Comparing pollination control bag types for sorghum seed harvest.

Efficacy of pollination bags made of new nonwoven fabrics was compared with the traditional paper bags in sorghum during 2015 using three cultivars comprising BR007B (red seeded), SC283 (white seeded) and 1167048 hybrid with tannin (brown seeded). The five pollination bag treatments were: no bagging, traditional paper bag, paper bag plus plastic screen bag for extra bird protection, duraweb®SG2 polypropylene bag and duraweb®SG1 polyester bag. There was no bird damage on tannin hybrid but birds damaged bags to access grains of the other two varieties. Varieties and bag types differed significantly, and also showed significant interactions for panicle weight (at P<0.06), seed weight and average seed weight per panicle. The tannin hybrid was consistently a better performer for all traits regardless of bag type. The paper bags were the worst for bird damage. Duraweb® SG1 was the best performer for all traits including bird damage followed by duraweb®SG2. The joint regression analysis showed that BR007B performed consistently under all bag types with average response. On the other hand, SC283 improved its response with the increasing quality of bag type at an above average rate for panicle weight and seed traits. It was concluded that new nonwoven fabric bags could replace paper bags in providing better seed production potential and greater protection against bird damage.

Manual cross-pollination, fruit set and development in pear.

The lack of pear-compatible rootstocks in Brazil calls for the application of classical genetic techniques. Therefore, in order to obtain select suitable material, the search for genetic segregation must be continuous, being used as alternative scion cultivars. This study aims to assess fruit set, number of seeds, fruit weight and fruit diameter according to crosses between pear cultivars. The trial was carried out from September 2008 to February 2009 in a commercial orchard in the city of Vacaria/RS, Brazil. For the pollination process, pollen was extracted from flowers at full-white stage in the same orchard. The cultivars used were 'Packham's Triumph' and 'Clapps Favorite'. The crossings were defined as: open pollination; selfpollination of 'Packham's Triumph' and 'Packham's Triumph' × 'Clapps Favorite'. The pollinations were done manually in flowers at full-white stage, which were opened, emasculated and then pollinated. Each pollinated flower was then isolated with a fine nylon bag. Open pollination and cross pollination between 'Packham's Triumph' × 'Clapps Favorite' provided higher fruit set (17 and 18%, respectively). Fruit weight and diameter did not differ between treatments. Open pollination provided fruits with a higher number of seeds.

Polinização por Apis mellifera em soja em soja transgênica [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] Merrill] Roundup ReadyTM cv. BRS 245 RR e convencional cv. BRS 133.

RESUMO: O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a influência de Apis mellifera na produção de grãos e qualidade de sementes da soja transgênica Glycine max (L.) Merrill Roundup ReadyTM e convencional. A soja transgênica foi plantada intercalada com a convencional, em 18 parcelas, em três tratamentos: gaiolas com abelhas A. mellifera, gaiolas sem abelhas e áreas descobertas, com livre visitação de insetos. Na soja transgênica, em três parcelas de cada tratamento, foi aplicado glifosato, 30 dias após a emergência. Os parâmetros analisados foram: produção de grãos; número de vagens por planta; peso de 100 sementes e porcentagem de germinação das sementes. Não houve diferença entre as cultivares, entretanto a produção de 2.757,40 kg ha-1 obtida na área coberta por gaiola com abelhas, e 2.828,47 kg ha-1 na área livre para visitação de insetos foram superiores a 2.000,53 kg ha-1 da área coberta por gaiola sem abelhas. O número de vagens por planta foi maior na área coberta por gaiola com abelhas (38,28) e área livre (32,65), quando comparado com o da área coberta por gaiola sem abelhas (21,19). O peso médio de 100 sementes e a germinação das sementes não foram diferentes entre as cultivares e nem entre os tratamentos. Conclui-se que, para as cultivares estudadas, houve benefício na produção de grãos de 37,84%, quando foi permitida a visita de abelhas. ABSTRACT. Pollination by Apis mellifera in transgenic soy (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) Roundup Ready? cv. BRS 245 RR and conventional cv. BRS 133. This research was carried out to evaluate the influence of Africanized honeybees in grain production and seed quality of Glycine max (L.) Merrill Roundup Ready? transgenic soy, as well as of conventional soy. Transgenic soy was interposed with conventional soybean, in 18 plots and three treatments: covered area with Africanized honeybees, covered area without honeybees, and uncovered area with free insect visitation. The herbicide Glyphosate was applied on three plots of each treatment of transgenic soy, 30 days after emergence. Grain production, number of pods/plant, weight per 100 seeds, and seed germination percentage were evaluated. There was no difference among cultivars; however, the production in the covered area with honeybees (2757.4 kg ha-1) and in the uncovered area (2828.47 kg ha-1) were higher than in the covered area without honeybees (2000.53 kg ha-1). The number of pods/plant was greater than in the covered area with honeybees (38.28) and in the uncovered area (32.65) as compared to the covered area without honeybees (21.19). The weight per 100 seeds seed germination did not differ among cultivars or treatments. It can be concluded that, for these cultivars, there was a rise in grain production of 37.84% when honeybee visits were allowed.