A. L. Atroch

Guaraná's Journey from Regional Tonic to Aphrodisiac and Global Energy Drink

Guaraná (Paullinia cupana H.B.K., Sapindaceae) is a rainforest vine that was domesticated in the Amazon for its caffeine-rich fruits. Guaraná has long been used as a tonic and to treat various disorders in Brazil and abroad and became a national soda in Brazil about a century ago. In the last two decades or so, guaraná has emerged as a key ingredient in various ‘sports’ and energy drinks as well as concoctions that allegedly boost ones libido. For some time, guaranás high caffeine content was thought to be a detriment because of health concerns about excessive intake of caffeine-rich drinks. But it is precisely this quality, and the fact that it has a mysterious name and comes from an exotic land, that has propelled guaraná into a global beverage.

Guarana (Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis), an anciently consumed stimulant from the Amazon rain forest: the seeded-fruit transcriptome

Guarana (Paullinia cupana var. sorbilis) is a plant native to the central Amazon basin. Roasted seed extracts have been used as medicinal beverages since pre-Colombian times, due to their reputation as stimulants, aphrodisiacs, tonics, as well as protectors of the gastrointestinal tract. Guarana plants are commercially cultivated exclusively in Brazil to supply the national carbonated soft-drink industry and natural product stores around the world. In this report, we describe and discuss the annotation of 15,387 ESTs from guarana seeded-fruits, highlighting sequences from the flavonoid and purine alkaloid pathways, and those related to biotic stress avoidance. This is the largest set of sequences registered for the Sapindaceae family.

Progresso genético em arroz de várzea úmida no Estado do Amapá

This paper had the objective of quantifying the genetic progress of lowland rice in the state of Amapa, Brazil, in the 1991-1996 period. The efficiency of the rice lineages evaluation and selection program was studied, using grain yield data, obtained in the Advanced Yield Trials, of the Embrapa-Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Arroz e Feijao network. To estimate the genetic gain the methodologies of Vencovsky et al. (1986) and Fernandes (1988) were used. The genetic gain obtained was of 2.45%/ year (78.9 kg ha-1), being 63.21% of the whole progresses due to the genetic breeding, for the first method. In the second method, the genetic gain was of 3.02%/year (96.93 kg ha-1), being 67.85% of the whole progresses due to the genetic breeding. The genetic gains obtained in both methodologies evidence that the efforts undertaken in the search of adapted and productive cultivars have been producing expressive results.

Divergência genética entre clones de guaranazeiro

As tecnicas multivariadas, para estimar a diversidade genetica de um grupo de progenitores, tem sido utilizadas com frequencia pelos melhoristas de plantas. Os progenitores sao utilizados em cruzamentos biparentais ou multiplos, para formacao de populacoes segregantes que tenham maior probabilidade de recuperacao de genotipos superiores. Este trabalho foi realizado com o objetivo de identificar clones de guaranazeiro produtivos e divergentes que possam ser utilizados em um programa de cruzamentos para obter hibridos com alto valor heterotico e materiais para propagacao vegetativa. Foram avaliados 148 clones de guaranazeiro atualmente em uso no programa de melhoramento genetico da Embrapa-Centro de Pesquisa Agroflorestal da Amazonia Ocidental. Utilizou-se, para estimativa da divergencia genetica, a analise de agrupamento, em que a medida de dissimilaridade utilizada foi a distância euclidiana media padronizada e os metodos de agrupamento de otimizacao de Tocher e do vizinho mais proximo para construcao do dendrograma entre grupos de clones. Houve a formacao de sete grupos divergentes de clones. Concluiu-se que a divergencia genetica entre os clones nao e grande, pois dois grupos foram formados com dois clones e tres grupos foram formados somente com um unico clone. Os clones CMU384 e CMU801 foram os mais proximos geneticamente e podem ser utilizados na formacao de uma populacao com desenvolvimento vegetativo uniforme para uso em plantios comerciais.

Repetibilidade da produção de sementes em clones de guaraná

The aim of this work was to evaluate the seed yield repeatability of 27 guarana clones. Ten assays were carried out for clone evaluation using a completely randomized block design, with two replicates and three plants per plot with a 5x5 m spacing. The seed yield was measured during four years (1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001) after the beginning of the production phase, two years after planting. Four methods were used for repeatability coefficient estimation: analysis of variance (ANOVA), principal components analysis based on correlation matrix (CPCOR), principal components analysis based on phenotypical variance and covariance matrix (CPCOV), and structural analysis based on correlation matrix (AECOR). Minimum observations number and determination coefficient were also evaluated. The repeatability coefficient estimates based on these four years, in all ten environments, were relatively low - 0.2618 (AECOR), 0.3064 (CPCOR), 0.3183 (ANOVA) and 0.5308 (CPCOV) - and varied according to method and environment. At least four years of evaluation are necessary for obtaining the real genotypical value of the clones for an 80% determination coefficient.

Adaptabilidade e estabilidade de clones de guaraná

The objective of this work was to determine parameters of adaptability and phenotypic stability of guarana clones (Paullinia cupana) in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. Ten trials were carried out in three counties, where 27 preselected guarana clones were evaluated in a four-year period. A randomized complete block design with two replicates were used, with plots formed by three plants spaced at 5x5 m. Four methods of adaptability and stability were evaluated. The nonparametric method of Lin & Binns modified showed satisfactory results and discriminated the clones performance both in favorable and unfavorable environments, and according to their stability levels. The CMU871 had good adaptability and high phenotypic stability. The CMU619 and CMU609 had specific adaptability to favorable and unfavorable environments, respectively.

Heat-treatment and germination of oil palm seeds (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)

Under natural conditions the germination of oil palm seeds may take years, and it is usually uneven and has a very low rate. To increase the germination rate it is necessary to break the dormancy, through heat-treatment (HT). In the germination of oil palm seeds produced by Embrapa Western Amazon the HT used is at 40 °C during 80 days. The objective of this study was to evaluate the periods of 40, 50, 60 and 80 days of HT at 40 °C on seeds germination of six oil palm cultivars BRS C2001, BRS C2328, BRS C2501, BRS C2528, BRS C3701 and BRS C7201. The statistical design was randomized block, 6 x 4 factorial, with four replications of 500 seeds each. The minimum HT period for maximum germination ranged from 45 days for BRS C2328 (70%) to 80 days for BRS C2528 (84%). For BRS C7201 was not observed significant effect of the HT period for seed germination, estimated as 82%. The maximum germination of oil palm seeds varies with the duration of heat treatment. With the exception of cultivar BRS C2528, heat treatment may be less than 80 days.

Contribution of the institutions in the Northern region of Brazil to the development of plant cultivars and their impact on agriculture

This paper describes the development of breeding programs in northern Brazil and their main impacts on agriculture. Their contribution to the breeding of the species palm oil, acai fruit, cacao, cupuacu, guarana, tomato, camu-camu, cocona, peach palm, and rubber was laid out in detail. Advances in breeding programs of institutions such as Embrapa, Ceplac, Inpa, and Universities require investments in infrastructure and in human and financial resources to ensure continuity and efficiency in economic, social and environmental gains. The improvement of native species, the main focus of the breeding programs of the institutions in the Northern region of Brazil, is a form of exploiting the Amazonian biodiversity for the benefit of society. Therefore, policies to foster research institutions should be a subject of deliberation and action of the scientific and technological community in Brazil.

Enraizamento de estacas de cultivares de guaranazeiro com adubação de plantas matrizes

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of plant fertilization on the rooting of guarana cuttings. The experimental design was completely randomized in a 6x2 factorial arrangement, with five cultivars and one genotype of guarana, with or without fertilization. The experimental unit contained ten cuttings with four replicates. The fertilization was applied after pruning (January), after fruiting (April), and before the beginning of flowering (May). For rooting, the cuttings were kept in incubators at 50% irradiance and under intermittent mist. After 120 days in the incubator, the following characteristics were evaluated: rooted and dead cuttings; cutting length; and volume and dry weight of roots. Plant fertilization increased rooting in 11.15%, and reduced cutting mortality in 11.05%. The fertilization promoted a greater rooting in the cultivars BRS-Maues, BRS-CG882 and in the genotype CMU 381. Irrespective of the cultivar, the fertilization increases the number, volume and weight of root dry matter; however, it has no influence on root length.

Progressos do melhoramento genético do arroz de sequeiro no Estado do Amapá

The upland rice (Oryza sativa L.) program progress in Amapa State, Brazil, is evaluated for grain yield, flowering period, plant height, lodging, disease resistance and grain type in lines from seven advanced and five preliminary tests conducted at Embrapa-Centro de Pesquisa Agroflorestal do Amapa (CPAF-AP) Experimental Station, during 1990/91 to 1995/96 crop seasons. Grain yield average annual gain of 83.0 kg/ha during the period is significant using t test at 1% level of probability, corresponding to 3.5% of annual increase in yield. Among the evaluated lines the CNA 6843-1, CNA 8386, CNA 8394, CNA 8170 and CNA 8441 were superior for the characters considered. CNA 6843-1 and CNA 7706, especially, showed remarkable improvement for lodging resistance and grain quality, two of the majors rice problems in Amapa. Theses results reinforce the collaborative rice breeding program strategy developed by the research institutions from the North and others regions of Brazil, based on a collaborative program by breeders that share their results from areas with similar conditions.