Applying boron to coconut palm plants: effects on the soil, on the plant nutritional status and on productivity boron to coconut palm trees

Boron, one of the micronutrients frequently found in low levels in tropical soils affects nutrition and productivity of coconut palm trees essentially cultivated in tropical climates. The objective of this research study was to evaluate the effect of boron on the nutritional status of the plant and its productivity when artificially applied to the culture soil. The experiment was carried out in a four year old, artificially irrigated, dwarf coconut palm orchard in Brazil, between January, 2005 and October, 2006. The soil was a red yellow Latosol (B: 0.18 mg dm(-3)). The treatments consisted in the application of five boron dosages: zero, 1, 2, 4, and 6 kg ha(-1). In the field, the treatments were arranged according to a completely randomized block design, with four replications. Boron (borax) dosages were applied in equal halves directly into the soil in the months of January and February of 2005. Boron concentration in the soil and plant and plant productivity were evaluated. The higher palm tree production was associated to levels of 0.6mg dm(-3) of B in the soil and 23.5mg kg(-1) in leaves. Ninety five percent of palm trees maximum production was obtained with the use of a boron dosage of 2,1kg ha(-1).

Water use of Juniperus virginiana trees encroached into mesic prairies in Oklahoma, USA

Juniperus virginiana (eastern redcedar) is encroaching into mesic prairies of the southern Great Plains, USA, and is altering the hydrologic cycle. We used the thermal dissipation technique to quantify daily water use of J. virginiana into a mesic prairie by measuring 19 trees of different sizes from different density stands located in north-central Oklahoma during 2011. We took the additional step to calibrate our measurements by comparing thermal dissipation technique estimates to volumetric water use for a subset of trees. Except for days with maximum air temperature below -3 degrees C, J. virginiana trees used water year round, reached a peak in late May, and exhibited reduced water use in summer when soil water availability was low. Overall daily average water use was 24 l (+/- 21.81 s.d.) per tree. Trees in low density stands used more water than trees with similar diameters from denser stands. However, there was no difference in water use between trees in different density stands when expressed on a canopy area basis. Approximately 50% of variation in water use that remained after accounting for the factors site, tree, and day was explained using a physiologically-based model that included daily potential evapotranspiration, maximum vapour pressure deficit, maximum temperature, solar radiation, and soil water storage between 0 and 10 cm. Our model suggested that a J. virginiana woodland with a closed canopy is capable of transpiring almost all precipitation reaching the soil in years with normal precipitation, indicating the potential for encroachment to reduce water yield for streamflow and groundwater recharge. Copyright (C) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Protocylindrocorpus brasiliensis n. sp. (Diplogastroidea: Cylindrocorporidae) associated with the ambrosia beetle, Euplatypus parallelus (f.) (Curculionidae: Platypodinae) in para rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis)

Protocylindrocorpus brasiliensis n. sp. (Diplogastroidea: Cylindrocorporidae) is described from reproductive stages removed from galleries of the ambrosia beetle, Euplatypus parallelus (F.) (Curculionidae: Platypodinae) in Para rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) in Brazil. This is the first record of the genus Protocylindrocorpus from the Neotropics. Males of P. brasiliensis are quite striking because their long spicules extend up to 72% of their total body length. The adults exhibit conspecific agglutination where they congregate in a slimy substance that serves to maintain them in a coherent group for mating. Some of the adults were infected by fungal and protozoan pathogens, implying that disease plays a role in regulating natural populations. The discovery of P. brasiliensis provides new information on nematode structure, behavior, and ecology.

Phytoseiidae mites associated with Hevea spp. from the Amazon region: a hidden diversity under the canopy of native trees

Despite the Amazon Forest being the largest tropical forest in the world, and cradle of rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis), no studies have aimed to report the occurrence of mites associated with native trees from this ecosystem. Our survey investigates the phytoseiid mites associated with five species of native rubber trees from nine sites of the Amazon Forest, and also presents a major review of phytoseiid species from natural vegetation in Brazil. We found a total of 1305 mites, belonging to 30 species, of which seven were new to science, Amblydromalus akiri sp. nov., Amblyseius chicomendesi sp. nov., Amblyseius duckei sp. nov., Amblyseius manauara sp. nov., Iphiseiodes katukina sp. nov., Iphiseiodes raucuara sp. nov. and Typhlodromips igapo sp. nov.; beyond two new records for Brazil, Iphiseiodes kamahorae and Amblyseius martus. Our results emphasize the importance of Amazon native trees as an unexplored source of predator mites, which in turn may be further studied as biological control agents of pest mites on rubber trees. The impressive diversity, endemism and rate of new species found highlight the importance of studies on arthropod communities associated with the Amazon vegetation.

Functional and phylogenetic diversity of scattered trees in an agricultural landscape: Implications for conservation

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Initial growth of bauhinia variegata trees under different colored shade nets and light conditions

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Wood and leaf anatomy of Copaifera langsdorffii dwarf trees

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

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.

Agronomic performance of peach trees grown in subtropical region

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Organic material decomposition and nutrient dynamics in a mulch system enriched with leguminous trees in the Amazon

As novas técnicas propostas para a agricultura na Amazônia incluem sistema de rotação de capoeira enriquecido com árvores leguminosas e transformando a queima da biomassa em cobertura morta sobre o solo. A decomposição e a liberação de nutrientes da cobertura morta foram estudadas usando sacos de liteira com malha fina que continham cinco tratamentos com diferentes espécies de leguminosas em comparação a um tratamento-controle com vegetação natural. As amostras para cada tratamento foram analisadas para conteúdos de C total, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, lignina, celulose e polifenóis solúveis em diferentes tempos de amostragem durante um ano. A razão constante de decomposição variou com a espécie e com o tempo. A perda de massa nos sacos de decomposição foi de 30,1 % para Acacia angustissima, de 32,7 % para Sclerolobium paniculatum, de 33,9 % para Inga edulis e para a vegetação secundária, de 45,2 % para Acacia mangium e de 63,6 % para Clitoria racemosa. Foi observada imobilização de N e P em todos os tratamentos, sendo a mineralização do N negativamente correlacionada com o fenol, razão C/N, razão (lignina + fenol)/N, razão fenol/P e o conteúdo de N nos sacos de liteira. Depois de 362 dias de incubação no campo, 3,3 % de K, 32,2 % de Ca e 22,4 % de Mg permaneceram no material em decomposição. Os resultados evidenciaram que a baixa qualidade mineral e a alta quantidade de carbono orgânico e aplicado como cobertura morta podem limitar a quantidade de energia disponível para os microrganismos resultando em uma competição por nutrientes com as plantas agrícolas.

EC03-1759 Nebraska Register of Champion Trees 2003

This register lists the largest trees of over 80 species identified in Nebraska. The name of the owner and nominator, size and location of each tree follow each listing. Many people across Nebraska have worked hard to make this register as comprehensive and accurate as possible, but the quest to find the largest trees in Nebraska is never over. Champion trees are by nature old, and old trees diminish and die. Larger trees are newly discovered. Thus, this list continually changes as new nominations are submitted.

Application of dendrogeomorphology on the study of soil sediment deposition in the stems of Guarea guidonea trees in a disturbed riparian forest in Goias state, Brazil

The sediments resulting of natural or anthropic erosion are deposited on the soil surface and around the trunks of trees occurring in riparian forests. For assessment of the erosion, tree-rings of roots and stems were analyzed. Guarea guidonea trees from a riparian forest affected by the sedimentation of soil erosion from pastures and soybean fields in state of Goias were selected. Wood samples were extracted through a non-destructive method at three heights from trunks of trees located in three positions (top, middle and bottom) of a riparian slope. The evaluation revealed a deposition of a thick sediment layer up to 34 cm around the base of tree trunks during the past 24 years. The inter-correlations between the tree-rings widths present in wood samples at the base and at 50 and 100 cm from Guarea guidonea tree trunks presented low, medium and high values. These values resulted from the low tree-rings distinctiveness in the wood; the absence of some rings as well as the eccentricity of the pith. The analyses of dendrogeomorphology allowed the determination of the date of seed germination and tree growth and inference on the periods of sediment deposition in the trunk of the trees.

Soil profile, relief features and their relation to structure and distribution of Brazilian Atlantic rain forest trees

In tropical forests, the environmental heterogeneity can provide niche partitioning at local scales and determine the diversity and plant species distribution. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the variations of tree species structure and distribution in response to relief and soil profile features in a portion of the largest remnant of Brazilian Atlantic rain forest. All trees >= 5 cm diameter at breast height were recorded in two 0.99 ha plots. Topographic survey and a soil characterization were accomplished in both plots. Topsoil samples (0-20 cm) were taken from 88 quadrats and analyzed for chemical and particle size properties. Differences for both diversity and tree density were identified among three kinds of soils. A canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that the specific abundance varied among the three kinds of soils mapped: a shallow Udept - Orthent / Aquent gradient, probably due to differences in soil drainage. Nutrient content was less likely to affect tree species composition and distribution than relief, pH, Al3+, and soil texture. Some species were randomly distributed and did not show restriction to relief and soil properties. However, preferences in niche occupation detected in this study, derived from the catenary environments found, rise up as an important explanation for the high tree species diversity in tropical forests.

EVALUATION OF PHOTODEGRADABLE TAPE ON GRAFTING IN CITRUS NURSERY TREES

The use of a photodegradable tape was evaluated on 'Valencia' sweet orange nursery trees budded both on Rangpur lime and Swingle citrumelo in a greenhouse in Bebedouro-SP, Brazil, from September to November 2009. On both rootstocks three wrapping procedures were evaluated: i) conventional polyethylene tape wrapped around the bud eye; ii) photodegradable tape wrapped around the bud eye, and iii) photodegradable tape wrapped around the graft junction without covering the bud eye. The following variables were measured: time spent for wrapping, percentage of bud sprouting, length and stem diameter of the scion shoot, and percentage of commercially valuable nursery trees. The trial was conducted following a randomized complete block design, with six treatments, four replications and 12 trees per plot. The use of photodegradable tape, with or without covering the bud eye, anticipated bud sprouting; despite of the longer time spent with wrapping when the photodegradable tape was used. Plants grafted onto the less vigorous Swingle citrumelo rootstock showed lower bud sprout percentages when the bud eye was covered with the photodegradable tape.

REDUCTION AND TIMING OF FUNGICIDE APPLICATION IN THE MANAGEMENT OF SCAB IN PLUM TREES

This work aimed to evaluate the incidence and severity of scab in prune trees under different fungicide management, with two time patterns of application; one at the early fruit formation, up to pit hardening, and another starting after pit hardening, and compare the number of fungicide application reductions with the management adopted by the producer Four experiments, with different treatments, were carried out during the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons (two experiments,) and that of 2008-2009, using the Harry Pickstone and Reubennel cultivars. The most efficient control of the disease was achieved with the combination of metiram, piraclostrobina e ditianona fungicides from late bloom to pit hardening. Efficient scab control in prune was dependent on the combination of the fungicides used and the application timing. Reduced fungicide management is possible, while spraying initiated after pit hardening was not efficient for scab control.