew although its fruits have reduced commercial quality.

Desertification is a land degradation process of the arid, semi-arid and sub-humid natural envi-ronment, almost always associated with the intensification of the erosive effects of rainfall. Nowadays, with the availability of technologies in remote sensing and geoinformatics inventories and diagnostics can to be per-formed with great ease and low cost in large territories. Using these new technologies, this study gathered in-formation on vegetation, topography and soil, in a estimation model of land degradation, that was applied to the watershed of the river Taperoá (5686.4 km2), located on the plateau of Borborema in the state of Paraíba. The results show that the proposed model was able to predict faithfully land degradation in the basin; and despite the high level of degradation of the vegetation (59.2%) and of the susceptibility to erosion of the soil (59.4%), the flat and soft slope in 87% of the lands contributes to minimize the prognosis of the degradation, that shows the predominance of medium-grade class, in 46.2% of the basin. The most critical areas of the basin, with 26.9% coverage, represented by high and very high classes of degradation are concentrated in the lower and the middle third along the drainage, showing there, one of the desertification nucleus of the region Cariri in Parai-ba, where the erodibility of the soil and vegetation degradation are higher.

Despite the knowledge that you have about the benefits of the humus of the worms or ver- micompost, there is a need to evaluate the technical feasibility of using other sources of carbon for worms. The objective was to evaluate the possibility of using straw of coffee to vermicompost production, the effects of their use on worms and on the quality of humus obtained. The evaluated treatments consisted of: (1 straw of coffee (SC) 100%; 2 SC 75% + manure (MA); 3 50% SC + 50% MA; 4 25% SC + 75% MA; 5 100% MA). The straw of coffee and the manure were incubated for 64 days to make them available to feed the worms and more 84 days to digest the substrate. The straw of coffee increased the number of worms without resulting in harmful effects. The percentage increment of the straw in the constitution of the vermicompost increased the availability of N, K, Ca and Cu, but it reduced the availability of Mg, S, Mn, P, Fe and Zn. Aiming o the medi- um supply of nutrients, the proportion of the 50% of straw of coffee and 50% of manure is designated.

Imazaquin is an herbicide widely used in Brazil to control weeds associated with the soybean crop. This work aimed to study the mobility and leaching of imazaquin in soils with different characteristics. In both experiments, a completely randomized block design was used; with tree replicates. We study the mobility of imazaquin in Red Eutrophic Latosol, clayey; Alfisol Haplic Eutrophic, medium texture; Alfissol Eutrophic, medium texture; and Orthic Psament, sandy texture. To obtain the mobility rate (Mr), a solution of 14Cimazaquin with the activity of 304,75 Bq/mL was applied to plates containing different soils. All Mr values range between 0.803 and 1, indicating that imazaquin has a relevant mobility in our soils. In the leaching study, the soils were classified as Rhodic and differed chemically. The herbicide imazaquin (14C + imazaquin technical product) was applied to the highest recommended dose ( 161 g a.i. ha-1 ), directly on the soil surface of each column. After that, was done a rainfall simulation of 200 mm. Nearly 100% of the herbicide was in the 0- 10 cm layer, however, the soil with higher pH, the herbicide was distributed to 15-20 cm depth. The herbicide imazaquin has greater mobility in soils with low organic matter and clay and soils with high Ph.

The goal of this paper was to determine the effects of seven diets with differents fatty acids sources in hematology of Nile tilapia before and after cold stimulus. Seven diets, with 3% of fatty acid source, were formulated: soybean oil (OS); fish oil (OP); beef tallow (SB) and mixtures of OS+OP; OS+SB; OP+SB e OS+OP+SB. Fish (112 male of Nile tilapia of 30,0 ± 2,65g) were totally randomly distributed, with four repli-cates, into 28 plastic aquaria (40 L; 4 fish per aquarium). Fish were fed four times per day for 35 days. At 35th day and also after seven days cold stimulus blood was collected and the profile hematological was evaluated. Leucocytes numbers were reduced in fish fed a SB and fish oil combination diet and were highest in fish fed SB diet before cold stimulus. Plasma protein was reduced in fish fed soybean oil diets and highest in fishes fed a combination of soybean oil, fish oil and SB diets. Anything fatty acids source promotes effective changes in fish health and cold tolerance promotion. Cold don’t drastically reduced fish general health status.