Stabilization of soil hydraulic properties under a long term no-till system

The area under the no-tillage system (NT) has been increasing over the last few years. Some authors indicate that stabilization of soil physical properties is reached after some years under NT while other authors debate this. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of the last crop in the rotation sequence (1st year: maize, 2nd year: soybean, 3rd year: wheat/soybean) on soil pore configuration and hydraulic properties in two different soils (site 1: loam, site 2: sandy loam) from the Argentinean Pampas region under long-term NT treatments in order to determine if stabilization of soil physical properties is reached apart from a specific time in the crop sequence. In addition, we compared two procedures for evaluating water-conducting macroporosities, and evaluated the efficiency of the pedotransfer function ROSETTA in estimating the parameters of the van Genuchten-Mualem (VGM) model in these soils. Soil pore configuration and hydraulic properties were not stable and changed according to the crop sequence and the last crop grown in both sites. For both sites, saturated hydraulic conductivity, K0, water-conducting macroporosity, εma, and flow-weighted mean pore radius, R0ma, increased from the 1st to the 2nd year of the crop sequence, and this was attributed to the creation of water-conducting macropores by the maize roots. The VGM model adequately described the water retention curve (WRC) for these soils, but not the hydraulic conductivity (K) vs tension (h) curve. The ROSETTA function failed in the estimation of these parameters. In summary, mean values of K0 ranged from 0.74 to 3.88 cm h-1. In studies on NT effects on soil physical properties, the crop effect must be considered.

Tuberização de dois cultivares de batata sob aplicação de sulfoniluréias

A resposta de plantas de batata à simulação de contaminação de tanques de pulverizadores com sulfoniluréias foi avaliada em experimento em vasos, em Águas da PrataSP, 2004. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de subdoses de metsulfuron-methyl, nicosulfuron e sulfometuron-methyl em dois cultivares de batata quanto à produção e qualidade dos tubérculos. Metsulfuron-methyl, nicosulfuron e sulfometuron-methyl foram aplicados em pós-emergência em plantas de batata dos cultivares Atlantic e Lady Rosetta. As doses aplicadas foram correspondentes às recomendadas para solo argiloso x, 0,1x, 0,01x, 0,001x, 0,0001x, 0,00001x e 0, em que x foi considerada a dose recomendada de cada herbicida (g ha¹): para metsulfuron-methyl a 3, nicosulfuron a 60 e sulfometuron-methyl a 15. Por ocasião da colheita foram avaliados a massa fresca de raiz, o número e as massas frescas de tubérculos normais, anormais e da produção total. Nenhuma das doses provocou morte nas plantas de batata. As sulfoniluréias afetaram o desenvolvimento dos tubérculos e causaram anomalias, mas elas também foram dependentes do produto e das doses aplicadas. As perdas na produção de 'Atlantic' foram maiores que em 'Lady Rosetta' quando as plantas foram tratadas com metsulfuron-methyl. A produção de tubérculos de 'Lady Rosetta' foi mais sensível que a de 'Atlantic', quando tratadas com nicosulfuron e sulfometuron-methyl.

Sex determination in honey bees (Apinae and Meliponinae) and its consequences

The first experiments on sex determination in bees began with Dzierzon, Meves, Nachtsheim, Paulcke, Petrunkewitsch, Manning. Whiting, (1943) found multiple alleles in Bracon xo that are the Rosetta stone of sex determination in Hymenoptera. Whiting also discovered that some species of microhymenoptera do not possess xo sex alleles. Therefore, Hymenoptera apparently presents two types of sex determination superimposed on haplodiploidy. In the panmictic groups hemizygous (xo1, xo2,... xon) and homozygous (xo1xo1, xo2xo2... xonxon) are males while heterozygous (xo1xo2, ... xon-1xon) are females. There is no such series of xon in endogamous Hymenoptera, since the constant elimination of diploid males would be damaging to the population and the mutation of xo to xon would be quickly eliminated. Besides the Whiting hypothesis, four others are discussed. The new hypothesis of genomic imprinting, of Beukeboom, is eliminated since: a) spermatozoa that develop within the egg produce male tissue; b) telitokous parthenogenesis due to the fusion of two haploid cells develop into females; c) last instar larvae treated with juvenile hormone become queens. The Cunha and Kerr hypothesis (female determining genes are totally or partially additive and male determination is totally or partially nonadditive) explains all known cases. The xo is a female determining gene. Sex determination in social bees led to the gradual evolution of two systems of caste determination: one in which queens and workers are similar and males are very different (Apinae), and another in which workers and males are very similar and both very different from the queens (Meliponinae). This second system in stingless bees implies that many of the mutations that improve worker capacities also affect the males that will carry out some activities that in Apis are clearly female ones. Ten of these activities are described.