The green fertilizing has been used to improve the physical-chemical properties of soil, to help the benefic microorganisms, to increase the organic matter and essentially to put the nutrients available to the plants. The objective of this work was to evaluate the production of fitomassa and the macronutrients contents of scarlet starglory in different phonological stages. An experiment was carried out in the agricultural year of 2005, in a completely randomized design with eight treatments and five replications. The treatments consisted of following phenological stages: 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105 and 120 days after seed germination of scarlet starglory. Plants of scarlet starglory were taken randomly, with a quadrate of 1.0 m x 1.0 m, and cut at 0.10 m from the soil level. The highest production of fitomass was obtained from 112 days after seed germination of scarlet starglory, with mean weight of fresh mass of 32.69 t ha-1. However, the content of dry matter was 11.07% of the fresh mass at 120 days after germination. The highest contents of N, P and K were obtained of plants with 15 days. Based on these results, it may be possible to use the scarlet starglory as a green fertilizer in the semi-arid condition of Rio Grande do Norte state.

Physiognomic parameters and floristic composition of woody plants were compared in four areas located in three different physiognomies of caatinga (sensu stricto): two shrub-arboreal caatingas, one in Fasa farm (FA), and the other in Poço do Ferro farm (PF), Floresta municipality, and one arboreal (BE) and one open arboreal (BD) caatinga, both in Boa Vista farm, at Custódia municipality, Pernambuco state. All alive and standing dead plants with total height ¿ 1 m and stem diameter at soil level ¿ 3 cm present in twenty-five 10 x 10 m plots, in each area, were sampled. Lianas and bromeliads were excluded. Sixty one species, belonging to 41 genera and 21 families, were found in the four areas, being 27, 27, 26 and 30 species in FA, PF, BE and BD, respectively. They had densities of 1876, 2172, 1076 and 1872 plant/ ha and basal areas of 16.51, 14.62, 34.29 and 20.28 m2/ ha, respectively. The patterns individualize tree physiognomies: arboreal, open arboreal and shrub-arboreal. Independent of the physiognomy, the woody floras of the four areas were similar to those of other areas of caatinga sensu stricto, located in the large sertaneja depression region, with some particularitities defined for each specific habitat.

Spodoptera frugiperda is a species polyphagous that attacks several cultures economically important in various countries. It is known in the larval phases as fall armyworm and it is to main curse of the culture of the corn in Brazil.It was found recently fed her in plantings of cassava in São Luís and Itapecuru Mirim (MA). As the knowledge of the biology of the insect is of fundamental importance for the development of handling strategies, inside of the integrated handling of curses, the work aimed at to study the biology and the behavior of S. frugiperda in cassava leaves, maids in laboratory conditions. 60 coming caterpillars of the creation were used in articial diet. After the appearance the larvas were individualized in disposable plastic glasses with capacity for 100 ml and fed with cassava leaves, that they were changed every other day, or according to need. The experiment was led in climate chamber, regulated for temperature of 25°C, relative humidity of 60 + 10% and fotofase of 14 hours. The appraised biological parameters demonstrated the medium duration of the total cycle of 39,93 days, distributed in 6 or 7 you urge, where the species presented larval viability, pupal and of superior adult to 75% and, percentile of of 4% and 22,97% in pupas and adults, respectively. The fecundity was of 70,84% and the adults' of 77,08% viability. Being ended that the culture of the cassava assists to the demands nutricionais of S. frugiperda.

Because of the damages caused by Dalbulus maidis (Delong & Wolcott, 1923) on crop corn, had been evaluated the effect of insecticides applied on the desiccation management (MD), seed treatment (TS) and foliage spray (PF) to the 10 days after the emergency (DAE), on D. maidis. The assays had been developed in Fundação Chapadão in Chapadão of Sul (MS) city, from 29/10/04 to 27/02/05, with experimental design of randomized blocks, with ten treatments and four replicates. The used treatments had been: monocrotophós and cypermethrin (MD), thiodicarb + imidacloprid, thiametoxan, clothianidim, imidacloprid and acetamiprid (TS), cypermethrin + thiametoxan and endossulfan + NaCl (PF), in the recommended dosages, and one control without insecticide. It was carried counting of the number of D. maidis, calculating the insecticides efficiency to 14, 20, 28 and 40 DAE. For D. maidis, the use of the insecticides in TS and PF had been efficient in the 14 DAE, being imidacloprid (TS) and cypermethrin + thiametoxan (PF) had presented, respectively, 72 and 61% of efficiency to the 40 DAE, demonstrating residual effect.

This work had as objective to evaluate the growth of three strains of tilapia (Nilotica, Red koina and Chitralada) in semi-intensive culture ponds, in order to define the most adequate strain to commercial scale. Twelve 50 m2 ponds were used in a randomized entirely experimental design with three treatments and four replicates. The culture run 112 days and the ponds were submitted to a preparation that consisted of liming (100 g/m2 of hydrated lime) and chemical fertilization (3 g/m2 of simple superphosphate and 5g/m2 of ammonium sulfate). After verifying good conditions for culture, the ponds were stocked with 75 fingerlings (56.7 + 7.0 g) corresponding to a density of 1.5 fishes/m2. Fishes were fed with 32% crude protein extruded formulated diet in the first 60 days and another with 28% was used for the last 52 culture days, twice a day, at 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Feeding rate varied from 4% to 2% of live weight from the beginning to the end of culture. Data analysis demonstrated that there were significant differences among treatments (P<0.05) with Chitralada strain showing the best performance as survival (94.33%), specific growth rate (2.42%/day) and feed conversion ratio (1.14). Thus it was observed that is possible to obtain productivities over 6 ton/ha/cycle using Chitralada strain, being recommended for semi-intensive culture in ponds.

This study evaluated the effect of bovine manure in the agronomic performance of salad rocket cv. Cultivada. The completely randomized design was used, with six treatments and four repetitions, with each recipient constituting a parcel. The treatments had consisted of differents amounts of bovine manure incorporated to the soil (20, 40, 60, 80, 100 t.ha¯¹), and the witness. The evaluated characteristics had been: height of plant (cm), leaf number for parcel, mass of the green substance (g) and mass of the dry substance (g) for parcel. The amount of 60 t.ha¯¹ promoted greater height of plants, greater leaf number, greater mass of the green substance and greater of mass of the dry substance.

The use and inadequate management of the soils under caatinga vegetation are pointed as one of the main causes of the degradation and desertation of that environment. The compacting of the soil, that it depends on several intrinsic and extrinsic factors, it is considered as a good indicator of degradation of the soil.This study had as objective evaluates the susceptibility to the compacting and resistance to the penetration and their correlation with physical attributes of a Neossolo Litólico (Brazilian system of classification of soils) under caatinga vegetation. The study was developed in the area of Serra Talhada - PE and it considered as variables the tenor of organic carbon (CO), resistance the penetration (RP), clay tenor (Clay), silte (Silte) and sand (Sand), medium diameter of the cluster (DMP), density of the initial soil (Dsi), particle density (DP), total porosity (PT) and compactability (density of the soil after being submitted to four compacting energies - DsE1, DsE2, DsE3 and DsE4), in three depths, with eight repetitions. The RP and compactability increased significantly with the increase of the depth of the soil, presenting extreme values for 2,47 at 5,81 kgf/cm2 and 1,50 at 1,84 g/cm3, respectively. RP and the compactability presented significant correlation amongst themselves, and they presented significant correlation with the tenor of CO, clay and silte, not presenting significant correlation with the other studied attributes.

An experiment was carried out to evaluate the biological and chemical soil quality of a degraded area of clay extraction, after it has been re-vegetate with Eucalyptus spp. and Mimosa caesalpiniifolia, cultivated in single or inter-cropping systems. It was used as soil biological quality indicators the total microbial activity, evaluated by enzymatic method of the hydrolize of the fluoresceína diacetato (FDA) and soil total respiration; and, the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). To evaluate the chemical quality it was used some chemical characteristics of the soil. The random blocks experimental design was used, with nine treatments + control. The treatments were constituted of single plantings of Mimosa caesalpiniifolia (sabiá) and of four species of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Eucalyptus pellita, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Eucalyptus robusta) and intercropping plantings of sábia with the four eucalyptus species, with four repetitions. The control treatment (degraded soil without any re-vegetation) was an area inside of the digging of clay extraction, with four replicates. The experimental unit was composed by 36 plants. After 36 months, the soils with single plantings of E. pellita and sabiá presented, in relation to the control treatment (without vegetation), larger microbial activity, evaluated by both the method of FDA and by total respiration, larger diversity of AMF and larger concentrations of nitrogen. The microbial soil activity, as much for the method of FDA as for the breathing, it was larger in intercropping plantings of E. pellita with sabiá, when compared with the control treatment. The AMF Glomus and Acaulospora were largest genus found in all treatments, however, in the control treatment it was found only the AMF species Glomus macrocarpum.

Manihot pseudoglasiovii is considered an excellent forage, as for its nutritional value as for the high degree of palatability. Like as other native plants of the semiarid regions it, can be considered a resource of important strategical use. It is an alternative not only for the dry period the entire year, in a conservation system. This work had as objective of study the growthof maniçoba in relation is density (1,5 x 1,5 and 2 x 2) and fertilization (manure of bovine, goat/sheep and without fertilization). It was used an experimental desing of blocks casualizaed with treatments distributed in 2 x 3 factorial. The experiment was out through in the Department of Zootecnia of Center of Agrarian Sciences of the UFPB, in Campus II in Areia-PB. There had been evaluated morphologic characteristic (Height of plant, diameter of caule, area of the pantry, leaf number and number of bifurcations) and productive characteristic (leaf production, production of branches, production of total fitomass substance and total dry substance)The analyses of variance were made employng the SAEG program. The and analyses of regression of the morfological characteristics on the time. Were mande visig SAEG program too. In accordance with the results obtaimed in this study, the different densities had not presented significant difference. However by total production for area the results were favorable to the higher density (1.5 x 1.5). Already the fertilizations with bovine and goat/sheep manures, although had shown no between them difference, had present statistical difference from treatment without fertilization, shoung higher pr.

In order to determinate the floristic check-list of a inselberg at the Fazenda Timbaúba (35o52'50.3", 7o1'0.8"), municipality of Esperança/PB, Agreste da Borborema Microregion, were realized the present study. The inselberg flora comprise 127 species, 101 genera and 53 families of wich the Leguminosae family with 17 species showed the higher richness, followed by the Asteraceae (9 spp.), Poaceae (7 spp.), Euphorbiaceae and Orchidaceae (6 spp.) families. Bromeliaceae and Cactaceae, despite of not be the higher richness, are covering extents areas, suggesting a higher importance for those families in inselbergs colonization. Comparing the families with other inselberg floras, 29 of them also were raising in Quixadá/CE, 28 in Pão de Açúcar and 24 in Serra do Mar/RJ inselbergs. The majority of species showed xenomorphic adaptations due hydric stress observed in the Southern and Northeastern Brazilian inselbergs. The differences in the floristic composition, especially at genus and species level seem to result of different speciation pressure what aid the taxa with better adaptation at these environments.