Ni was the last nutrient characterized like essenti al for plants. Its essentiality is due to participa - tion as constituent of urease enzyme, which makes i t extremely important for the metabolism of N. Thus , the objective of this study was to investigate the grow th, content and accumulation of urea and nutrients in cowpea bean plants ( Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) ‘IPA 206’ according to nickel rate and two soil types. The experi- ment was carried out in a greenhouse at Universidad e Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, using a 5 x 2 factorial scheme in a randomized block design wit h four replications. Treatments consisted of foliar applica- tions of five nickel concentrations (0, 20, 40, 60 and 100 mg L -1 Ni) in the form of NiCl 2 .6H 2 O and two soils, a Typic Quartzipsamment and a Tb dystrophic Red-Yello w Ultisol. Ni rates promoted Ni toxicity symptoms j ust on young leaves of bean. These symptoms were charac terized by small reddish spots that have not progre ssed during the time and did not influence on the plants development. The foliar application of Ni increase d levels of this micronutrient in stems, mature leaves, youn g leaves and pods of cowpea bean, indicating high m obility of this micronutrient in the plant, but did not alt er the urea contents, indicating no effect on the a ctivity of urease enzyme. The dry mass of the shoots and the c ontent of others nutrients were not affected by fol iar appli- cation of Ni. Plants grown in Ultisol showed higher growth and higher content of urea and Cu in mature leaves; K and B in mature leaves, young leaves and twigs an d Zn in mature leaves and stem.

The crop demand by nitrogen varies from one crop to other as well as the amount and applica- tion time, and this nutrient can be lost by leachin g, volatilization and erosion. The objective of thi s study was to evaluate doses, sources and times of nitrogen appli cation in rice of high lands cropped in no till sys tem. The work was conducted in Selvíria, State of Mato Gross o do Sul, Brazil, in a soil originally under Cerrad o vegeta- tion. A randomized blocks design, with the treatmen ts disposed in a factorial scheme 5x3x2 was used. T he treatments were constituted by five nitrogen doses (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kg ha -1 ), three nitrogen sources (urea; ammonium sulfonitrate plus nitrification inh itor and ammonium sulfate) and two application time s (at sowing or at flower bud differentiation), with four repetitions. The sources of nitrogen, as well as t he applica- tion times had similar effects for most of evaluati ons. The N doses influenced linearly or with quadra tic adjust- ment the plant height, N leaf content and grains yi eld, in the two growing seasons. The chlorophyll co ntent and the number of ears m -2 were affected only, in the first year. The highest yield in the growing season of 2007/08 was obtained with the dose of 149 kg ha -1 of N. In 2008/09 growing season the increase of N doses provided increment in the grains rice yield, until the maxim um dose evaluated (200 kg ha -1 of N).

The lacewings appear in many agroecosystems, preying several species of agricultural pests. They have great search capability, high voracity, high reproductive potential and are easily maintained in laboratory conditions. In laboratory rearing, to avoid problems in the mass production are recommended adjustments in the type and quality of prey to be used in order to obtain individuals with desirable characteristics. It is necessary special care with the laboratory populations, avoiding problems from inbreeding. Larvae were reared individually in Petri dishes (9.0 cm diameter) and fed with eggs of Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier, 1789) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), in the amount of 25 mg / larva, while the adults were kept in PVC cylindrical cages (10 cm x 30 cm). Thus, the study analyzed the influence of the size of the population of Chrysoperla externa (Hagen, 1861) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) on the pre-imaginal period (egg to adult) and reproductive capacity of this specie come from different populations and generations of laboratory. To this end, we used two populations, one of Jaboticabal (F8 and F21) and one of Piracicaba (F6 and F15), and subpopulations of 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20 couples, analyzing the incubation of eggs and the number of eggs per female in each population, generation and subpopulation. The pre-imaginal period (egg to adult) and the number of eggs per female of C. externa are influenced by the generation and the number of founding individuals, being these parameters favored when laboratory populations are established with the largest number of couples.

The riparian forests, belonging to the permanent preservation areas, are of fundamental importance for the preservation of water quality and minimize the effects of erosion on soil and thus the sedimentation of river. The land use of these areas cause environmental risks, especially to water resources. The geospatial technologies are, in the current scenario, as a tool that shows the real situation of the area, identifying the critical points, thus contributing to better management of these areas. Therefore, this study aimed to establish a spatial study of APP of the Mossoró river in urban area of municipal district of Mossoró, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, identifying the main causes of degradation and it's consequences to environment, especially the water resource, through geoprocessing's techniques. Geographic Information System (GIS) were used to spatially delimitate the area and image processing. Deforested areas comprised 310 ha, being more concentrated among the East-West Bridge and Barrocas's dam. Edification areas were more concentrated in Santa Luzia's Island and between Castelo Branco and Jerônimo Rosado's Bridges, occupying 78 ha. The areas covered by vegetation comprised 70 ha, which more concentrated in the area of Genesio' dam. There was enough sources of water pollution, especially domestic sewage.

The shortage of animal feed during the dry season has led to the development of food handling techniques that are efficient and sustainable for farmers and ranchers. The research aimed to evaluate the chemical composition, voluntary intake and digestibility of faveleira (Cnidoscolus phyllacanthus (Muell. Arg.) Pax et K. Hoffman), to supply the sheep provided as in the form of hay. Five castrated 18 months old sheeps with a mean age of 18 months old with and initial average weight of 31.75 kg ± 1.08 were evaluated, using the conventional method of total collection of feces. The hay was made naturally in sunny area, the forage being harvested in areas of caatinga at the IPA¿s Sertânia Experimental Station belonging to the Agronomic Institute of Pernambuco/IPA. The faveleira hay results of chemical analysis percentages were: 92.95 dry matter (DM); 89.28 organic matter (OM); 13.48 crude protein (CP); 3.52 ether extract (EE); 41.42 does not extract nitrogen (NEN); 41.92 neutral detergent fiber (NDF); 26.71 acid detergent fiber (ADF) and 30.36 non-fiber carbohydrates (NFC). The voluntary intake of DM, CP, TDN, NDF, ADF and NFC, expressed in g kg-1 PV0, 75 were (93.14, 12.52, 56.06, 39.04; 24.88 and 28.28), respectively. The digestibility percentages were: 63.66 (MS); 66.06 (MO); 74.52 (PB); 36.44 (EE); 74.32 (ENN); 57.32 (NDF); 54.77 (FDA) and 56.91 (NFC). These results show that the faveleira hay could be a viable alternative to dietary supplementation of sheep during the dry season to semiarid of Brazil.

The family Nymphaeaceae is represented by aquatic rhizomatic herbs, rooted in the substrate, with floating long petiolate leaves. Its flowers are solitary, and anthesis can be nocturnal and diurnal, pollinated by beetles. The family has six genus, of which Nymphaea and Victoria occurs in the neotropical region. Victoria predominates in the Brazilian Amazon and Pantanal and the Nymphaea is represented by 18 species distributed throughout the country. The floristic study included the analysis of specimens collected on expeditions and materials deposited in Herbariums, in a total of 69 specimens. The identification was made by consulting specific bibliography. The information obtained enabled the preparation of an identification key, illustrations of important morphological characters, significant as evidence Taxonomy, commentaries on the geographical distribution and discussion of relevant issues to taxons identification. For the state of Ceará were found six species: N. amazonum, N. pulchella, N. Jamesoniana, N. lasiophylla, N. lingulata, N. rudgeana and N. tenerinervia. The last two populations presented only in coastal environments. N. lingulata, N. pulchella and N. Jamesoniana presented records in the arid region, in interior of the State. N. amazonum and N. lasiophylla have a wide distribution, being present in the coastal zone to the interior. N. lasiophylla was the most frequent species. Knowledge about the Flora of the State of Ceará contribute to future projects for the conservation and management of temporary and permanent aquatic environments that occur in the Brazilian semiarid.

This paper aimed to investigate the factors of influencing milk consumers of Natal city, state of Rio Grande do Norte, in their buying decision. The methodology was a descriptive and exploratory type Survey, with 385 questionnaires applied on the four geographical areas of Natal city. Sample size was found according to the county inhabitant number, and survey was applied through questionnaire applied at randomized suburbs, streets and houses from four geographical city zones. The statistical analyses were: descriptive analysis, comparison test of means and Cluster analysis. Results were that milk quality had high average, in contrast with the price and brand which had the lowest ones. Milk quality and image of the store were the factors most stable for the consumer make its purchase decision, while price and brand were those of least importance. Comparisons among variables showed significance (P<0,05) except for price importance, visual appearance, no product on the market shelves, easy of buying and product status. As conclusion, milk quality is the main factor for consumers to make a decision to purchase milk, whereas price and brand were of least importance.

The objective of this research was to evaluate the color of tomatoes coated with different concentrations of pectin during storage at room temperature. Were used tomatoes with color greenish-pink divided into four lots: uncoated tomatoes (CT) and covered with biofilms with 2% (P2), 5% (P5) and 8% (P8) of solution of pectin. Initially it was evaluated the rind of tomatoes, then these were cut in half and it was evaluated the pulp (fleshy part), subsequently the two parts of tomatoes were processed in a blender to yield the processed pulp, which also was evaluated. Evaluations were done at 0, 2, 4, 7, 11 and 16 days storage with analysis of luminosity (L*), intensity of red (+a*) and intensity of yellow (+b*) in portable spectrophotometer. It was observed in all treatments that the rind and the fleshy and processed pulp showed a reduction in the values of L*. At the end of the storage, the treatment CT showed the highest values +a* for the rind and the fleshy and processed pulp, followed of the treatments P2, P5 and P8, respectively. The values of +b* decreased in the rind and in processed pulp of the CT and P2 treatments, but increased in the P5 and P8 treatments. It is concluded that the use of edible coatings pectin is effective to retard development of coloration typical of ripe tomato, results to be associated with the evaluation of physical and chemical parameters for a respect to retardation of the ripening.

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the no-preference for feeding and biological aspects of Spodoptera eridania fed on cowpea cultivars BR17 Gurgueia, BRS Urubuquara, BRS Nova Era, Sempre Verde, BRS Milênio and BR3 Tracuateua. In free-choice test, leaf discs were placed in Petri dishes where one third instar larvae per cultivar was released, whereas in no-choice test one leaf disc was placed per Petri dish where one caterpillar per cultivar was released, evaluating their attractiveness after 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 30, 60, 120, 360 and 720 minutes, as well as the leaf area consumed. Randomized blocks and complete randomized blocks design were used for free-choice and no-choice tests, respectively, with six treatments and 10 replications. The evaluation of the biological parameters of S. eridania was carried out in Petri dishes where recently hatched caterpillars were transferred in the proportion of one per dish, and the leafs of the cultivars were offered to them during the whole larval period, and we evaluated: periods and viabilities of larvae and pupae, overall viability, weight of larvae and pupae, sex ratio, longevity and overall cycle. Complete randomized design was used with six treatments and 30 replications. In no- preference for feeding free-choice test the cultivars Sempre Verde and BR17 Gurgueia were the most and the least consumed, respectively. Regarding the effects of cowpea cultivars on larval viability we can infer that BRS Urubuquara and Sempre Verde show antibiosis-type resistance to S. eridania.

The caatinga vegetation has many physiognomies and in a general way is degraded by human pressure, so it is important to characterize phytosociologically its various facies. This study aimed to characterize the composition and structure of the woody component of a relatively homogeneous remnant of caatinga vegetation in semiarid region of Paraiba, in a region locally called as Seridó. We sampled all shrub-tree species, alive or dead, still foot, with basal circumference > 10 cm (at 30 cm from the base) and total height > 1m. Ten plots of 20 x 20 m were allocated, randomly distributed across the study area. The total density was 1622.5 ind./ha, distributed in 21 species, 21 genera and 11 botanical families. The main species, according to the index of importance value were Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul.) L.P. Queiroz, Aspidosperma pyrifolium Mart., Commiphora leptophloeos (Mart.) J.B. Gillett and Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan. Despite being an area that is considered well preserved within the region, the studied community has a high density of individuals with small diameter shafts (D0,3 ¿ 6 cm) (63%). The Shannon index (3.38) may be considered medium and the Pielou equability (0.85) indicates floristic heterogeneity of the shrub-arboreal component. The floristic composition and species richness are similar to those found in other studied areas of the region, except by the high abundance of Commiphora leptophloeos and Amburana cearensis (Allemão) A.C. Sm.