Respostas do cafeeiro à calagem

Field experiments were conducted in a stablished coffee plantation for 8 years (1975-82) on Brazilian Oxisols to investigate the effects of liming these soils (0.0,2.5, 5 and 10 tons/ha) on the soil chemical properties, production and mineral nutrition of coffee (Coffea arabica L.) trees. The soil pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC) and exchangeable Ca and Mg increased, while exchangeable AI and K decreased whith increasing dolomitic lime rates. The lime effects were limited to the top soil only (0-30 cm). Liming significantly increased leaf Ca and Mg, reduced leaf Mn (eliminated the toxic effects), Zn and K, and had no effect on leaf N, P, and Cu in the leaves. The yields of coffee were increased by reducing the exchangeable Al and by adjusting the Ca-K, Ca-Mg, and Mg-K ratios to 13:1, 4:1 and 3:1, respectively. The best coffee yields were obtained with the lowest lime rate (2.5 tons/ha). Higher lime rates (5 and 10 tons/ha) resulted in decreased yields.Experimentos de campo foram conduzidos em dois dos principais solos da região cafeeira do Paraná (LRd e LEd), por um período de 8 anos (1975-82), com o objetivo de estudar os efeitos de doses crescentes de calcário dolomítico (0, 2,5, 5,0 e 10,0 t/ha) nas propriedades químicas do solo, produção e estado nutricional do cafeeiro (Coffea arábica L.). O pH do solo, capacidade de troca de cátions (CTC) e Ca e Mg trocáveis aumentaram, enquanto que o Al e K trocáveis diminuíram com o aumento das doses de calcário. Estes efeitos foram evidentes apenas na superfície do solo (0-30 cm). Os efeitos da calagem no estado nutricional do cafeeiro foram pronunciados, em virtude do aumento nas concentrações de Ca e Mg, redução nas de Mn (eliminou os efeitos tóxicos), Zn e K e inalteração nas de N, P e Cu nos tecidos foliares. A neutralização do Al tóxico e o ajustamento das relações entre Ca-K, Ca-Mg e Mg-K para 13:1, 4:1 e 3:1, respectivamente, aumentaram a produção do cafeeiro. As melhores produções de café foram associadas com a mais baixa dose de calcário (2,5 t/ha), sendo que as mais elevadas (5 e 10 t/ha) diminuíram sistematicamente a produção do cafeeiro

Evaluation of Liver and Kidney Function Markers of Mature Albino Male Rats Fed with Maize-Plantain Pudding Delicacy Cooked in Metallic Plates and Edible Plant Leaves

Traditional maize-plantain puddings are usually cooked in diverse containers such as aluminium plates, cast iron plates and all types of edible plant leaves. This paper therefore, evaluates biochemical markers of liver and kidney function of mature albino male rats fed with maize-plantain pudding delicacy cooked in aluminium and cast iron plates and edible Zingiber officinale (ginger) and Musa paradisiaca (plantain) leaves using appropriate standard methods. Data obtained reveal that the activities of hepatic marker enzymes; alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in the serum and liver were significantly lower in rats given the pudding extracts when compared with the control. No significant differences were observed in urea and creatinine levels in the serum and kidney of rats given pudding extracts as compared to control. In conclusion, this study has proved that maize-plantain pudding organized using ginger leaves, plantain leaves and cast iron plate are beneficial in the maintenance and improvement of liver and kidney function when compared with aluminium plate. However, in this efficacy maize-plantain pudding cooked using ginger leaves was found to be more effective than the pudding cooked using plantain leaves and cast iron plate.

Adubacao fosfatada e potassica em cultura de soja no Estado do Parana.

No periodo de 1974 a 1977, foram conduzidos varios experimentos de adubacao com a cultura da soja [Glycine max (L.) Merrill], no Estado do Parana, visando: a) estudar o efeito de niveis de adubacao fosfatada e potassica aplicadas no sulco de semeadura; b) determinar classes de resposta da soja em funcao dos teores de fosforo e potassio do solo, indicados pelo metodo de Mehlich. Os resultados evidenciaram: a) melhor resposta a adubacao fosfatada em solos de cultivo recente do que nos de cultivo antigo com a sucesso trigo-soja; comprova-se, assim, a capacidade da soja em aproveitar o fosforo residual de culturas anteriores; b) a adubacao potassica nao promoveu aumentos expressivos na producao de soja. Para os solos com baixos teores de P residual foram estabele-cidas as seguintes faixas de disponibilidade do nutriente, indicadas pelo metodo de Mehlich: muito baixo (inferior a 1,5 ppm), baixo (1,5 - 3,0 ppm), medio (3,0 - 6,5 ppm) e alto (superior 6,5 ppm); o metodo de analise empregado foi ineficiente para a avaliacao da disponibilidade de P residual

Promising high-yielding tetraploid plantain-bred hybrids in west Africa

Open Access Journal; Published online: 21 April 2019The devastating threat of black leaf streak disease caused by Pseudocercospora fijiensis on plantain production in West Africa spurred the development of resistant hybrids. The goal of this research and development (R&D) undertaken was assessing the development and dissemination of two plantain hybrids PITA 3 and FHIA 21 bred in the 1980s by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA, Nigeria) and the Fundación Hondureña de Investigación Agrícola (FHIA, Honduras), respectively. In Côte d’Ivoire, plantain growers selected PITA 3 and FHIA 21 based on their improved agronomic characteristics and, between 2012 and 2016, they were massively propagated and distributed to farmers in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Togo under the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAAP) coordinated by the West and Central Africa Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF). In 2016, the Centre National de Recherche Agronomique in Côte d’Ivoire included the hybrids in the improved cultivar directory. This R&D activity illustrates how three decades of crossbreeding, selection, and distribution led to local acceptance. It also highlights how a CORAF-led partnership harnessed CGIAR research for development. The dissemination and acceptance of these plantain hybrids will enhance the sustainable intensification in plantain-based farming systems across the humid lowlands of West and Central Africa