Alberto Soares de Melo

Influence of the harvesting time, temperature and drying period on basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) essential oil

Ocimum basilicum L. essential oil with high concentration of linalool is valuable in international business. O. basilicum essential oil is widely used as seasoning and in cosmetic industry. To assure proper essential oil yield and quality, it is crucial to determine which environmental and processing factors are affecting its composition. The goal of our work is to evaluate the effects of harvesting time, temperature, and drying period on the yield and chemical composition of O. basilicum essential oil. Harvestings were performed 40 and 93 days after seedling transplantation. Harvesting performed at 8:00 h and 12:00 h provided higher essential oil yield. After five days drying, the concentration of linalool raised from 45.18% to 86.80%. O. basilicum should be harvested during morning and the biomass dried at 40oC for five days to obtain linalool rich essential oil.

TROCAS GASOSAS E EFICIÊNCIA FOTOSSINTÉTICA EM ECÓTIPOS DE FEIJOEIRO CULTIVADOS NO SEMIÁRIDO

Common bean has a significant economic and social importance, although its yield is considered low in Brazil, due to environmental conditions and low technology level on farming. So, the use of promising cultivars may be a strategy to improve its cultivation in the Brazilian semiarid region. This study aimed to evaluate gas exchange, instantaneous water use efficiency, leaf area, biomass, leaf water content, and photosynthetic efficiency in three common bean ecotypes ( Eco 1 = G2227 , Eco 2 = BRA 130583 and G6490, and Eco 3 CIAT BAT = 477) cultivated in the semiarid region of the Paraiba State, Brazil. A randomized blocks design with three replications was used. The CO 2 assimilation rate , transpiration, intercellular CO 2 concentration , instantaneous carboxylation efficiency , instantaneous water use efficiency (from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.) , leaf area, leaf area index , leaf water content, and photosynthetic efficiency were analyzed . The common bean ecotypes showed variations in the gas exchange rate and instantaneous water use efficiency along the day, under the environmental semiarid conditions of the Paraiba State. The leaf area and photosynthetic efficiency did not differ significantly in the conditions studied. The G2227 ecotype showed the best physiological responses, concerning CO 2 assimilation and carboxilation efficiency, besides presenting a smaller variation for instantaneous water use efficiency, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., pointing out a better adaptation level to semiarid conditions and cultivating potential.

Produção de mudas de mamoeiro irrigadas com água salina

Due to the socioeconomic importance of papaya in northeast, area in which natural water contain high levels of salts, especially in its semi-arid region, the emergence and growth of two varieties of papaya seedlings irrigated with saline water was evaluated. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse of Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), Campus Pombal, PB, during the period from May to July of 2011, using a randomized block design, with treatments distributed in factorial scheme 4 x 2, consisting of four levels of water salinity (1.2, 2.4, 3.6, 4.8 dS m-1) and two cultivars of papaya (Sunrise Solo and Tainung-1) with three replications, totaling twenty four plots. The emergence, growth and dry matter accumulation of seedlings was evaluated. The increasing salinity of irrigation water, even applied with a leaching fraction of 20%, increased the salt content in substrate above the threshold salinity of the crop, promoting reductions in the emergence, growth and dry matter accumulation, being the variety Tainung-1 more sensitive.

Fertigation of banana cv Prata Anã with N and K in an ultisol

The Brazilian Northeast is the main producing area, being responsible for about 35,80% of bananas national production. In spite of the favorable conditions to its cultivation, the average national yield has been a lot below its potential, due mainly to water and nutrients supply. Among all nutrients, nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) are the ones required in larger amounts by the banana. With the objective of studying the effect of four rates of N (0, 117, 235 and 352 kg ha-1 of N), and of four rates K (0, 157, 313 and 470 kg ha-1 of K2O) applied by fertirrigation in the 2o cycle of cultivation of the cv. Prata Ana, data was collected in an factorial experiment in randomized blocks, in an Ultisol of the coastal tableland, of the northeast of Brazil. There was not response to N but a linear one was observed for K. Soil K by Mehlich-1 critical level at 0,20- 0,40 m was 0,71 mmolc kg-1.

Crescimento, produção de biomassa e eficiência fotossintética da bananeira sob fertirrigação com nitrogênio e potássio

de K 2 O. Palavras-chave - Plantas-nutricao. Plantas-efeito do potassio. Plantas-efeito do nitrogenio. Biomassa vegetal. Abstract - The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of nitrogen and potassium applied trough water irrigation on physiological characteristcs of banana cv Prata Ana in the coastal tablelands of Sergipe State. The experiment was carried out in the Sergipe Federal University Experiment Station, as 4x4 factorial, in randomized blocks with four repplications. Doses of nitrogen as ureia were (0; 250; 500 e 750 kg ha -1 ) and doses of potassium as potassium chloride were (0; 290; 580

Photochemical efficiency and yield of melon plants cultivated under different irrigation levels

The melon crop has great social and economic importance to Northeastern Brazil, however, lack and excess of water affect growth. Therefore it is necessary to determine ideal water amount to obtain the maximum yield. This research work aimed to evaluate photochemical efficiency and yield of Cantaloupe melon under different irrigations levels. The work was carried in field conditions, adopting a randomized block design with 4 treatments [(60, 80, 100, and 120% of ET0 (mm day-1) corresponded to the volume of water accumulated during the cycle: 1250, 1680, 2110 and 2540 m3 cycle-1, respectively, and 6 replications with 10 plants per experimental unit. The following variables were analyzed: chlorophyll fluorescence, yield and physical and chemical attributes fruits. The 80% ETo water level provided the higher efficiency DOI: 10.5433/1679-0359.2011v32n4p1251

Rendimento e qualidade da fruta do maracujazeiro-amarelo adubado com potássio, esterco de frango e de ovino

The majority of soils grown with passion fruit plants in Sergipe State present low natural fertility and this has caused reduced productivity of this plant. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the combination of organic fertilization sources from poultry and sheep manure, with potassium doses on yield and quality of yellow passion fruits. This experiment was carried out in the Research Station of the Universidade Federal de Sergipe. The experiment design was in a 2x5 randomized blocks (organic fertilizer x potassium doses) +1 factorial scheme. The treatments were constituted by 2 sources of organic fertilizers (T1=10 L of poultry manure and T2 = 20 L of sheep manure) and five potassium doses (0, 27, 54, 81 e 108 g plants-1) and an additional treatment (2.5 L of poultry manure + 7.5 L of sheep manure). The variables studied were: total soluble solid concentration (SST), total acidity by titration (ATT), cortex thickness (ESPC) (mm), number of fruit per plant (NFPLM) and yield (REND) (t ha-1), in the first year. Yellow passion fruits presents adequate attributes for consumption in natura and for the industry, when fertilized with poultry and sheep manure combined with potassium doses, promoting SST between 10.8 and 14.02%, ATT of 8.48 to 7.57 g 100 mL-1 of juice, ESPC between 6.52 and 7.12 mm, REND between 27.5 and 30.24 t ha-1 and NFPLM of 28 to 29 fruits, respectively.

Aspectos morfofisiológicos, rendimento e eficiência no uso da água do meloeiro "Gália" em ambiente protegido

The protected cultivation of the melon has reached a prominent position in Brazil, allowing for year-round harvesting, a greater control of pathogens and diseases, a reduction in leaching-induced nutrient-loss, a reduction in the plant physiological stress and an improvement in production quality. The objective of this work was to assess morpho-physiological aspects, yield, fruit quality and water-use efficiency of the Galia melon grown in a greenhouse at different irrigation levels. The experiment was carried out on Campus IV of the Paraiba State University in Catole do Rocha (PB). A completely randomized design was used at five irrigation levels (60; 80; 100; 120 and 140% of the ETo), which corresponded to 43; 57; 71; 85 and 99 mm plant-1 cycle-1 respectively, with eight repetitions. The variables measured were: leaf area, main-stem length, leaf and stem dry-weight, specific mass and leaf area, fruit yield, soluble-solid content and efficiency of water usage. The increase in irrigation volume resulted in significant response of the morpho-physiological attributes, and fruit yield and quality, however this increase causes a significant reduction in water- use efficiency (US).

Chlorophyll and macronutrients content in leaf tissue of Musa sp ‘Prata-Anã’ under fertigation

1 Paraiba State University, Av. das Baraunas, 351, Bodocongo, CEP 58109-753, Campina Grande-PB, Brazil. 2 Department of Agricultural Engineering, Sergipe Federal University, Av. Marechal Cândido Rondon, Jardim Rosa Elze, CEP 49100-000, Sao Cristovao-SE, Brazil. 3 Campina Grande Federal University, Academic Unit of Agricultural Sciences, Av. Jairo Vieira de Feitosa, Pereiros, CEP 58840-000, Pombal-PB, Brazil. 4 EMBRAPA, Agricultural Research Center of Tabuleiros Costeiros, Av. Beira Mar, 3250, Jardins, CEP 49025-040, Aracaju-SE, Brazil. 5 Department of Agronomy, Paulistan State University Julio de Mesquita, CEP 14884-900, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil.

GERMINAÇÃO E CRESCIMENTO INICIAL DE CULTIVARES DE FEIJÃO-CAUPI SOB ESTRESSE OSMÓTICO E ÁCIDO SALICÍLICO

Cowpea is one of the major food crops in Northeast Brazil, where it is commonly cultivated in the semi-arid regions with limited water availability. It is important to study the elicitors associated with cowpea to mitigate any deleterious effects of abiotic stress on the initial establishment of this crop. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the morphophysiological changes in cowpea cultivars under osmotic stress with seeds soaked in salicylic acid. The germination test was conducted in B.O.D germination chambers. The seeds of three cowpea cultivars: BRS Tumucumaque, BRS Aracê, and BRS Guariba, were germinated at five osmotic potentials (0.0; -0.2; -0.4; -0.6, and -0.8 MPa) after three pre-treatments: pre-soaking in deionized water, pre-soaking in salicylic acid, and without pre-soaking. The following parameters were evaluated: germination, germination speed index, seedling height, total phytomass, contents of chlorophyll ‘a’ and ‘b’, carotenoid content, electrolyte leakage, water content, and proline content. Our results indicate that salicylic acid promotes reduction in the harmful effects of abiotic stress, which is reflected in the increase in germination percentage, seedling height, and chlorophyll and carotenoid content as well as in the adjustment of electrolyte leakage and increase in proline content under induced water stress conditions. The cultivar BRS Guariba proved to be more tolerant to water deficit during germination and initial growth stages, when the seeds were treated with salicylic acid (1 mM).