Citrus HLB x Potato "Zebra Chip" in Brazil: Attempting to transmit citrus Candidatus liberibacter spp (asiaticus and americanus) to potato plants.

2009

Agronomic performance of selected sweet potato cultivars under greenhouse and field infested with meloigogyne incognita and soilborne insect pests.

The root knot nematode (RKN), Meloidogyne incognita, is widespread worldwide and a major pathogen of several cultivated crops. The use of resistant genotypes is the most effective and environmentally sound way to manage RKN. In this study, we screened 16 selected sweet potato cultivars including Amanda, Bárbara, Beatriz, Beauregard, Brazlândia Branca, Brazlândia Rosada, Brazlândia Roxa, BRS Amélia, BRS Cuia, BRS Rubissol, Carolina Vitória, Duda, Júlia, Marcela, PA-26/2009, and Princesa obtained from Embrapa and Universidade Federal do Tocantins? germplasm bank. Studies were conducted under greenhouse and field conditions and the agronomic performance of the cultivars was evaluated in a nematode and soilborne insect-infested field. All 16 sweet potato cultivars tested were rated as resistant to this nematode both under greenhouse and field conditions with reproduction factors < 1. In the field infested with M. incognita, sweet potato cultivars Duda, BRS Amélia, Beauregard, Brazlândia Rosada, and Brazlândia Roxa stood out as superior cultivars, with average yield ranging from 26 to 47 tons per ha. Overall, most cultivars exhibited a fusiform to near fusiform root shape, a good characteristic for the market, and were moderately affected by insects (attack incidence 1 to 30%). As global demand for energy continues to rise, selecting new cultivars of sweet potatoes with increased resistance to nematode diseases and with high yield will be important for food security and biofuel production.

The bioconcentration factor of pesticides in potatoes.

We presented a model that estimates the bioconcentration factor (BCF) of pesticides in potatoes supposing that the pesticide in the soil solution is absorbed by the potato by passive diffusion, following Fick?s second law. The pesticides in the model are nonionic organic substances, traditionally used in potato crops that degrade in the soil according to a first order kinetic equation. This presents an expression that relates BCF with the pesticide elimination rate by the potato, with the pesticide accumulation rate within the potato, with the rate of growth of the potato and with the pesticide degradation rate in the soil. BCF was estimated supposing steady state equilibrium of the quotient between the pesticide concentration in the potato and the pesticide concentration in the soil solution. It is suggested that a negative correlation exists between the pesticide BCF and the soil sorption partition coefficient. The model was built based on the work of Trapp et al. (2007), [Diffusion of PAH in Potato and Carrot Slices and Applications for a Potato Model] in which an expression to calculate the diffusivity of persistent organic substances in potatoes is presented. The model consists in adding to the expression of Trapp et al. (2007) the hypothesis that the pesticide degrades in the soil. The value of BCF suggests which pesticides should be monitored in potatoes.

Ocorrência de Meloidogyne enterolobii em batata Yacon no Submédio do Vale do São Francisco.

A batata yacon vem despertando interesse, principalmente, por suas propriedades medicinais, sendo utilizada como auxiliar no tratamento contra diabetes e colesterol. Por isso, no decorrer nos anos, vem aumentando cada vez mais sua área de cultivo.

Biotechnology and crop protection in Brazil.

The process of modernization of Brazilian agriculture aimed at increasing the productivity in response to the high demand for agricultural products in the world market and it was based on the intensive use of inputs such as agrochemicals, intense mechanisation and breeding of new varieties. Among these, pesticides were incorporated in almost all production systems. Over reliance on pesticide use has produced many negative effects on both biotic and abiotic components of the environment, generating chemical contamination of soil and water, decrease in biological diversity of agroecosystems, disruption of natural cycles, pest resistance, intoxication of growers, among others. The consumption of pesticides in Brazil was 151.8 thousand tonnes in 1989, and today the country is the fifth world market of these products. The use of pesticides increased from 16 thousand tonnes (a.i.) in 1964 to 60.2 thousand tonnes in 1991, while the area planted to crops grew from 28.4 to 50.0 million ha in the same period. This means an increase of 276.2% in consumption of pesticides compared to an increase of 76% in planted area. Even with this large increase in the use of pesticides, the losses caused by pests have not been significantly reduced, and the net gain in crop productivity has been low. On the other hand, problems with food contamination, environmental degradation of growers have considerably mounted. It is possible to define two classes of crops regarding intense use of pesticides. One is represented by those crops that occupy large areas, and therefore contribute to a large amont of pesticides used for pest control in a country basis. The other class comprises crops that require large amounts of pesticides per unit of area, but not necessarily represent large amounts of pesticides used coutry-wide. Based on the classes proposed, citrus, soybean and sugarcane stand as crops with a nationally great consumption of pesticides, while tomato, potato and citrus are important as intensive users of pesticides. In this paper the biotechnologies in use, the biotechnologies in advanced stages of development, the main constraints to the development and use of biotechnlology and the impact of pesticed on the environment are discussed.

Modelagem da bioconcetração de pesticidas em batatas.

Apresentamos um modelo que estima o fator de bioconcentracão (BCF) de pesticidas em batatas supondo que o pesticida na solução do solo é absorvido pela batata por difusão passiva,seguindo a segunda lei de Fick.Os pesticidas do modelo são compostos orgânicos não-iônicos, tradicionalmente utilizados no cultivo de batatas que degradam no solo de acordo com uma equação cinética de primeira ordem. Este trabalho apresenta uma expressão que relaciona o BCF com a taxa de eliminação do pesticida pela batata, com a taxa de acumulação do pesticida na batata, com a taxa de crescimento da batata, e com a taxa de degradação do pesticida no solo. O BCF foi estimado supondo-se estado de equilíbrio estacionário do quociente entre a concentração do pesticida na batata e a concentração do pesticida na solução do solo. O modelo foi construído baseado no trabalho de Trapp et al. (2007), [Diffusion of PAH in Potato and Carrrot Slices and Applications for a Potato Model] no qual é apresentada uma expressão para calcular a difusividade de substâncias orgânicas persistentes em batatas. A modelagem consistiu em adicionar ao modelo de Trapp et al. (2007) a hipótese de que o pesticida degrada no solo. O valor do BCF sugere um conjunto de pesticidas que devem ser prioritariamente monitorados em cultivos de batatas. Foi estimado o BCF dos pesticidas methamidophos, cymoxanil, carbofuran, aldicarb, metalaxyl, fenamiphos, carbaryl, triazophos, tebuconazole, propiconazole, chlorothalonil e cypermethrin.

Notas sobre mandioca e outras plantas tuberosas no Pará.

1974