Geologia e Caracterização Tecnológica do Minério de Manganês da Mina Córrego do Cocho, Itapira (SP)

The objects of this study are three manganese ore deposits and one mine derived from lateritic weathering of gondites (spessartine quartzites). These deposits are associated with Mn-rich garnet metasediments of the Itapira Group (Paleoproterozoic) and the reserves were estimated at approximately 2.0 × 10 6 tons with an average grade of 23% MnO 2. The ore minerals are cryptomelane, pyrolusite, lithiophorite, spessartine and psilomelane. Several crystal shapes and textural characteristics were identifi ed in this study, which are related to the degree of liberation, as confi rmed by heavy media separation method. In this study, we determined the main characteristics of the liberation of manganese, which is concentrated in the fi ne grain-size fraction and is lost during ore dressing. Therefore, the low average content of MnO 2 (28%) is due to this loss, whereas at grain size of minus 0.074 mm, contents near 40% MnO 2 were observed. This suggests that the ore can be used for manufacturing manganese sulphate fertilizers. A comparative study with the ore deposits located at Ouro Fino (MG), mainly with the Caneleiras mine, showed that higher degree of liberation occurs in the coarse grain-size fractions (0.84 to 0.074 mm with MnO 2 content of 38%). As a consequence, the ore can be used for manufacturing Fe-Si-Mn alloys.

Fertilizantes orgânicos e resíduo de bauxita na disponibilidade de nutrientes e nutrição da cana-de- açúcar irrigada com água potável e residuária

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of organic fertilizers (urban solid waste and swine manure) as a source of nutrients and residue from bauxite processing as a corrective of soil acidity, in area cultivated with sugar cane irrigated with potable water and served in the availability of phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and sulfur (S) levels in the soil and plants. For this experiment was carried out in pots, using a Alfisol, assessing the availability of the elements in the 0-20 cm layer and the concentration of these nutrients in the leaves of sugarcane. The data showed that the residues increased the concentrations of Ca and Mg in soil, as the concentration of K was not changed and S was not detected, due to the low concentration in the soil. In the leave +1 of sugarcane the residue of bauxite increased levels of N, P, K, Ca and Mg (15.68, 1.73, 10.43, 3.50 and 1.08 g kg-1, respectively). The application of urban solid waste and swine manure also increased the levels of N, K and Ca (11.56, 9.18 and 2.81 g kg-1, respectively). The quality of irrigation water did not alter the availability of P, K, Ca, Mg and S in the soil as well as the levels of these macronutrients in the plant.

Diferenças regionais do cultivo de café no Brasil

Brazil is one of the major coffee producers in the world, because of this, the goal of this study was to assess the regional differences of coffee cultivation for the reference crops 2001/2002 and 2002/03 by means of a life cycle assessment (LCA) in order to generate detailed production inventory data as well as quantify the potential environmental impacts of this crop. All information considered in this study (use of water, fossil based energy, fertilizers, pesticides and correctives) was taken from data collected from the producing farms. Four Brazilian coffee producer regions located at the Southeastern region were evaluated: Sul de Minas Gerais and Cerrado Mineiro in Minas Gerais State, and Mogiana and Alta Paulista regions in São Paulo State. The data refer to a production of 25.2 million kg of green coffee. Depending on the considered region, the production of 1,000 kg of green coffee requires, on average, approx. 9,300 to 13,000 kg of total energy, 70 to 130 kg of diesel, 6,500 to 12,700 kg of process water, 270 to 340 kg of fertilizers (NPK), 2.0 to 13.0 kg of pesticides, 230 to 600 kg of correctives, and yield around 1,600 to 1,900 kg/ha. Despite 20% of the coffee growers showing a good environmental performance, i.e. consumption of pesticides, fertilizers and correctives lower than the regional averages, this study has also identified some farms that can probably reduce the amount of some inputs and enhance their environmental performance.

Ammonia volatilization losses from surface-applied urea with urease and nitrification inhibitors

Urease inhibitor (UI) and nitrification inhibitor (NI) have the potential to improve N-use efficiency of applied urea and minimize N losses via gaseous emissions of ammonia (NH 3) to the atmosphere and nitrate (NO3-) leaching into surface and ground water bodies. There is a growing interest in the formulations of coating chemical fertilizers with both UI and NI. However, limited information is available on the combined use of UI and NI applied with urea fertilizer. Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of treating urea with both UI and NI to minimize NH 3 volatilization. Two experiments were set up in volatilization chambers under controlled conditions to examine this process. In the first experiment, UR was treated with the urease inhibitor NBPT [N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric acid triamide] at a rate of 1060 mg kg -1 urea and/or with the nitrification inhibitor DCD (dicyandiamide) at rates equivalent to 5 or 10% of the urea N. A randomized experimental design with five treatments and five replicates was used: 1) UR, 2) UR + NBPT, 3) UR + DCD 10%, 4) UR + NBPT + DCD 5%, and 5) UR + NBPT + DCD 10%. The fertilizer treatments were applied to the surface of an acidic Red Latosol soil moistened to 60% of the maximum water retention and placed inside volatilization chambers. Controls chambers were added to allow for NH 3 volatilized from unfertilized soil or contained in the air that swept over the soil surface. The second experiment had an additional treatment with surface-applied DCD. The chambers were glass vessels (1.5 L) fit with air inlet and outlet tubings to allow air to pass over the soil. Ammonia volatilized was swept and carried to a flask containing a boric acid solution to trap the gas and then measured daily by titration with a standardized H 2SO 4 solution. Continuous measurements were recorded for 19 and 23 days for the first and second experiment, respectively. The soil samples were then analyzed for UR-, NH4+-, and NO3--N. Losses of NH 3 by volatilization with unamended UR ranged from 28 to 37% of the applied N, with peak of losses observed the third day after fertilization. NBPT delayed the peak of NH 3 losses due to urease inhibition and reduced NH 3 volatilization between 54 and 78% when compared with untreated UR. Up to 10 days after the fertilizer application, NH 3 losses had not been affected by DCD in the UR or the UR + NBPT treatments; thereafter, NH 3 volatilization tended to decrease, but not when DCD was present. As a consequence, the addition of DCD caused a 5-16% increase in NH 3 volatilization losses of the fertilizer N applied as UR from both the UR and the UR + NBPT treatments. Because the effectiveness of NBPT to inhibit soil urease activity was strong only in the first week, it could be concluded that DCD did not affect the action of NBPT but rather, enhanced volatilization losses by maintaining higher soil NH4+ concentration and pH for a longer time. Depending on the combination of factors influencing NH 3 volatilization, DCD could even offset the beneficial effect of NBPT in reducing NH 3 volatilization losses. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Evaluation of soil management and use in an Ultisol in a guava orchard in comparison with a sugarcane field and native forest area

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Propagação in vitro de Cattleya trianaei (Linden & Reichenbach fil.) (Orchidaceae) em meios de culturas e com doses de fertilizante comercial

The use of culture media produced with commercial fertilizers can represent a simple and low cost alternative for commercial orchid propagation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro growth of plantlets of Cattleya trianaei in culture medium MS reduced and and formulated with Peters® NPK 10-30-20 in different doses. 90 day-old plantlets with two leaflets were submitted to five treatments (T1 - reduced MS; T2 - Peters® 1 g L -1; T3 - Peters® 2 g L-1; T4 - Peters® 3 g L -1 and T5 - Peters® 5 g L-1) arranged in a completely randomized design with five replicates with 25 plantlets for each treatment and incubated during 180 days, with subcultures at each 60 days, when the number of roots, root length, number of leaves, shoot length and shoot fresh matter were evaluated. The simplified culture medium with fertilizer Peters® 3 g L -1 presented results statistically different as for the number of roots, number of leaves, shoot length and shoot fresh matter and it can be recommended for in vitro growth of this ornamental orchid.

Fertilizing lychee plants with phosphorus at time of planting in Brazil

The objective of this research was to study the effects of P fertilizers applied at time of planting on lychees' nutritional status and on plant growth. The treatments consisted of five doses of P: zero, 50, 100, 200, and 300 g of P2O5 per plant, furnished by triple superphosphate. Plant diameter was evaluated during two years and the plants' nutritional status on the second year. The second year foliar levels of macro and micronutrients (with the exception of Zn) were increased by the P fertilizer. The orchard's initial development, especially during the second year, was also influenced by the fertilizer. The P doses of 164 and 158 g of P2O5 per plant resulted in the largest plant diameter after the first and the second year, respectively. These doses were found to be associated with a foliar P level of <1.4 g kg-1. © 2012 Renato de Mello Prado et al.

Microbiological quality of organic and conventional vegetables sold in Brazil

While searching for healthier diets, people became more attentive to organic produce. Yet, organic foods may be more susceptible to microbiological contamination because of the use of organic fertilizers, a possible source of pathogenic bacteria. In this study, 130 samples of different organic and conventional vegetable varieties sold in Brazil were analyzed for mesophilic aerobic bacteria, yeasts and molds, total coliforms, Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. Most of the mesophilic aerobic bacteria counts in organic and conventional vegetables ranged from 6 to 7 log10 CFU/g; most of the yeasts and molds counts ranged from 5 to 6 log10 CFU/g and most of the total coliforms counts ranged from 4 to 5 log10 CFU/g. E. coli was found in 41.5% of the organic and 40.0% of the conventional vegetables, and most samples had counts ranging from 1 to 2 log10 CFU/g. Salmonella spp. was not found in any sample. Comparative analyses of the microbial counts of organic and conventional vegetables showed that some organic varieties have greater counts. However, the global results show that this is not a trend. These results indicate the need of good farming practices, and proper sanitization before consumption, to ensure food quality and safety. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Exportação de nutrientes em plantas de jambu, sob diferentes adubações

The jambu is a broad vegetable consumption in Northern Brazil, especially in Pará, known by the jambu and other common names is native to the Amazon region has been used and cultivated for culinary and also recently in natural medicines by their chemical properties, attributed to the spilanthol compound. Knowing the amount of nutrient uptake in plants, especially at the taken, it is important to evaluate the removal of nutrients necessary for economic fertilizer recommendations. So the goal of this project was to determine the accumulation of nutrients in plants of jambu (leaf and inflorescence) under different fertilizations. The experiment was conducted at São Manuel Experimental Farm UNESP. The statistical was arranged in the randomized block design, in a 2 x 6 factorial scheme, two sources of fertilizers (organic and mineral) and six doses of nitrogen, with four replications. We evaluated the macronutrients of accumulation N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S and micronutrients of accumulation B, Cu, Fe and Zn in leaves and inflorescence. The plants responded more jambu nutrients of translocation phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), sulfhur (S), boron (B), copper (Cu) and iron (Fe) in the inflorescences and phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), manganese (Mg), sulfur (S), boron (B), copper (Cu) and iron (Fe) in leaves to organic fertilization demonstrating the effectiveness of using this source of fertilizer nutrients indicating that this was a defining characteristic in response to the accumulation of nutrients in the leaves and inflorescences jambu. Plants jambu are more responsive to fertilizer for the mineral of translocation nitrogen (N) and manganese (Mn) for both the sheet and for the inflorescences of plants jambu.

Produtividade e acúmulo de nutrientes em plantas de jambu, sob adubação orgânica e mineral

The organic production is a system that allows achieving good levels of productivity, while avoiding the risks of chemical contamination of farmers, consumers and the environment. Because jambu plant is widely used as alternative medicine and cosmetics industries, has been increasing interest in its cultivation. The aim of this study was to analyze the biomass, accumulation of nutrient, productivity and determine the pesticide residue in plant jambu when grown under organic and mineral fertilization. The experiment was conducted at the Experimental Farm São Manuel, FCA / UNESP. The experiment was conducted at São Manuel Experimental Farm UNESP. The statistical was arranged in the randomized block design, in a 2 x 6 factorial scheme, two sources of fertilizers (organic and mineral) and six doses of nitrogen, with four replications. The characteristics evaluated were plant height, fresh and dry weight, nutrients of accumulation in shoots and productivity. Mineral fertilizer gave higher biomass, productivity and accumulation of N and K in relation to organic fertilizer used. It is recommended the dose of 90g m -2 of urea as appropriate to obtain these results. However the organic fertilization favored the accumulation of phosphorus in plants jambu in relation the mineral fertilizer, and the dose of 10 kg m-2 of cattle manure recommended to achieve this result in plants jambu. We did not detect the presence of phosphorous and carbamate on leaves of jambu under organic and mineral fertilization. However, we observed the presence of chlorine in the leaves used for the two fertilizations.

Clastogenicity of landfarming soil treated with sugar cane vinasse

The addition of nutrients and/or soil bulking agents is used in bioremediation to increase microbial activity in contaminated soils. For this purpose, some studies have assessed the effectiveness of vinasse in the bioremediation of soils contaminated with petroleum waste. The present study was aimed at investigating the clastogenic/aneugenic potential of landfarming soil from a petroleum refinery before and after addition of sugar cane vinasse using the Allium cepa bioassay. Our results show that the addition of sugar cane vinasse to landfarming soil potentiates the clastogenic effects of the latter probably due the release of metals that were previously adsorbed into the organic matter. These metals may have interacted synergistically with petroleum hydrocarbons present in the landfarming soil treated with sugar cane vinasse. We recommend further tests to monitor the effects of sugar cane vinasse on soils contaminated with organic wastes. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Improvement of grapevine iron nutrition by a bovine blood-derived compound

Iron (Fe) is essential for chlorophyll formation and plant growth. Irondeficiency chlorosis is a major nutritional disorder in several fruit trees cultivated in calcareous and alkaline soils, reducing fruit yield and quality and causing heavy economic losses. Since chelated Fe, the most widespread fertilizers used for preventing or curing Fe deficiency, pose risks of environmental pollution, the development of sustainable agronomic alternatives represents a priority for the fruit industry. In this work, we investigated the effectiveness of a bovine blood-derived product (BB; 0,125% Fe) for preventing Fe-deficiency in grapevine plants. During the vegetative season 2011 potted plants of five graft combinations: Sangiovese/S4O, Cabernet Sauvignon/S4O and Cabernet Sauvignon/140 Ruggeri, 140 Ruggeri/Cabernet Sauvignon, Vitis riparia/Cabernet Sauvignon were grown on calcareous soil. Soil treatments included: 1) Control; 2) Fe-EDDHA (Fe 6%); 3) Bovine-Blood (5 g/L); 4) Bovine-Blood (20 g/L). With the exception of Cabernet Sauvignon/S4O plants, Fe-EDDHA increased SPAD units (leaf chlorophyll content). Bovine-blood at low concentrations had similar or higher SPAD units than Fe-EDDHA. Increasing concentration resulted in further increases in SPAD units only in some graft combinations. Data highlight the efficiency of Fe blood-compound in the prevention of grapevine Fe-deficiency over one growing season.

Cloreto de potássio revestido em efeito residual no feijoeiro de inverno irrigado na região de cerrado

In order to maintain the nutrients available to plants have been studied controlled release fertilizers. In this context, the objective was to evaluate the residual effect of doses of potassium chloride, coated or not, applied in the corn crop, regarding the crop components and grains yield of irrigated winter common bean, cultivated in followed, in Cerrado region. The experiment was conducted in Selvíria - MS, Brazil, 51°22- west longitude and 20°22- south latitude, in a clayey Oxisol, in 2009 and 2010. A randomized block design with four repetitions was used, disposed in a factorial scheme 4 x 2, being: four K2O doses (0, 40, 80 and 120 kg ha-1) and two potassium sources (potassium chloride and coated potassium chloride by polymers) applied at sowing in the corn crop. The coated potassium chloride by polymers have the same residual effect as conventional KCl, because it provides results similar for the K and chlorophyll leaf contents, crop components and grains yield of winter common bean irrigated. The increment of potassium doses in the previous crop (corn) have residual effect, because it influenced positively the number of grains per plant in 2009 and increased linearly the chlorophyll leaf content and the grains yield of winter common bean irrigated in 2010, regardless of the source used for K.

Resposta da alface à aplicação de biofertilizante sob dois níveis de irrigação

The use of biofertilizers is interesting for agriculture as being an economical alternative as well as it is environmentally friendly by using organic waste and reducing the application of mineral fertilizers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of biofertilizer doses of bovine origin (biodigester effluent) applied on the ground and two levels of irrigation on lettuce. The experiment was conducted under protection of a greenhouse in pots, applying to the soil different doses of biofertilizer of bovine origin obtained from anaerobic reactor (10, 20, 40 and 60 m3 ha-1) and mineral fertilizer as a witness in two irrigation levels calculated at 50 and 100% of reference evapotranspiration. The lettuce plants were analyzed in their: Height, leaves number, crown diameter, fresh weight and dry weight of shoots. The biofertilizer treatments showed better results than the mineral fertilizer and has increased with increasing doses of biofertilizer, the highest dose (60 m3 ha-1) showed the best results in all variables. For dry, mineral fertilization showed higher values. The irrigation levels had no effect on plant growth.

Efeito do manejo e de níveis de lodo de esgoto na fertilidade do solo após tres aplicações

The agricultural use of sewage sludge as organic fertilizer is considered nowadays as on alternative of disposal, in the end of the residue in addition to possible environmental problems, it's using can decrease the mineral fertilizers and avoid provide organic matter to the soil. The objective of this study it was to evaluate the parameters of soil fertility under different managements and doses of sewage sludge after the third application of the residue. The experiment was carried out in São Manuel - SP, with the cultivation of sunflower in two consecutives cycles, followed by wheat and triticale without application of the residual, and in the following year with the application of sewage sludge and cultivated the black oats. It was adopted a randomized complete block design, consisting of six treatments and five repetitions defined as follows: T0 - without fertilization; T1 - mineral fertilizer nitrogen according to crop need, T2 - 50% of N from sewage sludge and 50% in mineral form, T3 - 100% of N from sewage sludge, T4 - 150% of N from sewage sludge, T5 - 200% of N derived from sewage sludge. Soil samples were collected in the end of the trial of oats. There were an increase in the levels of P, H + Al, CEC and OM, B, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn as a function of increasing dose of sewage sludge. To V% and pH were decreased the values in the proportional soil to the increase of sludge dose until 24 and 22 t ha-1, respectively and after increasing the pH and V%.