Competitive interaction between guava and weeds: Effect on initial growth

Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is one of the 50 most consumed fruits in the world. However, weed competition compromises fruit production in cultivation areas. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the competitive interaction between guava plants and common infesting species on initial growth. Guava seedlings were cultivated during 60 days with Bidens subalternans DC., Waltheria indica L. or Commelina benghalensis L. in a randomized block design with four replicates. The experiment was conducted under greenhouse condition from February to May 2017 in Mossoró city, Brazil. The following variables were analysed: number of leaves; shoot and root length; stem diameter; root, stem, shoot and total dry mass; and leaf area. As a result, only guava plants suffered negative effects on growth due to the competition. W. indica and C. benghalensis were the most competitive species, reducing the number of leaves, leaf area and total dry matter of guava plants. However, guava and W. indica produced more root biomass when in competition. In contrast, B. subalternans and C. benghalensis was not affected by the presence of guava. In conclusion, competition with W. indica or C. benghalensis reduces the growth of guava after transplanting

Production of Formosa papaya seedlings irrigated with wastewater and application of biostimulant

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is one of the leading fruit trees in Brazil, mainly in the Northeast region. However, some regions suffer from water scarcity, making wastewater reuse a viable alternative for crop production. Also, biostimulants may be used to maximize papaya growth and development. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the use of Acadian® biostimulant in the growth of Formosa papaya seedlings irrigated with different concentrations of fish-farming wastewater. The experiment was block randomized in a 2 x 5 factorial scheme, use and non-use of biostimulant and five concentrations of wastewater (0, 10, 20, 30, and 40%) diluted in potable water, with four replicates. Qualitative data were compared by t-test at 5% probability, and quantitative data were submitted to regression analysis. Results showed that high concentrations of wastewater negatively affect the production of Formosa papaya seedlings. Acadian® negatively influences plant height, number of leaves, and the ratio between shoot and root. However, the seaweed biostimulant positively influenced the chlorophyll content index.Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is one of the leading fruit trees in Brazil, mainly in the Northeast region. However, some regions suffer from water scarcity, making wastewater reuse a viable alternative for crop production. Also, biostimulants may be used to maximize papaya growth and development. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the use of Acadian® biostimulant in the growth of Formosa papaya seedlings irrigated with different concentrations of fish-farming wastewater. The experiment was block randomized in a 2 x 5 factorial scheme, use and non-use of biostimulant and five concentrations of wastewater (0, 10, 20, 30, and 40%) diluted in potable water, with four replicates. Qualitative data were compared by t-test at 5% probability, and quantitative data were submitted to regression analysis. Results showed that high concentrations of wastewater negatively affect the production of Formosa papaya seedlings. Acadian® negatively influences plant height, number of leaves, and the ratio between shoot and root. However, the seaweed biostimulant positively influenced the chlorophyll content index

Organic Fertilization in ‘Pérola’ Pineapple Increases Fruit Production and Physical and Chemical Characteristics

Pineapple is the third most cultivated tropical fruit in the world. However, few studies have focused on the cultivationusing organic fertilization, especially in semiarid regions. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate growth, production andphysicochemical traits of pineapple fruits produced under organic fertilization in the semiarid. The experiment wascarried out at the didactic orchard of Federal Rural University of Semiarid, Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Fourfertilization treatments were studied (chemical fertilizer, cattle manure, goat manure, poultry litter). At 18 monthsafter planting, plant growth, physicochemical traits of fruits, and productivity were evaluated. Results showed thatorganic fertilization with poultry litter provides best results for physicochemical traits of fruits and productivity of ‘Pérola’pineapple. Organic fertilization with poultry litter is most promising for plant growth, physicochemical traits of fruits, andproductivity in ‘Pérola’ pineapple, therefore, the most suitable for cultivation in the semiarid region. The fruit firmness,central cylinder weight, and ratio SS/TA showed best values under chemical and goat manure fertilization.Pineapple is the third most cultivated tropical fruit in the world. However, few studies have focused on the cultivationusing organic fertilization, especially in semiarid regions. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate growth, production andphysicochemical traits of pineapple fruits produced under organic fertilization in the semiarid. The experiment wascarried out at the didactic orchard of Federal Rural University of Semiarid, Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Fourfertilization treatments were studied (chemical fertilizer, cattle manure, goat manure, poultry litter). At 18 monthsafter planting, plant growth, physicochemical traits of fruits, and productivity were evaluated. Results showed thatorganic fertilization with poultry litter provides best results for physicochemical traits of fruits and productivity of ‘Pérola’pineapple. Organic fertilization with poultry litter is most promising for plant growth, physicochemical traits of fruits, andproductivity in ‘Pérola’ pineapple, therefore, the most suitable for cultivation in the semiarid region. The fruit firmness,central cylinder weight, and ratio SS/TA showed best values under chemical and goat manure fertilization

Production and physicochemical characterization of genotypes of Eugenia uniflora L.

Pitanga (Eugenia uniflora L.) is an exotic fruit species of significant economic importance. However, due to genetic variability, its exploitation is hampered by the lack of homogeneous fruit production. In this scenario, this study aimed to select pitanga genotypes according to the physical and physicochemical parameters of fruits grown under semi-arid conditions. The study was developed at the Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid Region with genotypes resulting from the open pollination of the pitanga variety ‘Tropicana”. Thirty-nine pitanga genotypes were evaluated for fruit mass, fruit length, fruit diameter, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA), ascorbic acid (AA), pH, and SS/TA ratio. The pitanga genotypes showed high variability. The clustering method separated the genotypes according to desirable traits. Genotype A12 showed the largest fruit sizes, whereas genotype A8 showed the highest SS and TA contents. Genotypes A2, A13, A34, and A39 showed fruits with the highest AT values. On the other hand, genotypes A11, A16, A45, A9, A26, and A44 showed the most significant contents of pH and SS/TA. Highlights The grouping of two genotypes depends on the environmental conditions, mainly on the effect of two genotypes per year. The analysis of principal components allows selecting the genotypes based on their desired characteristics. The physical and chemical composition of two pitanga fruits are affected by climatic conditions, genotypes and years of cultivation.Pitanga (Eugenia uniflora L.) is an exotic fruit species of significant economic importance. However, due to genetic variability, its exploitation is hampered by the lack of homogeneous fruit production. In this scenario, this study aimed to select pitanga genotypes according to the physical and physicochemical parameters of fruits grown under semi-arid conditions. The study was developed at the Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid Region with genotypes resulting from the open pollination of the pitanga variety ‘Tropicana”. Thirty-nine pitanga genotypes were evaluated for fruit mass, fruit length, fruit diameter, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA), ascorbic acid (AA), pH, and SS/TA ratio. The pitanga genotypes showed high variability. The clustering method separated the genotypes according to desirable traits. Genotype A12 showed the largest fruit sizes, whereas genotype A8 showed the highest SS and TA contents. Genotypes A2, A13, A34, and A39 showed fruits with the highest AT values. On the other hand, genotypes A11, A16, A45, A9, A26, and A44 showed the most significant contents of pH and SS/TA. Highlights The grouping of two genotypes depends on the environmental conditions, mainly on the effect of two genotypes per year. The analysis of principal components allows selecting the genotypes based on their desired characteristics. The physical and chemical composition of two pitanga fruits are affected by climatic conditions, genotypes and years of cultivation

Alocação de fitomassa e de água em mudas de espécie florestal da Caatinga submetida ao estresse hídrico

A A falta de água pode, em casos leves, afetar o crescimento da planta e reduzir a sua produtividade e, em casos extremos, ocorrer morte. A presente pesquisa objetivou averiguar a produção de fitomassa e teor de água nas plantas de espécies florestal submetida a estresse hídrico. A metodologia aplicada para produção das mudas foi a proporção de 2:1 (solo: Esterco caprino), 5 diferentes níveis de irrigação, com análises aos 60 e 120 dias após a semeadura. Foram utilizadas sementes de Sabiá (Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth), a água utilizada na irrigação proveniente da CAGEPA. Dos resultados, verifica-se que aos 60 dias foram estatisticamente significativos a 5% para a variável fitomassa fresca da parte aérea e, aos 120 dias, a nível de 1% para a fitomassa fresca e seca da parte aérea, da raiz e total. Com melhores resultados aplicando-se lâminas de água a 60 e 80% e diminuições ao aplicar 100%, assim, dos 60 aos 120 dias, recomenda-se aplicar 80% da necessidade hídrica da planta, período que requer maiores quantidades de água para o incremento de fotoassimilados da parte aérea da planta. Concluiu-se que a redução da disponibilidade hídrica afetou diretamente na quantidade de fitomassa produzida pelas espécies florestais

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

ATLANTIC EPIPHYTES: a data set of vascular and non-vascular epiphyte plants and lichens from the Atlantic Forest

Epiphytes are hyper-diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non-vascular plants (including hemiepiphytes), and lichen epiphyte species occurrence and abundance; (2) describe the epiphyte distribution in the Atlantic Forest, in order to indicate future sampling efforts. Our work presents the first epiphyte data set with information on abundance and occurrence of epiphyte phorophyte species. All data compiled here come from three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer-reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data. We compiled a data set composed of 2,095 species, from 89,270 holo/hemiepiphyte records, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018. Most of the records were from qualitative data (occurrence only, 88%), well distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest. For quantitative records, the most common sampling method was individual trees (71%), followed by plot sampling (19%), and transect sampling (10%). Angiosperms (81%) were the most frequently registered group, and Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the families with the greatest number of records (27,272 and 21,945, respectively). Ferns and Lycophytes presented fewer records than Angiosperms, and Polypodiaceae were the most recorded family, and more concentrated in the Southern and Southeastern regions. Data on non-vascular plants and lichens were scarce, with a few disjunct records concentrated in the Northeastern region of the Atlantic Forest. For all non-vascular plant records, Lejeuneaceae, a family of liverworts, was the most recorded family. We hope that our effort to organize scattered epiphyte data help advance the knowledge of epiphyte ecology, as well as our understanding of macroecological and biogeographical patterns in the Atlantic Forest. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Ecology Data Paper if the data are used in publication and teaching events. © 2019 The Authors. Ecology © 2019 The Ecological Society of Americ

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost