Crescimento e produtividade da batateira, em função do modo de aplicação do fertilizante e dos fungicidas contendo Zn

O presente trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar os efeitos do modo de aplicação do fertilizante contendo Zn e de fungicidas contendo ou não Zn sobre o crescimento, a produtividade e o conteúdo de nutrientes dos tubérculos de batata. O experimento foi conduzido na Horta Nova, da Universidade Federal de Viçosa, com a cultivar Monalisa, em solo Podzólico Vermelho - Amarelo Câmbico, contendo 6,9 mg dm-3 de Zn+2, extraído por Mehlich-1. O delineamento experimental foi o de blocos casualizados em parcelas subdivididas, com quatro repetições. Nas parcelas avaliou-se os efeitos da aplicação de fungicidas (contendo ou não Zn) e nas subparcelas o modo de aplicação do fertilizante contendo Zn (testemunha, Zn aplicado no solo, Zn pulverizado na parte aérea da planta e Zn no solo + parte aérea). O crescimento da planta, representado pelo comprimento e número de caules, peso da matéria seca da parte aérea e número de tubérculos, foi caraterizado aos 20 e 45 dias após a sua emergência. Após a senescência natural das plantas, os tubérculos foram colhidos, classificados e pesados. Em ambas as épocas de amostragens, os tratamentos não influenciaram o crescimento da batateira. A produtividade de tubérculos comerciais (44,2 t/ha) foi maior na parcela em que as plantas foram pulverizadas com fungicidas contendo zinco e não foi influenciada pelo modo de fertilização. Os tratamentos não apresentaram efeito sobre os conteúdos de P, Ca, Mg, Cu e Fe nos tubérculos; porém, os conteúdos de Mn e Zn foram maiores quando as plantas foram pulverizadas com fungicidas contendo Zn.The objective of the experiment was to evaluate the effects of Zn fertilizer application methods and fungicides with or without Zn on potato plant growth, tuber yield and nutrient contents. The experiment was installed in the Horta Nova of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa with the Monalisa cultivar on a cambic Red-yellow Podzolic, containing 6.9 mg dm-3 of Zn extracted by Mehlich-1. The experiment was carried out in a randomized block with four replications in a split plot design. The fungicide spray programs (with or without Zn) were done in the main plots and the zinc fertilizer application methods (control, Zn in the soil, Zn sprayed on the plant shoots and Zn in soil + shoots) were in the split plots. Plant growth (stem lengths and numbers, shoot dry matter and tuber numbers) was characterized at 20 and 45 days after plant emergence. Following natural senescence, tubers were harvested, graded and weighted. At both sampling dates, plant growth was not affected by the treatments. Commercial tuber yield (44.2 t/ha) was higher in the plots receiving fungicides containing Zn and it was not affected by zinc fertilizer application methods. The treatments did not affect the P, Ca, Mg, Cu and Fe contents in the tubers but Mn and Zn contents were higher when plants were sprayed with Zn fungicides

Biochemical changes throughout grape berry development and fruit and wine quality

Wine is made up of more than one thousand compounds, the majority of which, such as vitamins and minerals, come from the grapes, while others, like ethanol and glycerol, are products of the winemaking process. Although sugars are either partially or completely transformed, sugar import and accumulation into the ripening berry is a major parameter of wine quality. Sugar status is directly related to the final alcoholic content of wine, and regulates several genes responsible for the development of its aromatic and organoleptic properties. Physiological ripeness is reached when the grapes achieve sufficiently high sugar levels without loosing too much acidity; however, aromatic and phenolic compound content must also be taken into account. Softening and water content are other essential characteristics of a ripe berry. From a winemaker point of view, optimal grape maturity is essential for wine quality, but is difficult to assess because it is under multifactorial control, involving grapevine cultivar variety and environmental parameters such as soil, temperature, exposure to sun, and hormonal regulation. Continued study of the key control points in grape ripening is crucial if we ultimately hope to improve grape and wine quality.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)(research project ref. POCI/AGR/56378/2004; to C.C., grant ref. SFRH/BD/10689/2002, to P.S. grant ref. SFRH/BD/13460/2003, to N.F. grant ref. SFRH/BD/23169/2005, and to A.A., grant ref. SFRH/PBD/17166/2004

Monitoring ten insect pests in selected orchards in three Azorean Islands : The project CUARENTAGRI

BACKGROUND: The data we present are part of the CUARENTAGRI project, which involves all archipelagos of the Macaronesia (Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands and Cabo Verde). The project aims to: i) identify and evaluate the risks associated with the introduction of new arthropod pests; ii) study the population dynamics of selected arthropod pest species currently responsible for the damage of key target crops and iii) develop monitoring systems, based on prediction and/or population dynamics of the crop pests, creating warnings and a phytosanitary prevention system. In this contribution, we compile data for three Azorean Islands (Terceira, São Jorge and São Miguel Islands), where pheromone-baited traps were placed in pastures, potato fields and several orchards’ types (apples, banana, chestnuts, olives, orange and strawberry), during three consecutive years (2020, 2021 and 2022). NEW INFORMATION: A total of 114,827 specimens of insects (Arthropoda, Insecta) were collected, belonging to four orders, six families and ten recorded pest species. A total of eight species are considered introduced (Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar, 1824), Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931), Bactrocera oleae (Rossi, 1790), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann, 1824), Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller, 1873), Cydia pomonella (Linnaeus, 1758), Cydia splendana (Hübner, 1799) and Grapholita molesta (Busck, 1916); n = 84,986 specimens) and two native non-endemic (Mythimna unipuncta (Haworth, 1809) and Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval, 1833); n = 17,465 specimens). This study intended to contribute to a better knowledge of the arthropods pests that can affect the Azorean crops and will serve as a baseline for future monitoring actions, pest risk assessments and prevention systems.This work was financed under the project CUARENTAGRI by Cooperation Programs INTERREG V A (Spain-Portugal) and MAC 2014-2020. Darwin Core Database management was funded by the Project project FCT-UIDB/00329/2020-2024 (Thematic Line 1 – integrated ecological assessment of environmental change on biodiversity) and Portal da Biodiversidade dos Açores (2022-2023) - PO Azores Project - M1.1.A/INFRAEST CIENT/001/2022. Lucas Lamelas-Lopez was supported by the Project FCT-UIDP/00329/2020-2023.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Regulated Nuclear Trafficking of rpL10A Mediated by NIK1 Represents a Defense Strategy of Plant Cells against Virus

The NSP-interacting kinase (NIK) receptor-mediated defense pathway has been identified recently as a virulence target of the geminivirus nuclear shuttle protein (NSP). However, the NIK1–NSP interaction does not fit into the elicitor–receptor model of resistance, and hence the molecular mechanism that links this antiviral response to receptor activation remains obscure. Here, we identified a ribosomal protein, rpL10A, as a specific partner and substrate of NIK1 that functions as an immediate downstream effector of NIK1-mediated response. Phosphorylation of cytosolic rpL10A by NIK1 redirects the protein to the nucleus where it may act to modulate viral infection. While ectopic expression of normal NIK1 or a hyperactive NIK1 mutant promotes the accumulation of phosphorylated rpL10A within the nuclei, an inactive NIK1 mutant fails to redirect the protein to the nuclei of co-transfected cells. Likewise, a mutant rpL10A defective for NIK1 phosphorylation is not redirected to the nucleus. Furthermore, loss of rpL10A function enhances susceptibility to geminivirus infection, resembling the phenotype of nik1 null alleles. We also provide evidence that geminivirus infection directly interferes with NIK1-mediated nuclear relocalization of rpL10A as a counterdefensive measure. However, the NIK1-mediated defense signaling neither activates RNA silencing nor promotes a hypersensitive response but inhibits plant growth and development. Although the virulence function of the particular geminivirus NSP studied here overcomes this layer of defense in Arabidopsis, the NIK1-mediated signaling response may be involved in restricting the host range of other viruses

The potential of metering roundabouts: influence in transportation externalities

Roundabouts are increasingly being used on busy arterial streets for traffic calming purposes. However, if one roundabout leg is near a distribution hub, e.g. parking areas of shopping centers, the entry traffic volumes will be particularly high in peak hours. This paper investigated a partial-metering based strategy to reduce traffic-related costs in a corridor. Specifically, the resulting traffic performance, energy, environmental and exposure impacts associated with access roundabouts were studied in an urban commercial area, namely: a) to characterize corridor operations in terms of link-specific travel time, fuel consumption, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions, and noise costs; b) to propose an optimization model to minimize above outputs; and c) to demonstrate the model applicability under different traffic demand and directional splits combinations. Traffic, noise and vehicle dynamics data were collected from a corridor with roundabouts and signalized intersections near a commercial area of Guimarães, Portugal. Microscopic traffic and emission modeling platforms were used to model traffic operations and estimate pollutant emissions, respectively. Traffic noise was estimated with a semi-dynamical model. Link-based cost functions were developed based on the integrated modeling structure. Lastly, a Sequential quadratic programming type approach was applied to find optimal timing settings. The benefit of the partial-metering system, in terms of costs, could be up to 13% with observed traffic volumes. The efficiency of the proposed system increased as entering traffic at the metered approaches increased (~7% less costs). The findings let one to quantify metering benefits near shopping areas

EMPREGO DE IMAGENS IKONOS E DE UM MODELO DIGITAL DE TERRENO NA DETECÇÃO DE ÁREAS DE INFRAÇÃO DO CÓDIGO FLORESTAL

The Ariranha basin is located in the west of Santa Catarina state being one of the most important regions in the swine production. Due to the intense land use, great part of the natural vegetation areas was deforested. The present work has aim to evaluate the degradation in the permanent preserved areas located in the buffer body water and steep slope areas in order to subsidy activities of forest recovery. The methodology consists of the four steps: a) Digital Elevation Model (DEM), b)digital processing of high spatial resolution IKONOS images; c) visual interpretation vegetation areas and d) comparison with the determination established for the environmental laws. The buffer areas referring to the body water and headwater were defined according to forest government laws. Thus, polygons were created along of the body water, the headwaters of the perennial and seasonal streams and also around the lakes, lagoons and dams. The preserved areas were overlapped with the IKONOS image interpretation. The results attest that there is a significant degradation of the vegetation margin river channelA bacia do rio Ariranha situa-se no Oeste Catarinense sendo uma das regiões mais importantes na produção de suínos. Em virtude do intenso uso das terras para cultivos anuais, grande parte das áreas de vegetação natural foi desmatada. O presente trabalho possui como objetivo avaliar a degradação nas áreas de preservação permanente nas margens dos corpos d’água e nas áreas de declividade acentuada, para subsidiar atividades de recomposição florestal. A metodologia adotada baseia-se em quatro etapas: a) elaboração do Modelo Digital de Terreno (MDT), b) processamento digital de imagens de alta resolução espacial IKONOS; c) interpretação visual das áreas de vegetação; e, d) comparação com as determinações estabelecidas pelas leis ambientais. As áreas referentes às faixas marginais dos cursos d’água e das áreas de proteção de nascentes foram delimitadas de acordo com as larguras estipuladas pelo Código Florestal. Foram delimitadas as áreas destinadas a preservação e contrastadas com a vegetação remanescente, mapeadas a partir da interpretação das imagens IKONOS. Pode-se constatar em partes da bacia um forte comprometimento das áreas de preservação permanente