Inactivation of plant-pathogenic fungus Colletotrichum acutatum with natural plant-produced photosensitizers under solar radiation.

The increasing tolerance to currently used fungicides and the need for environmentally friendly antimicrobial approaches have stimulated the development of novel strategies to control plant-pathogenic fungi such as antimicrobial phototreatment (APT). We investigated the in vitro APT of the plant-pathogenic fungus Colletotrichum acutatum with furocoumarins and coumarins and solar radiation. The compounds used were: furocoumarins 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) and 5,8-dimethoxypsoralen (isopimpinellin), coumarins 2H-chromen-2-one (coumarin), 7-hydroxycoumarin, 5,7-dimethoxycoumarin (citropten) and a mixture (3:1) of 7-methoxycoumarin and 5,7-dimethoxycoumarin. APT of conidia with crude extracts from 'Tahiti' acid lime, red and white grapefruit were also performed. Pure compounds were tested at 50μM concentration and mixtures and extracts at 12.5mgL(-1). The C. acutatum conidia suspension with or without the compounds was exposed to solar radiation for 1h. In addition, the effects of APT on the leaves of the plant host Citrus sinensis were determined. APT with 8-MOP was the most effective treatment, killing 100% of the conidia followed by the mixture of two coumarins and isopimpinellin that killed 99% and 64% of the conidia, respectively. APT with the extracts killed from 20% to 70% of the conidia, and the extract from 'Tahiti' lime was the most effective. No damage to sweet orange leaves was observed after APT with any of the compounds or extracts

Shedding light on zooplankton diversity from the Congo River Basin

peer reviewedThe Congo River Basin is the second largest in the world, and its plankton biota remains completely unknown. We studied the zooplankton diversity across 1700 km of the main channel (from the cities of Kisangani to Kinshasa) and subsequently in the mouths of the 25 largest tributaries during 2013 (N=39), and across 500 km of Kasai-Kwa River and tributaries in 2015 (N=25). We recorded 135 zooplankton species (26 for Testate Amoebae, 56 for Rotifera, 27 for Cladocera and 26 for Copepoda). At least five cladoceran and four copepod species are new. A non-metric multidimensional statistical analysis with Bray Curtis dissimilarity revealed that the zooplankton composition within Congo main channel was more similar than within the mouths of several tributaries and the Kasai-Kwa River basin. In the later, the tributaries were distinct from each other and from the main channel of Kasai River. A distance-based redundancy analysis using Bray-Curtis dissimilarity on abundance data revealed two main groups of species and limnological variables, one comprising sites with high total suspended matter, conductivity, chlorophyll, phytoplanktonabundance (white water rivers), and other with sites with high transparency and dissolved organic carbon concentration (black water rivers). Zooplankton diversity was uniform in the Congo main channel and in the Kasai-Kwa River, with low difference among sites. There was also a distinct third group, unrelated to variables. This study reveals a high diverse zooplankton community in the Congo basin, with new species and distinct community between the studied rivers, but homogeneous along each one

Avaliação da qualidade pós-colheita e conservação de cebolinhas submetidas ao hidroresfriamento

Spring onions are part of the Alliaceae family and is one of the most used and traded vegetables in the world, with an essentially seasoning nature. However, they present high perishability and susceptibility to water loss, which reduces the useful life of the product, both on shelves (benefit for the producer) and in refrigerators (benefit for the consumer). The hydrocooling method, which consists of the immersion of the product in a mixture of water and ice, is a good alternative for field heat removal and favouring the humidity of vegetable products, besides being associated to its sanitation process. Considering what has been said, this paper aimed to check the efficiency and the effects of hydrocooling on the post-harvest quality and conservation of spring onions, through analyses of quality parameters such as fresh mass loss, total soluble solids (TSS), pH, total titratable acidity (TTA), chlorophyll index, TSS/TTA ratio, respiration, darkening index, and biospeckle through the moment of inertia method, aiming to determine the best hydrocooling application time at 5 ºC. Hydrocooling showed efficient, mainly on the mass loss control and on the commercial visual aspects, with 10 minutes as the most indicated application timeA cebolinha pertencente à família das aliáceas (Alliaceae) é uma das hortaliças mais utilizadas e comercializadas do mundo, com carácter essencialmente condimentar. Entretanto, apresenta alta perecibilidade e suscetibilidade à perda de água, o que ocasiona redução da vida útil do produto, fazendo-se necessário o uso de técnicas de pós-colheita, com o intuito de diminuir a atividade metabólica e prolongar a vida útil do mesmo, tanto na prateleira (benefício ao produtor) como na geladeira (benefício ao consumidor). O método do hidroresfriamento que consiste na imersão do produto em uma mistura de água e gelo, se apresenta como uma boa alternativa para retirada do calor de campo e favorecimento da umidade dos produtos hortícolas, além de poder ser associado com o processo de sanitização dos mesmos. Diante do exposto, o presente trabalho teve por objetivo verificar a eficiência e os efeitos do hidroresfriamento na qualidade e conservação pós-colheita da cebolinha, através das análises de parâmetros de qualidade como perda de massa fresca, sólidos solúveis totais (SST), pH, acidez total titulável (ATT), índice de clorofila, relação SST/ATT, respiração, índice de escurecimento e biospeckle pelo método do momento de inércia, visando determinar o melhor tempo de aplicação do hidroresfriamento a 5 ºC. O hidroresfriamento se mostrou eficiente, principalmente, no controle de perda de massa e nos aspectos visuais comerciais, sendo o tempo mais indicado de aplicação o de 10 minuto

A drone-borne multiband DInSAR: results and applications

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has become a powerful remote sensing tool during the last 25 years. Most relevant products are three dimensional and projected on a cartographic system: topographic, thematic and change-detection maps. Starting with the requirements of precision agriculture, subsurface tomography, subsidence and cartography a low weight drone-borne SAR was designed. It operates in P, L and C-bands with cross-track (InSAR) and differential Interferometry (DInSAR). The requirements of the foreseen applications, concept, design, results and validation from regular surveys and ground truths are presented.CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPSem informaçãoSem informação2017/19416-3; 2018/00601-8IEEE Radar Conference2019-04-22Boston, M

Sugarcane ethanol and beef cattle integration in Brazil

New models for renewable energy production are needed to simultaneously decrease greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, use land more efficiently and replace large amounts of fossil fuel. Ethanol production and livestock feed integration as practiced in the United States (USA) is one model for ethanol production combined with animal feed production. Brazil, the second largest ethanol and beef cattle producer in the world, can adapt the USA model of corn ethanol and cattle integration considering its local characteristics. This paper evaluates the techno-economic and environmental feasibility of sugarcane ethanol and cattle integration, thereby avoiding pasture displacement into forests or other sensitive lands. Cattle can be fattened in feedlots using some sugarcane ethanol byproducts. Intensification of cattle production by integration with sugarcane production releases pasture area to produce more biofuels, without needing more land for cattle production. The release of pasture land to produce more sugarcane results in what we call "avoided ILUC", the resultant reduced GHG emissions compared to conventional sugarcane ethanol, because no additional land is needed to accommodate an additional sugarcane ethanol production. Simulations were performed using the Virtual Sugarcane Biorefinery (VSB) model developed by the Brazilian Bioethanol Science and Technology Laboratory (CTBE). We calculated as economic parameters the internal rate of return (IRR), net present value (NPV) and payback time. Climate impacts were assessed via Life Cycle Assessment. Sugarcane and cattle integration decreases overall climate impacts compared to non-integrated systems. Techno-economic feasibility is achieved by additional land rental revenues for released pasture area and by carbon credits120448457CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal e Nível SuperiorFAPESP – Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa Do Estado De São Paulonão temnão temWe are grateful to Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel - CAPES for the master scholarship to the first author; to Brazilian Bioethanol Science and Technology Laboratory – CTBE for the use of the Virtual Sugarcane Biorefinery (VSB) Facility; to Regina Margarido, Zootechnist from Vale do Rosário Mill, and to Antony Hilgrove Monti Sewell from Boviplan Consultoria Agropecuária; to Professor Galen Erickson from University of Nebraska – Lincoln and to Professor Daniel Loy from Iowa State University, USA; and finally to FAPESP for funding the technical visit to the University of Nebraska and Iowa State University. Professor Bruce Dale gratefully acknowledges support from the Michigan State University AgBioResearch office and also the USDA National Institute of Food and Agricultur