Simbioses de rizóbios com leguminosas arbóreas na pré-amazônia maranhense

The tree leguminous gliricídia (Gliricidia sepium), acácia (Acacia mangium), leucena (Leucaena leucocephala) and sombreiro (Clitoria fairchildiana) are indicated for agroforestry systems, reclamation of degraded lands, reforestation and other purposes in the wet tropic. Despite the importance of legumes the preamazon region it is lacking in information about the symbiotic capacity and diversity of indigenous rhizobia of these legumes. The aim of this work was to evaluate the phenotypic and genetic diversity of rhizobia species nodulating gliricidia sombreiro, leucena and acacia in the Maranhão pre-Amazon region and authenticate isolates of these species in siratro (Macroptilium atropurpureum). For this they were installed two experiments. Sampling was carried out on a alley cropping system, was sampled 20 plants of each species by collecting 10 nodules per plant. It was made isolation, cultural characterization, partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing and analysis of the symbiotic ability of bacterial strains with siratro. The authentication experiment was done in two steps for each legume (gliricidia, acácia, sombreiro and leucena), in the greenhouse and in a completely randomized design with three replications with sterile Hoagland nutrient solution as substrate. Gliricídia, Sombreiro, leucena and acacia are colonized by distinct groups of rhizobia. Gliricidia nodulate preferably with Rhizobium, sombreiro and acacia nodulate preferably with Bradyrhizobium and leucena has Mesorhizobium main symbiote. Endophytic strains of ten genera were found colonizing the gliricidia, sombrero, leucena and acacia nodules and a strain of Arthrobacter sp. had a positive nodulation with siratro. This is the first report on isolation of Methylobacterium sp. in gliricidia nodules and endophytic ability of Terriglobus sp. strains. Indigenous strains of pre-Amazon region of Bradyrhizobium, Mesorhizobium and Rhizobium genus nodulate with siratro, but are ineficiente or had low efficiency to promote their growth.

Determinação da densidade amostral ótima para a geração de mapas temáticos na cafeicultura de precisão

Among the crops commercially exploited in Brazil, the coffee has a great economic importance, especially in the states of Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo. In the search for higher yield and lower environmental impact, farmers and researchers seek to develop new technologies that result in greater efficiency in various production processes of the coffee. For this, the adoption of precision agriculture in the management of operations in coffee crops, called precision coffee, has shown results that justify its use, by identifying the spatial variability of several variables, allowing its localized management and in the proper intensity. Unlike conventional management that is based on the average of observations in an area, precision agriculture uses a more detailed sampling, based on a sampling grid, which allows to represent in greater detail the reality of farming. Many previous studies have identified the spatial variability of the production of coffee system variables, but without worrying about the quality of information obtained due to the sampling grid used as precision and accuracy. Given the above, the objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of four different sampling grids for different variables and three times, in order to identify the most appropriate grid for use in precision coffee. Also aimed to compare the results between the precision coffee and conventional, according to reference values.

Avaliação do potencial de uso agrícola da fluorita com óxido silício (AgroSiCa), derivado da fabricação de fertilizantes fosfatados

Phosphate fertilizers are critical for crop production in tropical soils, which are known for having high phosphate-fixing capacity and aluminium saturation, as well as low pH and calcium contents. Fluorine is a component of many phosphate rocks used to make phosphate fertilizers, via a process that generates hexafluorosilicic acid (H2SiF6). While many treatment technologies have been proposed for removal of fluorine in industrial facilities, little attention has been given to a process of neutralizing H2SiF6 with calcium oxide aiming to find out an alternative and sustainable use of a by-product with a great potential for beneficial use in tropical agriculture. This study evaluated the effect of a by-product of phosphoric acid production (fluorite with silicon oxide, hereafter called AgroSiCa) in levels of phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), silicon (Si), aluminum (Al) and fluorine (F) and some others parameters in soils as on growth of soybean and corn. Experiments were conducted in a greenhouse condition at the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Minas Gerais, using different types of soils in tropical regions and different doses of AgroSiCa. The application of AgroSiCa resulted in a slight increase in soil pH and significant increases in calcium, phosphorus and silicon in the soil solution and the shoots of corn and soybeans. We also found very low levels of fluoride in all soil leachates. A significant reduction of labile aluminum levels found in all soils after the cultivation of corn and soybeans. In sum, AgroSiCa improved soil properties and contributed to better growth of both cultures. In sum, AgroSiCa improved soil properties and contributed to a better growth of both crops. Our results show that reacting H2SiF6 derived from the wet-process phosphoric acid production with calcium oxide leads to a by-product with potential for agricultural use, especially when applied in highly-weathered soils. Besides providing calcium and silicon to plants, the use of such by-product in soils with high phosphate-fixing capacity and high aluminium saturation delivers additional benefits, since fluoride and silicon can play an important role in improving soil conditions due to the formation of less plant-toxic forms of aluminium, as well as upon decreasing phosphate fixation, thus improving root development and making fertilizer-derived phosphate more available for plant growth.