Variability of root traits in common bean genotypes at different levels of phosphorus supply and ontogenetic stages.

Selection of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cultivars with enhanced root growth would be a strategy for increasing P uptake and grain yield in tropical soils, but the strong plasticity of root traits may compromise their inclusion in breeding programs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the magnitude of thegenotypic variability of root traits in common bean plants at two ontogenetic stages and two soil P levels. Twenty-four common bean genotypes, comprising the four growth habits that exist in the species and two wild genotypes, were grown in 4 kg pots at two levels of applied P (20 and 80 mg kg -1) and harvested at the stages of pod setting and early pod filling. Root area and root length were measured by digital image analysis. Significant genotype × P level and genotype × harvest interactions in analysis of variance indicate that the genotypic variation of root traits depended on soil nutrient availability and the stage at which evaluation was made. Genotypes differed for taproot mass, basal and lateral root mass, root area and root length at both P levels and growth stages; differences in specific root area and length were small. Genotypes with growth habits II (upright indeterminate) and III (prostrate indeterminate) showed better adaptation to limited P supply than genotypes of groups I (determinate) and IV (indeterminate climbing). Between the two harvests, genotypes of groups II and III increased the mass of basal and lateral roots by 40 and 50 %, respectively, whereas genotypes of groups I and IV by only 7 and 19 %. Values of the genotypic coefficient of determination, which estimates the proportion of phenotypic variance resulting from genetic effects, were higher at early pod filling than at pod setting. Correlations between shoot mass and root mass, which could indicate indirect selection of root systems via aboveground biomass, were higher at early pod filling than at pod setting. The results indicate that selection for root traits in common bean genotypes should preferentially be performed at the early pod-filling stage

Biomassa e produtividade de cultivares de feijoeiro inoculadas com rizóbio em comparação à adubação nitrogenada.

Este trabalho teve o objetivo de avaliar o crescimento e a produção de grãos de oito cultivares de feijoeiro, comparando o desempenho das plantas inoculadas com rizóbio com as plantas adubadas com N mineral

Estimação de parâmetros genéticos da produção leiteira e idade ao primeiro parto de vacas Pardo-Suíças por meio de inferência bayesiana.

Estimou-se a herdabilidade e a correlação genética para a produção de leite na primeira lactação (PL) e idade ao primeiro parto (IPP) de animais da raça Pardo-Suíça. Foram utilizados registros de 2.981 lactações, com partos ocorridos entre os anos de 1980 a 2002. Na estimação dos componentes de (co) variâncias foi utilizada a inferência Bayesiana, por meio de amostrador de Gibbs, com tamanho de cadeia de 1.500.000 rounds e período de queima de 500.000 rounds. A frequência de amostragem foi de 500 rounds. As médias estimadas para produção de leite e idade ao primeiro parto foram iguais a 5.347,47±1.849,13 kg e 29,65±4,51 meses, respectivamente. As estimativas de herdabilidade obtidas para a produção de leite e idade ao primeiro parto foram iguais a 0,23 e 0,18, respectivamente. A correlação genética entre elas foi igual a -0,31. As herdabilidades obtidas para as características de desempenho avaliadas indicam que ganhos genéticos satisfatórios podem ser obtidos no melhoramento para essas características e que a seleção simultânea para ambas as características pode ser realizad

Magnetic and superconducting instabilities in the periodic Anderson model: an RPA stud

We study the magnetic and superconducting instabilities of the periodic Anderson model with infinite Coulomb repulsion U in the random phase approximation. The Neel temperature and the superconducting critical temperature are obtained as functions of electronic density (chemical pressure) and hybridization V (pressure). It is found that close to the region where the system exhibits magnetic order the critical temperature T_c is much smaller than the Neel temperature, in qualitative agreement with some T_N/T_c ratios found for some heavy-fermion materials. In our study, all the magnetic and superconducting physical behaviour of the system has its origin in the fluctuating boson fields implementing the infinite on-site Coulomb repulsion among the f-electrons.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

Two Kerr black holes with axisymmetric spins: An improved Newtonian model for the head-on collision and gravitational radiation

We present a semi-analytical approach to the interaction of two (originally) Kerr black holes through a head-on collision process. An expression for the rate of emission of gravitational radiation is derived from an exact solution to the Einstein's field equations. The total amount of gravitational radiation emitted in the process is calculated and compared to current numerical investigations. We find that the spin-spin interaction increases the emission of gravitational wave energy up to 0.2% of the total rest mass. We discuss also the possibility of spin-exchange between the holes.Comment: 8 pages, RevTeX, 2 figures, psbox macro include

Dynamical reentrance and geometry imposed quantization effects in Nb-AlOx-Nb Josephson junction arrays

In this paper, we report on different phenomena related to the magnetic properties of artificially prepared highly ordered (periodic) two-dimensional Josephson junction arrays (2D-JJA) of both shunted and unshunted Nb-AlOx-Nb tunnel junctions. By employing mutual-inductance measurements and using a high-sensitive bridge, we have thoroughly investigated (both experimentally and theoretically) the temperature and magnetic field dependence of complex AC susceptibility of 2D-JJA. We also demonstrate the use of the scanning SQUID microscope for imaging the local flux distribution within our unshunted arrays