Zinc as promoter of growth and biochemical activity in basil cultivars under in vitro conditions

In vitro cultivation of basil allows the manipulation of the concentration of certain micronutrients, commonly neglected by the micropropagation protocols. It is a plant of great economic importance for the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry, due to the components present in its essential oil. In view of the above, the objective of this study was to evaluate zinc (Zn) concentrations in the micropropagation of basil, in addition to antioxidant activity and total phenolic compounds. Basil seeds, cultivars Manolo and Grecco Palla were oxygenated for 4 h, passed through asepsis and placed in test tubes with MS medium supplemented with 30 g L-1 sucrose and 6.5 g L-1 agar and pH adjusted to 5.8. The treatments were composed by the addition or not of 25 μM of zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) and arranged in a completely randomized design. The tubes containing the seeds and the culture medium were kept in a growth chamber for 90 days. The cultivar Manolo was more sensitive to the addition of ZnSO4 due to the increase in the number of leaves and in the antioxidant activity, however, the addition of this component in the culture medium did not influence the production of phenolic compounds or the activity of the antioxidant enzymes SOD, CAT and APX

APLICAÇÃO DE BORO VIA FOLIAR NA CULTURA DO CRAMBE CULTIVADO EM LATOSSOLO ARENOSO

Crambe is a winter crucible, with high oil content that serves as source of raw material for biodiesel production. It attracts the attention of the producers for having short cycle, which varies from 90 to 100 days. The experiment was carried out to verify crop development, submitted to the application of boron leaf application, as there is no information about the use of micronutrients. It was carried out in the municipality of Umuarama - PR, in a field whose soil is the typical dystrophic Red Latosol, arranged in a randomized complete block design with five replications. The treatments were the boron rates (0, 40, 80, 120 and 160 g ha-1), applied by leaf. Dry mass production, mass of 1,000 grains, yield and oil content were evaluated. Under the conditions that the experiment was conducted, it was verified that crambe respond positively to boron, between the rates of 96 and 135 g ha-1O crambe é uma crucífera de inverno, com alto teor de óleo que serve como fonte de matéria prima para a produção de biodiesel. Vem chamando a atenção dos produtores por ter ciclo curto, que varia de 90 a 100 dias. Foi executado o experimento visando verificar o desenvolvimento da cultura, submetida à aplicação de boro via foliar, pois não há informações acerca do uso de micronutrientes. Foi realizado no município de Umuarama – PR, em campo cujo solo é o Latossolo Vermelho distrófico típico, disposto em delineamento experimental em blocos casualizados com cinco repetições. Os tratamentos foram as doses de boro (0, 40, 80, 120 e 160 g ha-1), aplicadas via foliar. Foram avaliadas a produção de massa seca, massa de 1.000 grãos, produtividade e teor de óleo. Nas condições que o experimento foi conduzido verificou-se que o crambe responde positivamente ao boro, entre as doses de 96 e 135 g ha-