The sweet potato stands out as one of the most important vegetables for Northeastern cookery, being source of energy and mineral salts. This work was driven with the objective of evaluating the propagation in vitro of you cultivars of sweet potato under different concentrations of BAP (6_Benzilaminopurina). The adopted statistical design was it entirely randomized, in factorial scheme 5 x 5, with 10 repetitions. The first factor consisted of 5 sweet potato cultivars (ESAM 1, ESAM 2, ESAM 3, California and Branca RJ) and the second of 5 concentrations of BAP (0.0; 1.25; 2.50; 3.75 and 5.0 ¿Mol L-1). You cultivate them appraised they answered the concentrations of the growth regulator distinctly. In all of the studied cultivars the presence of calluses was influenced by the concentrations of BAP.

The goal of the present study was to evaluate the nutritional state of ten arboreal plants occurring at Paraíba's Semi-Árido aiming to contribute to the nutritional diagnosis of Caatinga's species, advice on soil fertilization and the resulting betterment of environmental quality in those areas. To this end, leaves and twigs samples of the species angico(Piptadenia macrocarpa Benth), aroeira (Astronium urundeuva Engl), umbueiro (Spondias tuberosa Arruda) mofumbo(Combretum leprosum Mart.), pereiro (Aspidosperma pyrifolium Mart), pau d' arco (Tabebuia serratifolia Nichols.), marmeleiro (Croton sonderianus Mull. Arg.), craibeira (Tabebuia caraiba Mart. Burt.), tamboril (Enterolobium contortisiqua Mart.) and umburana (Torresia cearensis) were taken for the essaying of these species nutritional state. The collected material was firstly dried and grinded to determine the levels of macronutrients N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S and micronutrients, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn. The results evinced that the evaluated species showed comparable levels of macro andmicronutrients, when confronted with the nutritional diagnosis of other arboreal species.

An experiment was carried out, in order to evaluate the saline aspect of the substrate with biofertilizer on seedling formation of yellow passion fruit irrigated with different saline water. A completely randomized design was used, with treatments distributed in a factorial arrangement 5 x 3 x 2, referring to water salinity levels (0.5; 1.0; 2.0; 3.0 and 4,0 dS m-1), substrate volumes (1, 2 and 3 L), in absence and presence of biofertilizer bovine. The following variables were registered at the end of the experiment: pH, electrical conductivity of water and exchangeable sodium percentage. The increase of irrigation water salinity, independently of biofertilizer use, drastically enhanced the substrate salinity, from not saline to saline and strongly saline. No there was definition of the values of PST among substrate volumes. Electrical conductivity values of the saturation extract were higher for substrate with lower volume.

This work has objective estimates the heritability and the phenotypic correlations between characteristics of bulb and plant of lineages of multiple-onion half-sib families as subsidy for programs of improvement for the conditions northeast. One field experiment with radonmized complete blocks and with 14 half-sib families and three replications, were carried out. The greatest heritability coefficient was expressed by bulb number per plant. The high heritability obtained from the character number of bulbs for plant can compensate the low associations with the yield before and after cure, respectively, what it makes with that that characteristic can be used in the indirect selection for yield. The longitudinal diameter is a characteristic that can be used for indirect selection aiming at to increase the yield after cure of multiple onion. It is possible to obtain success with the selection for the traits number of bulbs for plant, height of the aerial part, longitudinal diameter, traversal diameter, format index, content of total soluble solids and productivity after the cure. The estimates of simple correlations evidence that is possible to obtain desirable recombinants individuals with high productivity and quality of bulbs.

The research was carried out to evaluate the quality of waters used in the irrigation of agricultural areas of Congo region, Paraíba State, Brazil. The water samples were collected in Cordeiro dam, in wells and in river, in two periods of the year, rainy (May/2006) and dry period (December/2006) and analyzed under the qualitative aspects of salinity, sodicity and toxicity of ions. For the studied conditions and in agreement with the evaluated parameters in both periods, most of the samples of water, as for the salinity, were considered normal for the use in the irrigation since special practical of soil and water management are adopted; as the toxicity of the ion sodium, more than 40% didn't present restriction to the use. In relation to the toxicity of the ion chloride, in the rainy period, 61% of the samples didn't indicate restriction to the use for irrigation and in the dry period, 44% presented restriction varying from low to moderate.

This work was done in order to characterize the water holding capacity and availability to plants in three soils of coastal tablelands in the state of Paraíba using tensiometry in areas cultivated with sugarcane. The water retention curves were determined for the Neossolo Quartzarenico, Latossolo Amarelo, Latossolo Coeso soils in the depths of 0 - 30cm and from 30 - 60 cm, by the Richards extractor method and by tensiometens in PVC columns in a greenhouse in the first phase and in a battery of field tensiometers in the second phase, in the tensions of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 cm Hg. The water retention in the soils was significantly affected (p<0,01) as a function of the tensions (TS) applied. The same effect (p<0,01) was seen for the factor soil (S) and for the interaction (TS x S) both for the extractor and the greenhouse methods as well as for the field method. According to the study of the regression analysis, the mathematical model that showed the best adjustment was the decreasing quadratic. The values of moisture content found showed the most abrupt variations at the lowest tensions. The moisture content for the Neossolo Quartzarenico demonstrated under field conditions the importance of the structure for soils retaining more moisture in the tensions studied in relation to the laboratory and greenhouse methods. Even though the clay content were similar for the Latossolo Amarelo and the Latossolo. Coeso the greatest moisture retentions were observed in the Latossolo Coeso.

Espinheira Santa (Maytenus truncata Reis) it is a plant used for medicinal ends in the hiperacidez treatment, gastric ulcerations, cutaneous disease as, eczems, constipation and cancers. She possesses properties analgesic, antiseptic and healing, being found in the proximities of Rio de Contas in Jequié - BA. Due to the intense use for the population and exploration for the erveiros, the species is disappearing of the area. With that, it is made to study the species in molecular level seeking to subsidize a strategy of protection of the same. Aiming at to evaluate and to adapt a methodology as tool to be used in studies of molecular biology was tested four protocols of extraction of DNA, and the protocol that obtained the best results in the tests of quantification of DNA in agarose gel and photometer spectrum was it of Ferreira & Grattapaglia (1998) with modifications in the act of the maceration and of the centrifugation. DNA was isolated I integrate and in great been presenting in it measured a degree of purity (A260/A280) in photometer spectrum of 1,78 and a concentration of 1846 ng/ml.

The objective of the present experiment was evaluate the effect inter cropping systems with the culture of the maize on the production components, aiming at to maximize the grain production and to increase availability of pastures for animal feeding. The treatments had consisted of the culture of DKB-950 maize (Hybrid Simple Modified), on three grassy species of (Brachiaria decumbens, Brachiaria brizantha and Panicum maximum cv. Tanzania) inter cropping systems and conventional tillege of soil. In foundation one applied 0, 35, 50 and 4 kg ha-1 of N, P, K and Zn respectively in the sulphate form of ammonium, simple superphosphate, potassium sulphate and zinc Sulphate. In covering it applied if 120 kg ha-1 of N. the used espaçamento was of 0,80 x 0,20 m, The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design, with four repetitions. The components of the production of the maize had not been affected by the studied systems of inter cropping, except for the number of spikes and production of grains, where the maize cultivated inter cropping systems with Brachiaria decumbens (4.787 kg ha-1) was better that the Tanzania (3.683 kg ha-1). The accumulation of dry mater presented significant difference between the treatments, in the which Tanzânia presented greater accumulates of dry mater.

The objectives of this work were to determine the genetic correlation and define the strategies for obtain maize cultivars for traditional production system. For that, the white maize landrace population was rescued in Barbacena, MG and two experiments were installed with 100 half sib progenies using lattice triple in Barbacena and Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ. The estimates of correlations were different for each local requiring different strategy for trait selection due to contrast edaphoclimatic condition. The additive genetic correlationswere significant among primary production components and the productivity. On the other hand, the additive genetic correlations among primary and secondary production components were non significant. The traits related with flowering showed genetic correlation with productivity and primary production components, but not for secondary production components. Concluded that the increasing of productivity can be reached with direct or indirect selection for all environments; the indirect selection for number of plants/ area and number of plants with ears with kernels can be viability strategy in experiments in the small producers or by themselves instead of to select directly the productivity; the selection for increasing productivity without change the plant architecture is possible and adequate for traditional production system.

The semiarid is characterized for presenting precipitations concentrated in short period of time, form that to most of the year the ground are displayed the strong insolation and to the raised hídrico deficit. On the other hand, the estacional variation of the climate affects the water content of the ground and as consequence the biological activity and the losses of C, mineral N and C-CO2.The purpose of this research was to analyze the losses of C, mineral N and C-CO2 of the ground in a microbasin, that passes for a process of environmental degradation, located in the Fazenda Experimental Bacia Escola/CCA/UFPB in São João do Cariri - PB, during the period of a translation, of the years of 2003 and 2004. It was defined a toposequence and chosen points of determination for the evaluation of the reserves of carbon, mineral nitrogen and microbic activity by means of the C-CO2 production. The biggest amounts of C had been verified in the areas of pediment and the minors in the area of side slopes; The amounts of mineral N was not influenced by the position of the ground in the toposeqüência; The biggest liberation of C-CO2 happened in the areas of pediment followed by the flood plain and half hillside, places with the biggest amount of of water in the soil.