Carbohydrate concentration in 'BRS Rubimel' peach trees during the annual cycle

The carbohydrate storage is necessary to support the plant growth in periods of stress, during the dormancy, in the beginning of the vegetative development and during the fruiting time. In this context, this work intended to evaluate the carbohydrate concentrations of the peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) tree ‘BRS Rubimel’, cultivated under subtropical conditions. The experiment was performed at the experimental farm Lageado, of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of UNESP at Botucatu/SP. The evaluated peach trees were two years old and were cultivated in the spacing of 6.0 x 4.0 m. The adopted experimental delineation was in randomized blocks, making use of four plants per parcel with four repetitions. The treatments corresponded to the period of the collection of leaves and branches, during the annual cycle, corresponding to January to May and July to December 2012. The sample collection of the roots was performed in January, April, August, November and December 2012. Four fruits per plant were collected. The concentration of starch in the roots of the peach tree were superior to the ones from the branches, from August to December. The carbohydrate with the higher storage level in the peach tree ‘BRS Rubimel’ was starch.

Consumption Diagnosis of Sweet Cassava in three Municipalities in Cuba

Cassava is an important staple food for human and animal feeding in Cuba. Despite its importance, there is little or nonexistent information to diagnose preferences and frequency of consumption of cassava in that country. In this sense, the present article characterizes the preferences and frequency of consumption of cassava in the municipalities of Plaza de la Revolución-La Habana province, El Salvador–Guantanamo province and San José de Las Lajas–Mayabeque province in Cuba. A survey was conducted through a questionnaire containing twelve closed and two open questions. The sample was determined based on the number of total population of each municipality considering 95% as confidence interval and 5% as error margin. The results were statistically analyzed by calculating the absolute and the relative frequencies of each question. It was observed that the acquisition of cassava in the municipalities of Plaza de la Revolución, El Salvador and San José de las Lajas in Cuba is done by purchase small quantities of fresh cassava for home consumption within one week, due to the extreme perishability of cassava, which limits consumers' ability to store fresh roots at home. The choice of cassava is made based on both skin colour (light brown) and pulp (white) and empirical knowledge about its ease of cooking, and that cassava is mostly consumed in boiled and fried forms up to four times a week in times where there is root market supply with the desirable culinary characteristics (cooking facility), that is, from September to December.

Aproveitamento energético de uma planta de sulfatação

Pós-graduação em Engenharia Mecânica - FEG