Estimation of daily global solar radiation as a function of the solar energy potential at soil surface

A radiação solar recebida na superfície do solo, além de sua relevância a diversas atividades humanas diárias, desempenha um papel importante no crescimento e desenvolvimento de plantas. Este trabalho teve por objetivo desenvolver e aferir um modelo de estimativa da densidade de fluxo de radiação solar global, em função do potencial de energia solar à superfície, no município de Ponta Grossa, PR, Brasil (latitude 25º13' S, longitude 50º03' W, altitude 880 m). Os valores estimados do potencial de energia solar obtidos em função de apenas uma medida realizada na passagem meridiana do sol foram confrontados com os valores medidos por um actinógrafo de placa bimetálica de Robitzsch para aqueles dias que apresentaram razão de insolação superior a 0,85. Este conjunto de dados foi submetido a uma análise de regressão linear simples, obtendo-se bom ajuste entre valores observados e calculados. Foi utilizado o método baseado no potencial de energia solar à superfície para estimativa dos coeficientes a e b da equação de Angström para a localidade em questão. A metodologia foi eficiente para quantificar a densidade de fluxo de radiação solar global, com rapidez e simplicidade, bem como revelaram que o critério de estimativa do potencial de energia solar gerou valores equivalentes aqueles obtidos pela metodologia clássica de Angström. O conhecimento do potencial de energia solar disponível e da densidade de fluxo de radiação global é de suma importância na estimativa da demanda máxima de evaporação, do consumo hídrico de culturas irrigadas e para o dimensionamento de artifícios de engenharia solar, tais como secadores, aquecedores, fogões solares, refrigeradores etc.The solar radiation received at the surface of the earth, apart from its relevance to several daily human activities, plays an important role in the growth and development of plants. The aim of the current work was to develop and gauge an estimation model for the evaluation of the global solar radiation flux density as a function of the solar energy potential at soil surface. Radiometric data were collected at Ponta Grossa, PR, Brazil (latitude 25º13' S, longitude 50º03' W, altitude 880 m). Estimated values of solar energy potential obtained as a function of only one measurement taken at solar noon time were confronted with those measured by a Robitzsch bimetalic actinograph, for days that presented insolation ratios higher than 0.85. This data set was submitted to a simple linear regression analysis, having been obtained a good adjustment between observed and calculated values. For the estimation of the coefficients a and b of Angström's equation, the method based on the solar energy potential at soil surface was used for the site under study. The methodology was efficient to assess the coefficients, aiming at the determination of the global solar radiation flux density, whith quickness and simplicity, having also found out that the criterium for the estimation of the solar energy potential is equivalent to that of the classical methodology of Angström. Knowledge of the available solar energy potential and global solar radiation flux density is of great importance for the estimation of the maximum atmospheric evaporative demand, of water consumption by irrigated crops, and also for building solar engineering equipment, such as driers, heaters, solar ovens, refrigerators, etc

Genetic parameters and predicted gains with selection of interspecific hybrids of Paspalum for seed production

The aim of this study was to estimate the genetic parameters and predicted gains with selection of interspecific hybrids of Paspalum in relation to seed production traits Data were analyzed in randomized block design, with 23 genotypes arranged into ten blocks, according to the methodology of mixed models by the REML/BLUP procedure. The traits considered in the study were: number of total tillers/plant, number of reproductive tillers/plant, number of racemes/inflorescence, number of seeds/inflorescence, weight of a thousand seeds and seed production. Variability among genotypes, high heritability (>0.50), except total tillers (0.44) and number of racemes (0.36), and high accuracy (>0.90) were identified for all traits. The hybrids 10E5052, 10E4026, 10E507, 10E4025 and 10E40104 are among the top ten because they have high genetic values in three or more traits, indicating that these genotypes should be recommended for direct use in planting or potential parents to be used in new crosses

Geographical indication and centrality in the Brazilian Northeast

This article discusses the subject of Geographical Indication and level of centrality, by using the hierarchization of municipalities from the Brazilian Northeast region as a tool for discussion and analysis. This article is mainly aimed at hierarchizing municipalities from the Brazilian Northeast region by taking into account their respective contributions to the development of non-public service products between 2002 and 2017, considering five geographical subdivisions (microregion, mesoregion, State, region and country) in the perspective of identifying the level of centrality and a relationship with Geographical Indications. This work is characterised as an exploratory-descriptive research with a quali-quantitative approach, having analysed data from the Automatic Recovery System (SIDRA, in Portuguese) from IBGE (the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) and considering 1,792 municipalities from the Brazilian Northeast. The results indicate that among the 1,792 municipalities included in the study, 1,028 (57.4% of all municipalities studied) observed an increase to their scores. In addition, the main changes that took place in these municipalities between 2002 and 2017 included the increase in the homogeneity in the region, when regarding the profile of participation in the development of non-public service products from higher geographical subdivisions. With that, it can be stated that the non-public service sector creates a level of hierarchy in the municipalities from the Brazilian Northeast in terms of their volumes, corroborating the assumption drawn in this work that the spatial layout of cities has an effect on the centralities of places, with the territory and its centrality level having an impact on Geographical Indications, as the quality and standardization of products/services represent the result of the combined effort and actions carried out by some groups of local producers in certain territories. This highlights the relationship between this group and the local tradition, typicality and culture, as well as with the physical and climate aspects of the territory, which contributes to its local development

Geographical Indication: a proposal for measuring centrality

The present work discusses Geographical Indications, which have increasingly grown in Brazil, becoming of extreme importance for territorial development. With this in mind, this work is aimed at establishing a centrality indicator for municipalities, capable of contributing for Geographical indication, based on the development on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of services for promoting local development. The measurement of centrality adopted in this work is based on the arrangement of GDP data on services, according to the Central Place Theory, in which cities are hierarchically organised and some services are only provided by more relevant locations. The database used for assessing the levels of centrality of municipalities were divided into four different groups: participation of the gross value added of services, excluding public administration on the gross value at total current prices; in the state level; in the microregion; in the country. The analysis observed simple structure averages to operationalise the hierarchical ruler, having established that the best route concerned attributing weighting coefficients to the group of indicators through a linear combination algorithm. It is important to point out that the most important tool considered included the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Accordingly, it was established that a location is an important territory with what concerns the spatial contour, with the service sector (excluding the public service) having an impact on local economy. Therefore, the registration of a Geographical Indication may promote economic development, attributed to the increase in local production, demand and greater added value and, consequently, an upsurge in the generation of jobs and wealth, having a relevant impact in the notoriety of the region

The effect of Geographical Indications on Economic Development

The understanding of a Geographical Indication (GI), under an economic point of view, is connected to a strategy that aims at adding value to products or services whose characteristics are related to the territories in which they are inserted, with the premise of strengthening territorial economies, mainly in rural areas. GIs associated to agri-food products not only add value to these products, but also aim at providing easier access to either internal and/or external markets, promoting the inclusion of rural producers or disfavored regions in terms of commercial trade routes, besides contributing to the sustainable use of biodiversity and, consequently, of local genetic resources. Therefore, this work aims at providing an overview of the main scientific works regarding Geographical Indications (GIs) focused on the development of regional economies, especially in rural areas, considering in natura products. The methodology employed consisted of carrying out a systematic literature review on Scopus, Web of Science and Science Direct databases, based on a sequence of themes (Geographical Indication, Economic Development, Brazilian products in natura). Therefore, it was necessary to select the scientific articles corresponding to the combination of keywords, while also considering those works published in the last 10 years and with a score higher than 25 points, according to the criteria adopted in this work. The results of this research demonstrate the importance of GIs for promoting local economic development, through production and local services, adding value to the agri-food market and to its capacity in generating jobs and wealth

Agronomic evaluation of Paspalum notatum Flügge under the influence of photoperiod

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of photoperiod on the forage yield by ecotypes and intraspecific hybrids of P. notatum. Tetraploid ecotypes from the United States Department of Agriculture and the National University of the Northeast in Argentina, in addition to six intraspecific hybrids, totaling 19 ecotypes, were assessed. The materials evaluated were subjected to an extended photoperiod (14 h of light) and natural photoperiod from July 2011 to October 2012. The experimental design was a completely randomized factorial scheme of 19 × 2 (ecotypes × photoperiod) consisting of five replicates. The materials were influenced differentially by the variation in photoperiod, with one group showing high sensitivity, whereas another, smaller group, was insensitive to this factor. The use of materials with differentiated responses to photoperiod in different climatic regions can be an important tool to increase forage yield of Paspalum notatum

Desempenho forrageiro de híbridos de Paspalum obtidos por meio de cruzamentos interespecíficos

The goal of this study was to assess the variability of Paspalum plicatulum x P. guenoarum interspecific hybrids in terms of agronomic performance and their tolerance to cold conditions, as well as to estimate the correlation of different phenotypic characters associated with forage production. Twenty hybrids plants were used, besides one access P. guenoarum, one of P. plicatulum and the cultivar ‘Pensacola’ (P. notatum). Assessments were performed on individual plants, in a completely randomized design with five repetitions. Paspalum genotypes presented variability in total dry matter, leaf dry mass, leaf: stem ratio, and tolerance to cold. We suggest selection of the hybrids 08Q01 and 08Q44 for new stages within a forage improvement program. Estimates of phenotypic correlation may aid in the selection of genotypes with better agronomic traits.O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a variabilidade de híbridos interespecíficos de Paspalum plicatulum x P. guenoarum por meio do desempenho agronômico e tolerância ao frio, bem como estimar as correlações fenotípicas de diferentes caracteres ligados à produção de forragem. Foram utilizados 20 híbridos, um acesso de P. guenoarum, um de P. plicatulum e a cultivar ‘Pensacola’ (P. notatum). As avaliações foram realizadas em plantas individuais, em delineamento completamente casualizado, com cinco repetições. Os genótipos de Paspalum apresentam variabilidade para massa seca total, massa seca de folhas e relação folha: colmo e na tolerância ao frio. É possível selecionar os híbridos 08Q01 e 08Q44 para novas etapas dentro de um programa de melhoramento de forrageiras. As estimativas de correlações fenotípicas podem auxiliar na seleção de genótipos com caracteres agronômicos superiores

Multivariate analysis reveals genetic diversity in Paspalum notatum Flügge

The objective of this study was to evaluate 94 Paspalum notatum genotypes over two growing seasons to estimate genetic dissimilarity through agronomic traits and the distance between genotypes. This information is used to create an ideotype from the best averages obtained for the set of characteristics evaluated. Seven apomitic, three sexual, and 81 hybrid genotypes were compared with native genotypes “André da Rocha”, “Bagual”, and cultivar “Pensacola” as controls. There is genetic variability in P. notatum for the studied characteristics, and distinct genotypes with superior characteristics can be used in new combinations between apomictic and sexual plants to obtain hybrids. The characters with the greatest relative contribution to the dissimilarity between the genotypes were tiller density, stem dry mass, and leaf dry mass yield. Thus, these characteristics are suitable criteria to infer genetic distance studies in P. notatum. The selection index based on the ideotype is an auxiliary tool in the breeding process. The ideotype must be based on characteristics of interest according to the objective of the breeding program, as well as on the breeder’s prior knowledge in relation to culture

Genetic variability of forage traits in Paspalum

The objective of this work was to determine the genetic variability and the expression of traits of interest for forage production in species of Paspalum. The experiments were carried out in different locations and crop years in randomized block design with three replicates. Five accessions of P. nicorae and two of P. guenoarum were evaluated, besides the cultivar Pensacola (P. notatum), used as a control. The following traits were determined: leaf/stalk ratio; harvest index; and total, leaf, and stalk dray matter. Both main effects (genotype, years, and locations) and the interactions among factors had significant influence on the evaluated traits. The evaluated accessions showed genetic variability in traits of interest for forage production, and their performance varied according to the location and year of cultivation. Total and leaf dry matter production are the traits that most contribute to the detection of the observed genetic variability, regardless of the year of evaluation.O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar a variabilidade genética e a expressão de caracteres de interesse forrageiro em espécies de Paspalum. Os experimentos foram conduzidos em diferentes locais e anos de cultivo, em delineamento de blocos ao acaso, com três repetições. Foram avaliados cinco acessos de P. nicorae e dois de P. guenoarum, além da cultivar Pensacola (P. notatum), utilizada como testemunha. Foram quantificados os seguintes caracteres: relação folha/colmo, índice de colheita e massa de matéria seca total, de folhas e de colmo. Tanto os efeitos principais (genótipos, anos e locais de cultivo) quanto a interação entre os fatores tiveram influência significativa sobre os caracteres avaliados. Os acessos avaliados apresentam variabilidade genética em caracteres de interesse forrageiro, bem como desempenho variável de acordo com o local e o ano de cultivo. A produção de matéria seca total e de folhas são os caracteres que mais contribuem para a detecção da variabilidade genética observada, independentemente do ano de avaliação

Morfologia macroscópica e morfometria do aparelho urogenital do macaco de cheiro (Saimiri sciureus Linnaeus, 1758)

Descrevem-se macroscopicamente o aparelho urogenital em quatro animais da espécie Saimiri sciureus, jovens, nascidos em cativeiro junto ao Centro Nacional de Primatas. A vulva delimitou-se pelos lábios vulvares, apresentando um clitóris bem desenvolvido com aspecto fálico. O vestíbulo vaginal é bastante curto, com espessa parede muscular, estendendo-se da rima da vulva até o óstio da vagina. A vagina vem logo na sequência do vestíbulo, sendo constituída por um tubo muscular com aspecto alongado e achatado dorsoventralmente, com paredes finas, estando disposta entre o vestíbulo vaginal e a cérvix, sendo esta última relativamente curta, porém, com musculatura bem desenvolvida. O útero é simples, com fundo globoso, estando localizado na porção caudal da cavidade abdominal. As tubas uterinas mostraram-se longas e retilíneas, ligando-se aos ovários, que são grandes e elipsóides, com superfície lisa