Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

Fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI) is considered a reproductive biotechnology capable of promoting the increase of reproductive indices, having a significant effect on the bioeconomic efficiency of the property. However, the success of FTAI depends on several factors that directly affect the pregnancy rate. This study aims to evaluate the effect of FTAI on the fertility of Nelore females of the Southeastern Mesoregion of Pará and to verify the influence of some factors that may compromise the pregnancy rate. Based on a field study, the information on the reproductive control records of 9,455 Nelore females belonging to nine farms was collected and submitted to the same insemination protocol. The variables considered were farm, animal category, reuse of the intravaginal progesterone device, body condition score, bull semen and inseminator. The pregnancy rate was 53.4% (5,052 out of 9,455), with an association between the farms (p<0.05), with results ranging from 46.8% to 63.1%. The animal category affected the pregnancy rate (p<0.05) of nulliparous, primiparous and multiparous (50.2, 47.2 and 56.0%, respectively) animals. There was no difference (p>0.05) regarding the reuse of the first, second, third and fourth use intravaginal progesterone device, with the respective rates of 54.3%, 53.1%, 53% and 51.2%. According to the body condition score (p<0.05), females with score of 3 and 3.25 presented higher pregnancy rates, with 59.8% and 54.8%, respectively. In relation to the bull variable, fourteen were responsible for a pregnancy rate above 50%; three with results above 60% and one bull with 38.3% (p<0.05). There was a difference between the pregnancy rate and the inseminator (p<0.05), with results ranging from 45.5% to 71.4%. Improvements in the management systems of each farm may significantly increase the pregnancy rate of the herds in the Southeastern region.

The araçá-boi (Eugenia stipitata McVaugh), a native fruit from the Amazonian Forest, has great potential for fruit pulp production. Araçá-boi cultivation could diversify the incomes of small farmers and contribute to food security. However, little is known about the physicochemical, physiological, and agronomic aspects of araçá-boi, making its cultivation and expansion limited. This study aimed to characterize the physicochemical and colorimetric traits of fruits of araçá-boi and to access the genetic diversity among the studied accessions. Eight fruits of 33 accessions were collected for evaluation. The experiment was carried out at the Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo – Campus Itapina, located in Colatina-ES, in the year of 2015. Seven physicochemical traits and eight chromaticity parameters of fruits were measured. Grouping methods, such as Tocher optimization, hierarchical grouping, and principal component analysis (PCA), were applied to study the genetic diversity. It was observed phenotypic variability for all the evaluated traits. The three grouping methods were efficient for representing the genetic divergence among the accessions. The accessions 28 and 25 are interesting for clonal seedlings, for presenting good averages of fruit mass (FM), pulp mass (PM) and a relatively high total soluble solid (TSS) content. To develop a base population, besides accessions 28 and 25, the accession 33, which presented the highest TSS and accession 1 or 21, with high averages of FM and PM should be included in crossings to obtain a base population aiming to start a breeding program of araçá-boi.

Jambu production has significant importance in the culinary and popular medicine of the northern region of Brazil. Despite the above, the species still faces problems related to the determination of basic phytotechnical aspects for its production. The objective of this study was to investigate the quality of jambu seedlings produced in containers with different volumes and seeding densities over time. For this, two simultaneous tests were set up in a protected environment. Block design was used in a factorial scheme for both tests. For the first test, the evaluated factors were two containers (162 and 200 cell tray) at four evaluation dates (10, 15, 20 and 25 days after sowing). For the second test, three sowing densities (two, four and six cell plants-1) were evaluated at four dates (10, 15, 20 and 25 days after sowing). The evaluated characteristics were: length of the aerial part, root length, total plant length, collection diameter, fresh shoot and root mass, dry mass of the aerial part and of the root system, percentage of survival on the fith and tenth day after transplanting, and the Dickson quality index. The tray of 162 cells was the one that allowed the best conditions for the growth, development and quality of jambu seedlings. Considering the individual values obtained for each characteristic of the plants evaluated for the different densities tested, the density of two cell-1 seedlings was the one that allowed to obtain the best individual results per plant.

Yellow passion fruit cultivars developed or adapted regionally can contribute to the productivity and production increase of quality fruit taking care of the needs of the market and the remuneration to the producers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physical and chemical characteristics of yellow passion fruits harvested at different maturation stages. Yellow passion fruits, cultivar BRS Gigante Amarelo, were produced in Terra Nova do Norte city, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. The experimental design was a randomized complete block, in  4 × 4 factorial scheme (maturation stages and evaluation periods), with four blocks. Physical (mass, length and diameter fruit and peel color) and chemical (total soluble solids, total titrable acidity and ratio) fruit characteristics were evaluated. The data were submitted to analysis of variances and the means were compared by the Tukey test at 5% probability. The fruits of yellow passion fruit cultivar BRS Gigante Amarelo harvested at different stages of maturation present an increase in the color indexes (chroma and Hue), total soluble solids content and ratio, and reduction of the titratable total acidity, as fruit maturation occurs. In addition, fruits harvested at all maturation stages present a condition of industrialization immediately or after 3 days of storage while fruits harvested at maturation stage 4 present more interesting color characteristics for in natura trade, regardless of the storage period.

The difficulty in managing weeds present in sunflower increases together with the crop expansion, mainly due to the few selective herbicide options. In this sense, the objective of this research was to evaluate the selectivity of the Olisun 3 and ADV 5504 sunflower cultivars to the herbicide treatments applied in pre-emergence of the crop under field conditions. The experimental design was a randomized block, 2 × 6 factorial scheme in four replicates, two cultivars (Olisun 3 and ADV 5504) and six herbicides (sulfentrazone 600 g i.a. ha-1, s-metolachlor 1920 g i.a. ha-1, trifluralin 1780 g i.a. ha-1, prometryn 1000 g i.a. ha-1, flumioxazin 40 g i.a. ha-1 and a non-treated control). The phytotoxicity (medium of 6.92 and 10.96%) in the plants was observed with 7 DAA. The ADV 5504 cultivar showed higher values of phytotoxicity (14.75%) for the herbicide S-metolachlor. Olisun 3 exhibited the largest stem diameter (23,32 mm) when prometryn was used. For head insertion height, ADV 5504 presented a higher value (1.16 m) and the herbicide S-metolachlor did not affect this variable, with a value (1.15 m) statistically similar to the control. The yield of the two cultivars was statistically similar (1891.28 and 2025.91 kg ha-1). All herbicides researched were selective to both Olisun 3 and ADV 5504 cultivars, not interfering with the final yield of sunflower grains. Therefore. it is possible to recommend these products to control weeds in this crop.

Sour passion fruit has great relevance for Brazil by its socioeconomic importance. Although it is one of the most important fruit trees in the Brazilian fruit production, its productivity is still very low due to the lack of genotypes that are homogenous, productive, and adapted to the different regions of the country. This denotes the need for advances in genetic improvement of this fruit species. In this context, the objective of this work was to estimate genetic gains in sour passion fruit progenies under intrapopulation recurrent selection, using different restricted selection indexes: Kempthorne & Nordskog, Tallis, and James; and non-restricted selection indexes: Smith, Hazel, and Mulamba & Mock. Thus, 13 agronomic characteristics were evaluated in 118 full-sib families and three controls. The selection indexes used to obtain the genetic gains were Mulamba & Mock, Smith, Hazel, and Kempthorne & Nordskog, with the assignment of random weights. The Tallis index was applied to the restriction for fruit mass, and the restriction of James for productivity gains. The Genes program was used to analyze the selection indexes. The restricted selection indexes of Kempthorne & Nordskog, Tallis, and James are more suitable for the selection of full-sib families of sour passion fruit than the Smith, Hazel, and Mulamba & Mock non-restricted selection indexes, and can be applied in recurrent selection programs. The results indicate that the addition of the restrictions proposed by Tallis and James are not efficient for increasing gains when compared to the Kempthorne & Nordskog, since they obtained similar gains.

Agroindustrial activities in Southeastern Pará produce many organic residues that can be recycled economically through composting processes. This study aimed to evaluate the reproduction rate, survival and density of Eisenia Andrei in different agroindustrial wastes. Pre-composting organic waste piles were implanted with ovine manure and waste from fruit pulps, being the variation source triturated açaí seed (Treatment 1); sawdust (Treatment 2); and babaçu coconut (Treatment 3). After 50 days of pre-composting, vermicomposting reactors with three populational levels of Eisenia Andrei for the three treatments were built, being evaluated the temperature, reproduction and survival indices of earthworms in the reactors for 35 days. Results showed that the temperature remained within the acceptable range (lower than 35 ºC) during the experiment. For the reproduction, it was verified that the sawdust composting propitiated favorable conditions for increased earthworm density, while for the presence of cocoons only the initial quantities of earthworms showed positive effects; for both variables the time was significant. No treatments had earthwarms that escaped or died due to the waste composition, thus establishing the use of such residues as a viable alternative for vermiculture.

Although oil palm is cultivated on a large scale and in different soil types in the state of Pará, changes in the soil’s physical properties in these areas have not been evaluated. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the physical quality of a Yellow Latosol cultivated with oil palm, 30 years after implantation. Soil samples with disturbed and undisturbed structure were collected at 0-20 and 20-40 cm depths, in the machinery traffic zone. The degree of compaction (DC) was calculated from the maximum soil bulk density obtained by the Proctor test, and soil penetration resistance (PR) was determined in soil samples equilibrated in ten matric potentials. Temporal changes in soil moisture in PR were also evaluated. Both parameters showed that the evaluated area has an indication of compaction. The DC in both depths was above 90% and was more severe in the 0-20 cm layer. However, when evaluated by PR, the compaction was more evident in the 20-40 cm layer, and variations in soil moisture over a year showed that in the drier months, the soil showed high values of PR in this layer. Thus, this study indicates that the growth and development of oil palm may be restricted by the soil’s compaction and mainly by the high penetration resistance in the months of reduced water availability.

The adequate storage of raw materials is fundamental to obtain a quality final product. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different plastic packages on the maintenance of post-harvest quality of ‘Agata’ potato tubers stored under refrigeration and room temperature. Two experiments were conducted, both with a completely randomized design, arranged in a 3 x 4 factorial scheme (three types of packages – unpacked, with polyvinyl chloride film – PVC (21 cm x 40 cm and 12 μm thick) and with plastic bag (30 cm x 40 cm and 30 μm thick) and four evaluation times), with three replicates of one tuber each. In one experiment the samples were maintained under ambient conditions (25 ± 2°C and 60% ± 5% RH), with evaluations performed at 0, 7, 14 and 21 days, and another under refrigeration (8 ± 2ºC 75% ± 2% RH) and 0, 25, 50 and 75 days. The evaluated characteristics were: firmness, pH, soluble solids, total titratable acidity, vitamin C and the appearance of shoots. Tubers can only be stored under ambient conditions for seven days, and during this period the PVC packaging is the most suitable for storage. Tuber firmness was reduced and the vitamin C content of the last evaluation was higher than the initial content in both storage conditions. The refrigerated storage extended the shelf life of tubers for up to 50 days, period during which the PVC and plastic bags did not influence the conservation of the ‘Agata’ potato tubers.

The biodiversity of the Amazon rainforest acompanny intense rates environmental degradation. To expand the information on wood and charcoal coming from the Amazon could help in the inspection, contributing to the conservation of the local biodiversity. This research aimed to anatomical characterize the wood and charcoal made out of Alexa grandiflora Ducke, besides to evaluate the anatomical changes in the wood resulting from the process of carbonization. We analyze three individuals of A. grandiflora, as from of body proofs of 1.5 cm x 1.5 cm x 3.0 cm histological slides and charcoal were obtained. For the production of charcoal, the body proofs were submitted to a carbonization process with a heating rate of 1.66°C min–1, keeping it at 450 °C. Photomicrographs were taken in the cross section, longitudinal tangential and longitudinal radial sections of the wood and charcoal, from those pictures we have made the anatomical description of both products. To evaluate the effect of the carbonization on the anatomical characteristics of the wood, the data was analyzed by using “generalized linear models – GLM – for repeated measurements”. There has not been seen any alterations in the qualitative characteristics of the wood after the carbonization process. We noticed that the main characteristics for specie’s identification were maintained in the charcoal, with significant increase in vessel frequency per.mm-2 (+88.61%), decrease of the vessel diameter (-30.6%), and of the height (-30.6%) and width (-20%) of the rays. The number of rays por.mm-1 did not show any significant statistical difference.