The Calotropis procera has been an alternative feed for the ruminants in the brasilian semiarid region, presenting fast establishment and constant availability of fitomassa, until 3.0 t of DM/cut, in the dry season. On the aspect biochemical studies have detected various active substances as cardiac glycosides, non enzymatic proteins and enzimatics proteins, that can cause toxicity in animals when inserted in their diet. In nutritional terms, this species provides important nutrients with emphasis on protein, average value of 20%, and in vitro digestibility above 70%. It researches they showed that the intake of C. procera by goats and sheep in the form in nature can cause deaths, however, to make the process of hay and silage the toxicological effects are reduced. The utilization of C. procera is promissing, needing studies for maximize of the productivity; biochemical evaluation for identification of active substances, their mechanisms and local action in the animal, as well as testing to obtain the safe levels for inclusion in various forms of supply (in natura, hay and silage).

This study aims to identify the diversity of mimercofauna sabiá in an area of the municipality of Rio Largo, Alagoas. There were 17 species of ants belonging to six subfamilies. Atta opaciceps (Borgmeier, 1939) was the most abundant species. Camponotus blandus (Fr. Smith, 1858), Camponotus atriceps (Fr. Smith, 1858) and Pheidole sp.2 gp. aberrans.

The local as regional landscape presents two distinct landscapes: sediments removal from elevated parts and Pedoenvironmental of accumulation of sediments in the area of sandbank with the pedoforms convex-convex, with the biggest curvatures in the sandbanks. The objective of the present work was of characterize physically, morphologicament and chemically the soils groups, located in Semi-Arid region of the medium one West of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Few studies about the morphology, mineralogy, genesis and classification of the soils developed in the state of Rio Grande do Note mainly in the medium one West of Northeast of Brazil. Inside this context eight soils representative of that landscape into caatinga were characterized by means of description morphologic, granulometric and chemical. The results observed in the granulometry of the Luvisol and Neosol reflect basically the different deposition situations in those soils. The high values of organic matter and nitrogen in the superficial horizons, decreasing with the depth and the strong presence of calcium and magnesium justified the variation of pH and the high value of the cation exchange capacity.

The current model of economic development is based on a predatory and exculpatory vision, which discloses a way of being inhuman. Implying in changes of perception, thoughts and values, it has seen, that the form as the nature is explored in accordance with varies the ambient perception of the community or group. This work objectified to analyze the perception of Juazeirinho/PB agricultural communities referring the extinction of biodiversity of caatinga, aiming at to delineate sensitization strategies that make possible the valuation of this biome. The work portrays a carried through participant research with the communities Escurinha and Mendonça. For the collection of data direct comment was used, with visits to the communities, dynamics, half-structuralized interview and accomplishment of meeting. According to community some vegetal and animal species are disappearing. Between the animals they are cited: corduniz (Nothura sp), gato do mato (Felisa tigrina), gato maracajá (Felis wildi), mocó (Kerodon rupestris), preá (Gálea sprixii), Tejo (Família Teiidae), tatu peba (Euphractus sexcinctus), tatu verdadeiro (Dasypus novmcinctus) e o guaxinim (Procyon camcrivorus).Between vegetables they had been cited: Aveloz (Euphorbia gimnoclada), Imbuzeiro (Spondias tuberosa), Aroeira (Myracroduom unrudeuva), Caatingueira (Caesalpinia pyramidali), Baraúna (Schnopsis brasiliensis), Quixabeira (Bumelia sertorum), Mufumbo (Combretum leprosum). We can verify that it is necessary to promote changes in the ambient perception of the studied communities, thus allowing, to awake for problematic ambient, to point and to search solutions, that take the valuation of local biodiversity.

The fungi entomopathogenic are actually objects of works according to their importance in the ecological system. This work analysed the persistence of Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae and M. anisopliae var. acridum, under different conditions of temperature and humidity, in the period of September to December. After inoculation on soil the fungi were submitted to four different treatments: environment temperature and 25% of humidity; environment temperature and 75% of humidity; 28º C and 25% of humidity; 28º C and 75% of humidity, during 120 days. The results show that M. anisiopliac var. anisopliae presented the most recuperation in the treatment at 28º C and 75% of humidity (P > 0,05) in 30 days and maintained a positive conditions on soil for 120 days of experiment. The same did not happen to M. anisopliae var. acridum that, during the whole process of observation and controll the colonies recuperation avoiding its persistence on soil, during the 120 days of experiment.

This research had as objective determination the floristic composition and some parameters phytosociological of the herbaceous vegetation of caatinga. The studied area is located in the located in the experiment station of UFPB, in the county of São João do Cariri, Paraíba, Brazil. Three caatinga physionomy were selected where were plots fixed of 10mx10m, an open one and another closed, containing 5 plots of 1m x1m total of 30m². Being a represented by the covering vegetable less conserved (Area I), other constituted by an area in intermediate apprenticeship of conservation (Area II), and the third area being represented by the covering vegetable more conserved (Area III). The herbaceous flora was represented by 31 genera, 40 species and 21 families with 3.091 ind.m² distributed in the three areas. The areas II and III presented larger wealth and diversity, expresses so much for the number of families as of identified species. The families, Convolvulaceae, Euphorbiaceae and Fabaceae presented larger number of species in the open and closed plots. Aristida adscensionis, (area I and II) and Cyperus uncinulatus (area III) the species that presented were larger value of importance in the closed and open plots were.

The human specie has always been developing and improving its ways of exploring the natural resources. Among these ways, farming stands out for including various activities which are moving according to the time and space where they are implemented, which makes necessary to consider and study farming as a system. In this work, the concept of farming system was set up, showing that it is formed of several parts that interact with each others and with external components, generating a dynamic. To facilitate the comprehension of the current farming systems in the semi-arid northeast of Brazil, a revision of the evolutionary paths of these systems was done, considering livestock like a subsystem of the sugarmills, and of its importance in the economy and culture of the northeast. Observations about the fragmentation of the land and the appearance of systems of family production were also conducted. This study draws the conclusion that besides the physical characteristics of the area, some socio-political and economical factors have influenced a lot the way in which the farming systems were constituted in the semi-arid northeast.

The use of high quality seeds constitutes in one of the responsible factors of the success of a fieldwork. Because of that, this work was elaborated to evaluate the physiological quality of cotton seeds of two to cultivars Green BRS and CNPA 7H submitted to two levels of moisture content and stored for 12 months. It was used the delineation entirely random, using a factorial arrangement 2 x 3 x 5, with four repetitions, being two for cotton cultivars, two for moisture content (S.0 - seeds with 10%, S.1 - seeds with 8%) and five periods of storage in dry chamber (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months). The application laboratory tests were: germination, moisture content and vigour (first counting of germination, seedlings length and precocious aging). The results show that the quality of the cotton seed was superior in the seeds with tenor of 10% of humidity of variety BRS Green throughout the storage, in the different analyzed laboratory tests.

The trial was carried out at Santana da Vargem, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, from September to November 2003, with the objective of evaluating the productivity and nutritional state of lettuce cultivars in function of the Si addition. The experimental design was in randomized blocks with four replicates, in factorial arrengement with additional treatments: 3 x 4 +3, composed by three lettuce cultivars: Raider (group crisphead); Regina (group loosensmooth) and Vera (group loosen crisped) and four Silifértil® rates (0, 1, 2 and 4 t ha-1). The additional treatments were composed by the application of 3.5 t.ha-1 of Limestone for the three cultivars. The nutritional status of lettuce was evaluated by Diagnosis and Integrated Recommendation System. The application of Si in the form of Silifértil® do not increase the yield of the lettuce Rider, Regina and Vera. The fertilization with Silifértil® do not increase the silicon concentration in the aerial part of the lettuce, increase the DRIS indice for Si, but do not change the concentrations of most of the nutrients analyzed, except for the concentration of the K and Zn. The concentration of K decreased in function inverse polinomial, with low point in 1,89 t ha-1 of Silifértil®, and without adjusting, a regression curve, the tenor of Zn, decreased with the increase of the rate of Silifértil®. The fertlization with Silifértil® do not promote one better nutritional status for lettuce crops.

The study was to evaluate the effect of the combination of different irrigation levels and rates of potassium applied drip on parameters indicative of the banana production Pacovan Apodi (var. SH3640). The experimental design was a randomized complete block with split plot and 3 replications. The treatments consisted of a combination of five layers of irrigation and drainage lysimeter by means for four doses of potassium applied by fertirrigation. The variables were the weight of the bunch without stalk, the number of hands in the bunch, the weight of the hand of the central cluster and the number of fruits of the central cluster of the bunch. The data were obtained from the harvest of the first two cycles of the experiment, from March 2006 to September 2007. The treatments with irrigation levels influenced in all tested parameters of production, while the doses of potassium only influenced the weight of the bunch without stalk.