Comparative agroenvironmental risks of pesticides in different cropping systems: application of the I-Phy indicator

The green revolution laid the foundations of modern agriculture, by using science and technology to produce more from same resources. The pesticides contributed to agricultural output in the last decades; however, their use has resulted in environmental pollution, health problems, soil and water contamination and negative impact on biota. The impacts of agricultural activities to the environment depended on the practices adopted during the production process. Measurement tools to assess the impacts of those practices are necessary to improve agricultural systems and must be evaluated in different ecosystems. Different soils, climates and crops impose many phytosanitary arrangements. This complex network and the fact that most of the indicators and measurement tools are developed for temperate climates makes it difficult to quantify the environmental impacts under subtropical regions. The I-Phy index is a predictive indicator that assesses the risks of pesticide usage in agriculture and identifies as to which practices generate the main environmental impacts of pesticides. The objective of this study was to test the suitability of the I-Phy index for subtropical conditions and, if suitable, compare the pesticide risk between two regions. Five crops were assessed under three different cropping systems: no-tillage, minimal tillage and conventional tillage. The I-Phy index was sensitive in both regions and capable of identifying that no-tillage generally presented risks of environmental pollution slightly lower than the other tillage systems. The results of I-Phy index showed that high environmental vulnerability of the fields and the numerous applications of active ingredients with high risks resulted in high risks of general contamination. The application of I-Phy on these two case studies showed the indicator can be useful as a support tool to farmers, research and extension institutions pursuing management practices with lower impact on the environment

Production of soil-based arbuscular mycorrhiza fungal inoculants : the effect of physical factors

International audienc

Production of soil-based arbuscular mycorrhiza fungal inoculants : the effect of physical factors

International audienc

The state of art of mycorrhizas and micropagation

International audienc

Micorrizaçao de plantas micropropagadas

72 ref.International audienc

Enhanced growth of wild cherry using micropropagated plants and mycorrhizal inoculation

Mycorrhizal inoculation is a promising, sustainable technique to enhance plant growth. We evaluated the effects of mycorrhizal inoculation and of the use of two substrates, soil and peat, on the growth of wild cherry, Prunus avium L., on the weaning and post-weaning. After weaning, plants were grown for 13 weeks in a greenhouse on either 40% soil or 40% peat at two levels of fertiliser: 2 or 4 g m–3 of a 16:9:12 slow-release fertiliser. They were subsequently kept for a further 120 days in a frost-free greenhouse before outplanting to the field. The results show that enhanced plant growth after seven months in the field was associated with increased peat and fertiliser levels in the substrates during the post-weaning growth phase, and with prior mycorrhizal inoculation by a G. deserticola isolate, which compensated for less favourable substrate conditions. Plants inoculated with G. intraradices had more branches positioned in the lower half of the stem, while plants inoculated with G. deserticola had more branches in the upper half of the stem