The aim of this paper was to evaluate the performance of lactating 5/8 cross-breed Holstein/ Zebu cows, and digestibility of diets with different levels (0%; 5.5%; 13.0%; 20.5% and 26.0%) of melon (Cucumis melo L.) fruits in replacement to wheat bran, on dry matter basis. Five cows averaging 380 kg and 10 kg of daily milk production were used. The experiment was conducted in a 5x5 latin square design, including five animals, five experimental periods and five levels of melon fruits addition. The length of each period of evaluation was 14 days (seven for the adaptation of the animals to the diets and seven for data collection). The intake of dry matter (DM) (kg/day, %BW and g/kg0.75), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), total carbohydrates (TCH), ether extract (EE) was unaffected (P>0,05) by the levels of melon fruits (12.52; 3.20; 142.42; 11.62; 1.29; 8.15; 10.21 and 0.41, respectively). Crude protein (CPD) and neutral detergent fiber (NDFD) digestibilities decreased linearly, and the digestibility of non-fiber carbohydrates (NFCD) increased linearly. The estimative for total digestible nutrients (TDN) presented a quadratic response with the addition of increasing levels of melon fruits in the diet. Milk production and fat corrected milk production, averaging 9.09 and 9.78 kg/day respectively, increased linearly with the increment of melon fruits participation in the diets, which points out a possibility for utilization of this co-product to feed dairy cows.

Among the factors that affect the production of coffee distinguishes itself by its high nitrogen demand. The aim of the current paper was to evaluate the productivity of coffee plants, the leaf N level critical stages of grain maturation and export of N, depending on the nitrogen, in order to optimize its recommendation. The experiment was performed in Garanhuns - PE, in a plantation crop. The experimental design was completely used with six treatments (0; 100; 200; 300; 400 and 500 kg ha-1 of N) and four replications. The productivity with the maximum economic efficiency was of 54 bags for hectare of benefited coffee for an application of 196.43 kg ha-1 of N, which represented a decrease of 41.85% in nitrogen. The critical nitrogen ranged from the filling phase to maturity, and their values, from 25.72 to 27.19 g kg-1 and 29.24 to 29.6 g kg-1. For a dose of 328.62 kg ha-1 of N, it was the largest export of this element by the fruit that was 204.31 kg ha-1 of N.

In order to evaluate the growth and accumulation of nutrients in watermelon 'Quetzal' grown under different levels of salinity of irrigation water, was developed in the period november/2007 to January 2008, an experiment at the Experimental Farm "Rafael Fernandes", University Federal Rural do Semi-arid (UFERSA) Mossoró-RN. The experiment was a randomized blocks design with four replications. The treatments were arranged in split plots with the plots represented by the salinity levels of irrigation water: 0.60, 1.69, 2.36, 3.46 and 3.98 dS m-1, and the subplots consist of samplings of plants: 12, 22, 32, 42 and 52 days after transplanting, DAT. In achieving the levels of salinity were mixed natural waters and / or saline in order to obtain approximate composition of natural waters in the region. Plant growth, expressed by the accumulation of dry matter and accumulation of macronutrients by watermelon over the age of the plants decreased with increasing water salinity. The largest increases of dry matter and macronutrients occurred after fruit set, which took place from 42 DAT. The period of greatest demand for phosphorus, potassium and calcium was 42-52 DAT, and nitrogen, and magnesium was 32-42 DAT. The order of extracted nutrients was K> N> Ca> Mg> P.

The blossom-end rot of tomato is characterized by the appearance of a necrotic tissue in the distal part of the fruit. This disorder is not caused directly by the calcium deficiency, but it results from the expression of some genes in stress conditions. Interactions between temperature, water availability, high saline or ammonium concentration, etc., control the appearance of the blossom-end rot in the fruits. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the influence calcium and ammonium on the productivity and blossom-end of tomatoes grown hydroponically. The experiment was carried out in the green house of the Department of Agronomy of the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, and consisted of factorial arrangement between six levels of calcium and two levels of ammonium in the nutrient solution (6 x 2), with six replications in experimental design of randomized blocks. Calcium treatments were the concentrations of 120, 140, 170, 200, 240 and 280 mg L-1, and ammonium treatments were the absence of this cation in the nutrient solution and the addition of 28.4 mg L-1, corresponding to 15% of total-N of the nutrient solution. The blossom-end rot, productivity, fruit diameter and number of fruits were evaluated. The data were submitted to the analysis of the variance and regression. The calcium addition caused a reduction in the tomato productivity, and the treatments with ammonium caused a lesser incidence of blossom-end rot.

The bit of cane sugar, Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius, 1794), (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is the main plague of sugar cane in Brazil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the intensity of infestation in five varieties of commercially sugar cane. The experiment was conducted at Parnaíba Valley Company (COMVAP), that belongs to the Olho D'água Group, located in the city of União - Pi (latitude 04° 51' 08" S; longitude 42° 52' 59" W). Gallo methodology was used to evaluate the the intensity of infestation. It is calculated by: II% = 100 x blocked internodes / total number of internodes. The intensity of infestation of all sorts was considered very low. The varieties SP73-2577, SP83-2847, SP81-3250, SP79-1011 and RB92-579 did not present infestation, using the no-parametric test of Kruskal - Wallis, meaningful statistic differences among them. All varieties showed similar intensity of infestation and may be recommended respecting other desired characteristics.

Waste brine from water desalination is a highly salty residue that can be used to grow crops if carefully managed. The aim of this research was to examine the response of two species of the Caatinga (Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth and Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.)Poir) to five salinity levels [0.46 (control), 3.2, 3.78, 5.02 and 5.96 dS m-1] of irrigation water obtained by dilution of the waste brine from water desalination. The 2 x 5 factorial treatments were arranged according to a completely randomized design with three replications. At 81 days of cultivation, plants of sabiá and jurema preta were sensitive to salinity increase with the addition of waste water in irrigation, especially the sabiá, which decreases more intensely its dry weight of roots and leaves and leaf area. This decrease however, does not rule out the possibility of production of forest tree seedlings using reject water desalination.

O objetivo geral deste trabalho foi avaliar e propor a ferramenta da análise de imagem de alta resolução, para os gestores públicos, no monitoramento e observação do sucesso de recuperação de áreas degradadas. Os objetivos específicos foram: i) obter os dados de índice de área foliar (IAF) e abertura de dossel em campo, ii) calcular a relação entre o IAF e a abertura de dossel mensurados em campo, iii) estimar a abertura de dossel através de imagem de alta resolução QuickBird, iv) aplicar a relação dos dados mensurados em campo para se obter os valores de IAF através da imagem, e v) realizar a análise de resíduos dos dados obtidos em campo com os obtidos na imagem, de doze espécies monitoradas no Parque Olhos Ecológico e de Uso Múltiplo D´água. As estimativas da abertura de dossel e do índice de área foliar em doze espécies de Cerrado, utilizando imagens de alta resolução mostraram-se eficazes, tanto pelo erro tolerável obtido (6,9%) a partir dos modelos, quanto pela praticidade que a imagem fornece: atende uma área maior e em uma escala temporal, sendo eficientes para avaliação da execução de projetos de revegetação.

This work aimed to evaluate the effects of the fertilization with silica and its effect compared with limestone and interaction with the phosphorus in an Oxissol in tomato. A 5 x 2 factorial randomized block experimental design was adopted with four replication being five levels of metasilicate, five levels of limestone and two of phosphorus. In absence of phosphorus and in the presence limestone negative correlation was observed between stem diameter and content of Al in the soil and positive among stem diameter, root growth and content of P in the plant with the pH soil and the content of Ca in the soil. In the presence of phosphorus, positive correlation was verified among content of P in the plant and fresh matter of root with electrical conductivity of soil and root growth and content of Al in the soil. Using metasilicate of calcium in the absence of phosphorus, significant and positive correlation was observed for root growth with pH soil, Ca and sum of bases sum and content of P in the root with electrical conductivity of soil; in the presence of phosphorus, negative correlation was observed among Na and Al in soil. In the presence of phosphorus, was observed negative correlation among the stem diameter with pH, Ca, sum of bases and electrical conductivity of soil. For the leaf area, plant height, fresh matter in shoot and content of phosphorus in the root was verified significant and positive correlation with Na and the K in soil.

The aim of this paper was to study the decomposition velocity of the sugar cane leaf in the own plantation in the Chã de Jardim Farm, belonging to Agrarian Sciences Center/UFPB-Areia, PB. It was used 10 g of dry leaves in litter bags measuring 30 cm x 20 cm, being these deposited in the soil superficial and in the depth of 15 cm, with biweekly collections during three months. A subplot design was used with 2 depths, 5 collection times and 3 repetitions. The largest decomposition rates happened in the subsuperficial treatment, mainly in the first 15 days, when it was lost 24.5% of the material, happening a stabilization soon after in the rate of disappearance of the biomass starting from the 30 days. The decomposition in the superficial and subsuperficial treatment followed a standard logarithmic with high correlation coefficient. In the surface, the decomposition rate was slower, having a decomposition peak to the 45 days with 24% of material loss and showing stability starting from 60 days. The superficial decomposition at the end of the experiment was the same percentile reached in the subsuperficial treatment before the 30 days, evidencing, therefore slower decomposition process and nutrients liberation for the soil in larger period.

Hyptis suaveolens (L.) Poit.) (Lamiaceae) is a medicinal plant widely used in folk medicine in Northeast Brazil as a treatment for respiratory diseases, antispasmodic, sweat and useful in the treatment of gout. The aim of this study was to evaluate hereto the influence of different lengths of cuttings in rooting ofbamburral. The test was conducted for 30 days in the greenhouse of the Department of Environmental Sciences, Federal University of Semi-Arid (UFERSA). The experimental design was randomized blocks with four cutting lengths (5; 10; 15 and 20 cm) and four replications and 10 cuttings per plot. After 30 days of planting, characteristics were evaluated: percentage of survival, rooting percentage, longest root length, diameter and initial end of cutting, the dry mass of shoot and root. Conclude that the length of piles does not affect the rooting of bamburral.