Effect of fig tree borer injury on fruit production and population dynamic of adults

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito dos danos causados por Azochis gripusalis Walker, 1859 (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) na produção da figueira (Ficus carica L.) e o efeito de fatores climáticos sobre a flutuação populacional dos adultos no Estado de Minas Gerais. Quarenta plantas foram utilizadas para determinar o nível de dano, coletando-se os adultos semanalmente com armadilha luminosa. O aumento na porcentagem de ramos broqueados afetou o peso e o número de frutos produzidos. A redução na produção e a necessidade de controle fitossanitário ocorrem aos 10% e aos 40% de dano, respectivamente. A maior ocorrência da praga foi entre 19 de dezembro e 15 de maio. A temperatura foi o fator de maior influência no aumento populacional.The objective of this work was to evaluate the injury of Azochis gripusalis Walker, 1859 (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) on fig production (Ficus carica L.) and the effect of climatic factors on the occurrence and population fluctuation of the pest in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Forty fig plants were used to determine the injury level and adult pests were collected weekly by a light trap. The increase of damaged branches affected the weight and the number of fruits produced. The yield reduction and the need for control were at 10% and 40% of pest injury, respectively. The highest occurrence of the pest was registered from December 19 to May 15. Temperature was the most important climatic factor to population fluctuation

Nutrient omission on growth and leaf contents of blackberry

Cultivation of blackberry has gradually expanded in Brazil, due to their rusticity and low production cost; thus, it stands out as an excellent option for product diversification. There is a need to improve technical information on the management of this crop, especially mineral nutrition. Knowledge of the visual symptoms of nutritional deficiency and foliar contents of the nutrients allows helps farmers to choose the most adequate fertilization for plants. This study aimed at evaluating nutritional aspects and effects of nutrient omission on the growth of BRS Xingu blackberry. Treatments consisted of complete solutions and individual omission of the following nutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (C), magnesium (Mg), boron (B), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe). The following variables were evaluated: leaf dry matter, root dry matter, total dry mass, macro- and micronutrients contents in leaves and visual symptoms of nutrient deficiency. Macronutrient and B deficiencies limit growth of blackberry. B omission led to the highest decrease in plant growth, besides leaf wrinkling, a fact that shows that BRS Xingu is susceptible to its deficiency. Correlation was found between N and Ca, N and P and B and Ca leaf contents. Low leaf contents of N, K, Ca and B were observed when these nutrients were omitted from the solution. &nbsp

Time and technique of green pruning 'Charme' peaches to obtain quality fruits

One of the management techniques that aim to improve the quality of the fruits is green pruning, which main purpose is to increase the penetration of light in the crown, favoring pigmentation, thus improving the flavor of the fruits. However, it is not always done, since it requires labor. The objective of this work was to evaluate the time and the way of Management green pruning, as well as the practice of thinning associated with it in order to obtain high quality peaches from the ‘Charme’ cultivar. The work was carried out in a commercial orchard in the Dois Vizinhos (PR) municipality, in three productive cycles. A completely randomized design was used, a 3 x 3 bifactorial scheme (green pruning time x green pruning management technique), with 4 replications of two plants per experimental unit. The times of green pruning or bending were in the third, fourth and fifth weeks before harvest. The techniques were first to remove vertical branches facing the center of the canopy and in the base of the tree with reference to broken and poorly ones and, the second the belding of these. The productive capacity and the physicochemical characteristics of the fruits were evaluated in three productive cycles. The quality of the ‘Charme’ peach only presented improvements with the green pruning from the third year of its realization

Raleio mecânico de frutos e flores em pessegueiros

Techniques that improve process efficiency are important to reduce the operational cost of orchards. Two mechanical devices were tested to verify the efficiency of peach tree thinning and the influence on fruit production and quality characteristics. The experiment was conducted using the Maciel cultivar in a commercial orchard in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The treatments consisted of mechanical flower blossom thinning using the Carpa ElectroTM and “trimming” equipment; mechanical fruit thinning using the “trimming” equipment; and manual fruit thinning. The mechanical thinning associated with manual thinning of peach trees may be a viable alternative to manual thinning since it reduces the execution time. Both equipment can be used for mechanical thinning since they didn't change the production per plant, number of fruits per plant, fruit mass, fruit diameter, physicochemical characteristics, and bioactive compounds of the fruits.Técnicas que melhorem a eficiência do processo e reduzam o custo de operação são importantes ferramentas na redução dos custos. Dois dispositivos mecânicos foram utilizados para testar a eficiência no raleio de frutos e flores em pessegueiros e a influencia nas características produtivas e qualitativas dos frutos. O estudo foi realizado na cultivar Maciel em pomar comercial no município de Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Os tratamentos foram: raleio mecânico de flores com o equipamento Carpa Electro® e “derriçadeira”, raleio mecânico de frutos com o equipamento “derriçadeira” e raleio manual de frutos. O raleio mecânico associado ao repasse manual em pessegueiros pode ser uma alternativa viável ao raleio manual, pois reduz o tempo de execução desta prática. Os dois equipamentos podem ser utilizados para o raleio mecânico, pois não alteraram a produção por planta, o número de frutos por planta, a massa dos frutos, diâmetro dos frutos, as características físico-químicas e os compostos bioativos dos frutos

Adubação potássica na qualidade de frutos de pessegueiro

For peach trees produced in southern Brazil, information about the influence of potassium fertilization on fruit quality remains scarce. This study set out to determine the physicochemical properties and bioactive compounds of peaches treated with different doses of potassium applied to the soil for three consecutive crop years. The experiment examined the Sensação cultivar in a commercial orchard in the municipality of Morro Redondo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, during the 2016, 2017, and 2018 crop years. Peach trees of the Sensação cultivar were fertilized with potassium (K); doses of 0, 40, 80, 120, and 160 kg ha-1 of K2O in the form of potassium chloride were applied to the soil surface. After harvest, an assessment was made of the soluble solids (SS) content, titratable acid (TA) content, SS/TA ratio, pH levels, flesh color, skin and flesh firmness, total carotenoid content, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity. The peaches’ skin firmness, SS/TA ratio, and concentration of carotenoids responded to potassium fertilization, but only in some production cycles. Their color, flesh firmness, soluble solids, juice pH levels, total phenols, and antioxidant activity did not change with the application of potassium in the soil.Para pessegueiros produzidos na região sul do Brasil ainda são escassas as informações sobre a influência da adubação potássica sobre a qualidade dos frutos. Deste modo, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar os atributos físico-químicos e compostos bioativos dos frutos de pessegueiros submetidos a diferentes doses de potássio aplicadas no solo por três safras consecutivas. O experimento foi realizado estudando a cultivar Sensação em um pomar comercial no município de Morro Redondo, RS – Brasil, durante as safras de 2016, 2017 e 2018. Os pessegueiros da cultivar Sensação foram adubados com potássio (K) nas doses de 0, 40, 80, 120 e 160 kg ha-1 de K2O na forma de cloreto de potássio, aplicadas na superfície do solo. Após a colheita foram determinados os teores de sólidos solúveis (SS), acidez titulável (AT), relação SS/AT, pH, coloração da polpa, firmeza da epiderme e da polpa, teor de carotenoides totais, compostos fenólicos totais e atividade antioxidante. A firmeza da epiderme, a relação SS/AT e a concentração de carotenoides dos pêssegos responderam à adubação potássica, mas apenas em alguns ciclos de produção. Os parâmetros de coloração, firmeza da polpa, sólidos solúveis, pH do suco, fenóis totais e atividade antioxidante dos pêssegos não alteraram em decorrência da aplicação de potássio ao solo

Nosocomial Bloodstream Infections in Brazilian Pediatric Patients: Microbiology, Epidemiology, and Clinical Features

Background: Nosocomial bloodstream infections (nBSIs) are an important cause of morbidity and mortality and are the most frequent type of nosocomial infection in pediatric patients.Methods: We identified the predominant pathogens and antimicrobial susceptibilities of nosocomial bloodstream isolates in pediatric patients (<= 16 years of age) in the Brazilian Prospective Surveillance for nBSIs at 16 hospitals from 12 June 2007 to 31 March 2010 (Br SCOPE project).Results: in our study a total of 2,563 cases of nBSI were reported by hospitals participating in the Br SCOPE project. Among these, 342 clinically significant episodes of BSI were identified in pediatric patients (<= 16 years of age). Ninety-six percent of BSIs were monomicrobial. Gram-negative organisms caused 49.0% of these BSIs, Gram-positive organisms caused 42.6%, and fungi caused 8.4%. the most common pathogens were Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) (21.3%), Klebsiella spp. (15.7%), Staphylococcus aureus (10.6%), and Acinetobacter spp. (9.2%). the crude mortality was 21.6% (74 of 342). Forty-five percent of nBSIs occurred in a pediatric or neonatal intensive-care unit (ICU). the most frequent underlying conditions were malignancy, in 95 patients (27.8%). Among the potential factors predisposing patients to BSI, central venous catheters were the most frequent (66.4%). Methicillin resistance was detected in 37 S. aureus isolates (27.1%). of the Klebsiella spp. isolates, 43.2% were resistant to ceftriaxone. of the Acinetobacter spp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates, 42.9% and 21.4%, respectively, were resistant to imipenem.Conclusions: in our multicenter study, we found a high mortality and a large proportion of gram-negative bacilli with elevated levels of resistance in pediatric patients.Pfizer, Inc.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Inst Oncol Pediat IOP GRAAC, São Paulo, BrazilHosp Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo UNIFESP, São Paulo, BrazilHosp 9 Julho, São Paulo, BrazilSanta Casa Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilHosp Conceicao, Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilHosp Base, Brasilia, DF, BrazilHosp Walter Cantidio, Fortaleza, Ceara, BrazilHosp Diadema, São Paulo, BrazilHosp Espanhol, Salvador, BA, BrazilHosp Coracao, Natal, RN, BrazilHosp UNIMED, Natal, RN, BrazilHosp Clin Goiania, Goiania, Go, BrazilHosp Rim & Hipertensao, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Triangulo Mineiro, Uberaba, MG, BrazilVirginia Commonwealth Univ, Richmond, VA USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo UNIFESP, São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 2006/57700-0Web of Scienc

Climate determines transmission hotspots of Polycystic Echinococcosis, a life-threatening zoonotic disease, across Pan-Amazonia

Polycystic Echinococcosis (PE), a neglected life-threatening zoonotic disease caused by the cestode is endemic in the Amazon. Despite being treatable, PE reaches a case fatality rate of around 29% due to late or missed diagnosis. PE is sustained in Pan-Amazonia by a complex sylvatic cycle. The hunting of its infected intermediate hosts (especially the lowland paca ) enables the disease to further transmit to humans, when their viscera are improperly handled. In this study, we compiled a unique dataset of host occurrences (~86000 records) and disease infections (~400 cases) covering the entire Pan-Amazonia and employed different modeling and statistical tools to unveil the spatial distribution of PE's key animal hosts. Subsequently, we derived a set of ecological, environmental, climatic, and hunting covariates that potentially act as transmission risk factors and used them as predictors of two independent Maximum Entropy models, one for animal infections and one for human infections. Our findings indicate that temperature stability promotes the sylvatic circulation of the disease. Additionally, we show how El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) extreme events disrupt hunting patterns throughout Pan-Amazonia, ultimately affecting the probability of spillover. In a scenario where climate extremes are projected to intensify, climate change at regional level appears to be indirectly driving the spillover of . These results hold substantial implications for a wide range of zoonoses acquired at the wildlife-human interface for which transmission is related to the manipulation and consumption of wild meat, underscoring the pressing need for enhanced awareness and intervention strategies

Geography and ecology shape the phylogenetic composition of Amazonian tree communities

AimAmazonia hosts more tree species from numerous evolutionary lineages, both young and ancient, than any other biogeographic region. Previous studies have shown that tree lineages colonized multiple edaphic environments and dispersed widely across Amazonia, leading to a hypothesis, which we test, that lineages should not be strongly associated with either geographic regions or edaphic forest types.LocationAmazonia.TaxonAngiosperms (Magnoliids; Monocots; Eudicots).MethodsData for the abundance of 5082 tree species in 1989 plots were combined with a mega-phylogeny. We applied evolutionary ordination to assess how phylogenetic composition varies across Amazonia. We used variation partitioning and Moran's eigenvector maps (MEM) to test and quantify the separate and joint contributions of spatial and environmental variables to explain the phylogenetic composition of plots. We tested the indicator value of lineages for geographic regions and edaphic forest types and mapped associations onto the phylogeny.ResultsIn the terra firme and várzea forest types, the phylogenetic composition varies by geographic region, but the igapó and white-sand forest types retain a unique evolutionary signature regardless of region. Overall, we find that soil chemistry, climate and topography explain 24% of the variation in phylogenetic composition, with 79% of that variation being spatially structured (R2 = 19% overall for combined spatial/environmental effects). The phylogenetic composition also shows substantial spatial patterns not related to the environmental variables we quantified (R2 = 28%). A greater number of lineages were significant indicators of geographic regions than forest types.Main ConclusionNumerous tree lineages, including some ancient ones (&gt;66 Ma), show strong associations with geographic regions and edaphic forest types of Amazonia. This shows that specialization in specific edaphic environments has played a long-standing role in the evolutionary assembly of Amazonian forests. Furthermore, many lineages, even those that have dispersed across Amazonia, dominate within a specific region, likely because of phylogenetically conserved niches for environmental conditions that are prevalent within regions

Geography and ecology shape the phylogenetic composition of Amazonian tree communities

Aim: Amazonia hosts more tree species from numerous evolutionary lineages, both young and ancient, than any other biogeographic region. Previous studies have shown that tree lineages colonized multiple edaphic environments and dispersed widely across Amazonia, leading to a hypothesis, which we test, that lineages should not be strongly associated with either geographic regions or edaphic forest types. Location: Amazonia. Taxon: Angiosperms (Magnoliids; Monocots; Eudicots). Methods: Data for the abundance of 5082 tree species in 1989 plots were combined with a mega-phylogeny. We applied evolutionary ordination to assess how phylogenetic composition varies across Amazonia. We used variation partitioning and Moran\u27s eigenvector maps (MEM) to test and quantify the separate and joint contributions of spatial and environmental variables to explain the phylogenetic composition of plots. We tested the indicator value of lineages for geographic regions and edaphic forest types and mapped associations onto the phylogeny. Results: In the terra firme and várzea forest types, the phylogenetic composition varies by geographic region, but the igapó and white-sand forest types retain a unique evolutionary signature regardless of region. Overall, we find that soil chemistry, climate and topography explain 24% of the variation in phylogenetic composition, with 79% of that variation being spatially structured (R$^{2}$ = 19% overall for combined spatial/environmental effects). The phylogenetic composition also shows substantial spatial patterns not related to the environmental variables we quantified (R$^{2}$ = 28%). A greater number of lineages were significant indicators of geographic regions than forest types. Main Conclusion: Numerous tree lineages, including some ancient ones (>66 Ma), show strong associations with geographic regions and edaphic forest types of Amazonia. This shows that specialization in specific edaphic environments has played a long-standing role in the evolutionary assembly of Amazonian forests. Furthermore, many lineages, even those that have dispersed across Amazonia, dominate within a specific region, likely because of phylogenetically conserved niches for environmental conditions that are prevalent within regions