Rendimento e qualidade de sementes de arroz irrigado em função da adubação com boro

O boro é um nutriente essencial para as plantas. Suas funções estão envolvidas com o crescimento celular e o desenvolvimento da flor. Na fase reprodutiva, a deficiência do micronutriente reduz a macho-fertilidade em função do prejuízo à microesporogênese e ao crescimento posterior do tubo polínico. Neste trabalho, objetivou-se avaliar o efeito da aplicação de boro, sobre as características agronômicas e a qualidade fisiológica das sementes de arroz produzidas. A aplicação do boro, na forma de borato de sódio (Na2B4O7.10H2 O), na dosagem de 10 kg.ha-1, foi realizada em cinco épocas diferentes (na semeadura; no perfilhamento; na diferenciação do primórdio floral; no emborrachamento e na floração plena). Foram realizadas avaliações de rendimento, esterilidade e componentes de rendimento do arroz, bem como sobre a qualidade fisiológica das sementes. Constatou-se que a aplicação de borato de sódio na dosagem de 10 Kg.ha-1, nos diferentes estádios de crescimento, não provocou esterelidade, não influenciou o rendimento de grãos, os componentes do rendimento, nem a qualidade fisiológica das sementes de arroz irrigado, cultivar IRGA 422CL.

Using X rays to evaluate fissures in rice seeds dried artificially

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficiency of X-rays in identifying fissures in artificially dried rice seeds and the relationship between damage and seed performance in the germination test. Irrigated rice seeds of the IRGA 417 and IRGA 420 cultivars were harvested with 23.3 and 24.5% water content respectively and submitted to stationary drying treatments at 32, 38, 44 and 50 °C. X-rays were taken of subsamples of 100 seeds for each treatment, using an MX-20 X-ray equipment. The X-rayed seeds were classified from 1 to 3, where 1 corresponded to seeds without fissures, 2 to seeds with non-severe fissures and 3 to seeds with severe fissures. The same X-rayed seeds were planted and on the seventh day the seedlings (normal or abnormal) and dead seeds were photographed and evaluated to verify any relationship between the fissures and physiological potential. Higher drying temperature increased the percentage of fissures in the two cultivars, which can adversely affect their germination. Seeds with fissures can be identified using X-rays.

Aplicação de fungicida em cultivares de arroz irrigado e seu efeito na qualidade de sementes

Objetivou-se com o presente trabalho verificar o efeito de fungicida aplicado na parte aérea de plantas de arroz irrigado, produzidas após a época preferencial, sobre a qualidade das sementes colhidas com diferentes graus de umidade. O experimento foi conduzido durante o ano agrícola de 2008/09, utilizando o delineamento experimental em blocos ao acaso em esquema fatorial, com cultivo em faixas e, com quatro repetições. O fator principal, em faixas, foi composto por quatro cultivares de arroz irrigado: BR-IRGA 409, IRGA 417, IRGA 422CL e IRGA 423. Na subparcela, a aplicação de fungicida foi realizada na parte aérea das plantas, em diferentes estádios de desenvolvimento (T1-testemunha sem aplicação de fungicida, T2-aplicação no estádio R2, T3-aplicação no estádio R3 e T4-aplicação no estádio R2+R4). A colheita do arroz foi realizada na sub-subparcela, com grau de umidade médio das sementes em torno de 24, 22, 20, 18, 16 e 14%. A aplicação do fungicida com mistura formulada de propiconazol+trifloxistrobina, quando realizadas duas aplicações (no estádio R2+R4) mantém elevada a qualidade fisiológica das sementes de arroz. Há redução da germinação e do vigor das sementes de arroz com o atraso da colheita, sendo mais evidenciado para colheitas realizadas com o grau de umidade médio inferior a 22%.

Teste de lixiviação de potássio para a avaliação do vigor de sementes de arroz

O presente trabalho foi realizado com o objetivo de determinar as condições do teste de lixiviação de potássio para a avaliação do vigor de sementes de arroz. Cinco lotes de sementes da cultivar IRGA 424 e cinco da cultivar Puitá Inta CL foram submetidos a esse teste, cuja eficiência foi comparada à dos testes de germinação, primeira contagem de germinação, frio sem solo, condutividade elétrica massal e emergência de plântulas em campo. A quantidade de potássio exsudada foi determinada em fotômetro de chama, após 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 e 180 minutos de imersão de 50 sementes, em água destilada e deionizada nos volumes de 20 e 50 mL a 25 °C. O teste de lixiviação de potássio é eficiente para avaliar o vigor de sementes de arroz. A combinação de 50 sementes puras imersas em 50 mL de água destilada e deionizada, a 25 °C durante 60 minutos representa o procedimento mais eficiente para classificar lotes de sementes de arroz, em função de sua qualidade fisiológica.

Aplicação de fungicida em plantas de arroz irrigado e seu efeito na qualidade de sementes durante o armazenamento

O armazenamento de sementes de arroz irrigado consiste na preservação da qualidade fisiológica das sementes para novos cultivos, podendo associar a aplicação de fungicida na parte aérea das plantas, como auxílio para manter esta qualidade. Objetivou-se com esta pesquisa avaliar o efeito da mistura fungicida de propiconazol+trifloxistrobina na parte aérea das plantas, em diferentes estádios de desenvolvimento da cultura do arroz irrigado, sobre a qualidade fisiológica e sanitária de sementes produzidas e armazenadas em dois ambientes, por seis meses. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi de blocos ao acaso, com quatro repetições, em esquema fatorial (4x2x4), sendo os fatores; aplicação da mistura do fungicida propiconazol+trifloxistrobina na parte aérea das plantas nos estádios R2, R3, R2+R4 e sem a aplicação de fungicida durante o ciclo da cultura; dois locais de armazenamento (câmara fria e seca e armazém) e 0, 2, 4 e 6 meses de armazenamento. Conclui-se que o uso de duas aplicações da mistura fungicida (propiconazol+trifloxistrobina) reflete-se positivamente na germinação e no vigor das sementes, bem como na redução da incidência de fungos associados às sementes; o aumento do tempo de armazenamento reduz o vigor e a germinação das sementes, independentemente das condições do armazenamento, no entanto, a incidência de fungos associados às sementes é menor em câmara fria e seca.

Performance of lowland rice seeds coated with dolomitic limestone and aluminum silicate

The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of seeds of two cultivars of lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.), coated with dolomitic limestone and aluminum silicate. It was used a completely randomized experimental design, with the treatments arranged in a 4 X 2 factorial scheme [4 treatments: dolomitic limestone; dolomitic limestone + aluminum silicate; aluminum silicate, at the dosages of 50 g/100 kg of seeds; and control (without the products) X 2 cultivars: IRGA424 and IRGA 422 CL], totaling eight treatments with four replications each. The variables analyzed were: fresh and dry weights of aerial biomass; plant height; leaf area at 10, 20, and 30 days after emergence (DAE). The physiological quality of seeds was also assessed using tests of: seed emergence; first count of germination; emergence speed index; and field emergence. It was concluded that the coating of rice seeds with dolomitic limestone and aluminum silicate does not affect seed germination and field seedling emergence. Aluminum silicate used via seed coating on cultivar IRGA 424 promoted greater leaf area, after 20 DAE. The dolomitic limestone and the aluminum silicate used via seed coating generated plants with larger dry biomass, after 20 DAE, for the cultivar IRGA 422 CL.

Produção de sementes, qualidade fisiológica e identificação de genótipos de alface termotolerantes

A alface (Lactuca sativa L.) é uma das folhosas de maior importância na cadeia produtiva de hortaliças. O estabelecimento da lavoura de alface pode ser feito por meio da semeadura direta ou transplantio de mudas. As sementes apresentam particular sensibilidade às variações de temperatura do meio onde germinam. Condições de alta temperatura, por exemplo, afetam negativamente a germinação e o estabelecimento de plântulas. O objetivo neste trabalho foi identificar as diferenças de germinação de sementes de vinte cultivares de alface em condições de temperatura ideal 20 ºC, temperatura intermediária 27,5 ºC e temperatura crítica 35 ºC. Utilizaram-se sementes comerciais adquiridas de empresas, bem como sementes das mesmas cultivares produzidas na Embrapa Hortaliças, em condições de casa de vegetação. Alguns genótipos termotolerantes Vitória de Verão e Camila foram identificados, obtendo germinação acima de 90% nas temperaturas: favorável e crítica máxima. Estes genótipos poderiam ser utilizados como fonte genética de tolerância à germinação a altas temperaturas. Para as sementes produzidas na casa de vegetação, a maioria não germinou satisfatoriamente em condições de altas temperaturas.

Indexação do Lettuce mosaic virus em sementes e plântulas de genótipos de alface

O Lettuce mosaic virus espécie mais importante na cultura de alface (Lactuca sativa L.) no Brasil, causando sintomas de mosaico, clareamento das nervuras, necrose, distorção foliar e redução do crescimento da planta, pode ser transmitido por sementes com uma taxa de 1% a 16%, dependendo da interação dos genótipos de alface com os isolados LMV-Most ou LMV-Common. Neste trabalho, avaliou-se a detecção do LMV por PTA-ELISA, em sementes e plântulas de oito genótipos de alface: 'Vanessa Roxa', 'Baba de Verão', 'Verdinha', 'Maravilha das 4 Estações', 'Evely', 'Marcela', 687 ('Sapore' x 'Vera' ), 784 ('Sapore' x 'Vera'), utilizando anti-soro policlonal específico. O vírus não foi detectado em sementes do genótipo 'Verdinha' e, em plântulas dos genótipos 687, 'Marcela' e 'Evely', após a germinação em papel e 687, 784 e 'Marcela' com gene mo1¹, após a germinação em substrato. A avaliação individual do número de sementes infectadas foi de 100% para 'Vanessa Roxa' e 'Baba de Verão', 87,7% para 'Verdinha', 46,6% para 'Maravilha das 4 Estações' e 16,6% para 'Evely'. Nos genótipos com gene de resistência o percentual foi de 15,6%, 26,6%, 90% em 'Marcela', 687 e 784, respectivamente. A detecção do LMV por PTA-ELISA foi eficiente tanto em sementes quanto em plântulas.

Changes of traditional farming systems and their effects on land degradation and socio-economic conditions in the Inle Lake region, Myanmar

At many locations in Myanmar, ongoing changes in land use have negative environmental impacts and threaten natural ecosystems at local, regional and national scales. In particular, the watershed area of Inle Lake in eastern Myanmar is strongly affected by the environmental effects of deforestation and soil erosion caused by agricultural intensification and expansion of agricultural land, which are exacerbated by the increasing population pressure and the growing number of tourists. This thesis, therefore, focuses on land use changes in traditional farming systems and their effects on socio-economic and biophysical factors to improve our understanding of sustainable natural resource management of this wetland ecosystem. The main objectives of this research were to: (1) assess the noticeable land transformations in space and time, (2) identify the typical farming systems as well as the divergent livelihood strategies, and finally, (3) estimate soil erosion risk in the different agro-ecological zones surrounding the Inle Lake watershed area. GIS and remote sensing techniques allowed to identify the dynamic land use and land cover changes (LUCC) during the past 40 years based on historical Corona images (1968) and Landsat images (1989, 2000 and 2009). In this study, 12 land cover classes were identified and a supervised classification was used for the Landsat datasets, whereas a visual interpretation approach was conducted for the Corona images. Within the past 40 years, the main landscape transformation processes were deforestation (- 49%), urbanization (+ 203%), agricultural expansion (+ 34%) with a notably increase of floating gardens (+ 390%), land abandonment (+ 167%), and marshlands losses in wetland area (- 83%) and water bodies (- 16%). The main driving forces of LUCC appeared to be high population growth, urbanization and settlements, a lack of sustainable land use and environmental management policies, wide-spread rural poverty, an open market economy and changes in market prices and access. To identify the diverse livelihood strategies in the Inle Lake watershed area and the diversity of income generating activities, household surveys were conducted (total: 301 households) using a stratified random sampling design in three different agro-ecological zones: floating gardens (FG), lowland cultivation (LL) and upland cultivation (UP). A cluster and discriminant analysis revealed that livelihood strategies and socio-economic situations of local communities differed significantly in the different zones. For all three zones, different livelihood strategies were identified which differed mainly in the amount of on-farm and off-farm income, and the level of income diversification. The gross margin for each household from agricultural production in the floating garden, lowland and upland cultivation was US$ 2108, 892 and 619 ha-1 respectively. Among the typical farming systems in these zones, tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) plantation in the floating gardens yielded the highest net benefits, but caused negative environmental impacts given the overuse of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and spatial analysis within GIS were applied to estimate soil erosion risk in the different agricultural zones and for the main cropping systems of the study region. The results revealed that the average soil losses in year 1989, 2000 and 2009 amounted to 20, 10 and 26 t ha-1, respectively and barren land along the steep slopes had the highest soil erosion risk with 85% of the total soil losses in the study area. Yearly fluctuations were mainly caused by changes in the amount of annual precipitation and the dynamics of LUCC such as deforestation and agriculture extension with inappropriate land use and unsustainable cropping systems. Among the typical cropping systems, upland rainfed rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivation had the highest rate of soil erosion (20 t ha-1yr-1) followed by sebesten (Cordia dichotoma) and turmeric (Curcuma longa) plantation in the UP zone. This study indicated that the hotspot region of soil erosion risk were upland mountain areas, especially in the western part of the Inle lake. Soil conservation practices are thus urgently needed to control soil erosion and lake sedimentation and to conserve the wetland ecosystem. Most farmers have not yet implemented soil conservation measures to reduce soil erosion impacts such as land degradation, sedimentation and water pollution in Inle Lake, which is partly due to the low economic development and poverty in the region. Key challenges of agriculture in the hilly landscapes can be summarized as follows: fostering the sustainable land use of farming systems for the maintenance of ecosystem services and functions while improving the social and economic well-being of the population, integrated natural resources management policies and increasing the diversification of income opportunities to reduce pressure on forest and natural resources.

Reduction of arsenic uptake by lettuce with ferrous sulfate applied to contaminated soil

Soil contamination by arsenic (As) presents a hazard in many countries and there is a need for techniques to minimize As uptake by plants. A proposed in situ remediation method was tested by growing lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. cv. Kermit) in a greenhouse pot experiment on soil that contained 577 mg As kg(-1), taken from a former As smelter site. All combinations of iron (Fe) oxides, at concentrations of 0.00, 0.22, 0.54, and 1.09% (w/w), and lime, at concentrations of 0.00, 0.27, 0.68, and 1.36% (w/w), were tested in a factorial design. To create the treatments, field-moist soil, commercial-grade FeSO4, and ground agricultural lime were mixed and stored for one week, allowing Fe oxides to precipitate. Iron oxides gave highly significant (P < 0.001) reductions in lettuce As concentrations, down to 11% of the lettuce As concentration for untreated soil. For the Fe oxides and lime treatment combinations where soil pH was maintained nearly constant, the lettuce As concentration declined in an exponential relationship with increasing FeSO4 application rate and lettuce yield was almost unchanged. Iron oxides applied at a concentration of 1.09% did not give significantly lower lettuce As concentrations than the 0.54% treatment. Simultaneous addition of lime with FeSO4 was essential. Ferrous sulfate with insufficient lime lowered soil pH and caused mobilization of Al, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Sr, and Zn. At the highest Fe oxide to lime ratios, Mn toxicity caused severe yield loss.

Evaluating the century C model using long-term fertilizer trials in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, India

The GEFSOC Project developed a system for estimating soil carbon (C) stocks and changes at the national and sub-national scale. As part of the development of the system, the Century ecosystem model was evaluated for its ability to simulate soil organic C (SOC) changes in environmental conditions in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, India (IGP). Two long-term fertilizer trials (LTFT), with all necessary parameters needed to run Century, were used for this purpose: a jute (Corchorus capsularis L.), rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) trial at Barrackpore, West Bengal, and a rice-wheat trial at Ludhiana, Punjab. The trials represent two contrasting climates of the IGP, viz. semi-arid, dry with mean annual rainfall (MAR) of < 800 mm and humid with > 1600 turn. Both trials involved several different treatments with different organic and inorganic fertilizer inputs. In general, the model tended to overestimate treatment effects by approximately 15%. At the semi-arid site, modelled data simulated actual data reasonably well for all treatments, with the control and chemical N + farm yard manure showing the best agreement (RMSE = 7). At the humid site, Century performed less well. This could have been due to a range of factors including site history. During the study, Century was calibrated to simulate crop yields for the two sites considered using data from across the Indian IGP. However, further adjustments may improve model performance at these sites and others in the IGP. The availability of more longterm experimental data sets (especially those involving flooded lowland rice and triple cropping systems from the IGP) for testing and validation is critical to the application of the model's predictive capabilities for this area of the Indian sub-continent. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Genotype x environment interaction in the uptake of Cs and Sr from soils by plants

The soil-plant transfer factors for Cs and Sr were analyzed in relationship to soil properties, crops, and varieties of crops. Two crops and two varieties of each crop: lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), cv. Salad Bowl Green and cv. Lobjoits Green Cos, and radish (Raphanus sativus L.), cv. French Breakfast 3 and cv. Scarlet Globe, were grown on five different soils amended with Cs and Sr to give concentrations of 1 mg kg(-1) and 50 mg kg(-1) of each element. Soil-plant transfer coefficients ranged between 0.12-19.10 (Cs) and 1.48-146.10 (Sr) for lettuce and 0.09-13.24 (Cs) and 2.99-93.00 (Sr) for radish. Uptake of Cs and Sr by plants depended on both plant and soil properties. There were significant (P less than or equal to 0.05) differences between soil-plant transfer factors for each plant type at the two soil concentrations. At each soil concentration about 60% of the variance in the uptake of the Cs and Sr was due to soil properties. For a given concentration of Cs or Sr in soil, the most important factor effecting soil-plant transfer of these elements was the soil properties rather than the crops or varieties of crops. Therefore, for the varieties considered here, soil-plant transfer of Cs and Sr would be best regulated through the management of soil properties. At each concentration of Cs and Sr, the main soil properties effecting the uptake of Cs and Sr by lettuce and radish were the concentrations of K and Ca, pH and CEC. Together with the concentrations of contaminants in soils, they explained about 80% of total data variance, and were the best predictors for soil-plant transfer. The different varieties of lettuce and radish gave different responses in soil-plant transfer of Cs and Sr in different soil conditions, i.e. genotype x environment interaction caused about 30% of the variability in the uptake of Cs and Sr by plants. This means that a plant variety with a low soil-plant transfer of Cs and Sr in one soil could have an increased soil-plant transfer factor in other soils. The broad implications of this work are that in contaminated agricultural lands still used for plant growing, contaminant-excluding crop varieties may not be a reliable method for decreasing contaminant transfer to foodstuffs. Modification of soil properties would be a more reliable technique. This is particularly relevant to agricultural soils in the former USSR still affected by fallout from the Chernobyl disaster.

Reduction of arsenic uptake by lettuce with ferrous sulfate applied to contaminated soil

Soil contamination by arsenic (As) presents a hazard in many countries and there is a need for techniques to minimize As uptake by plants. A proposed in situ remediation method was tested by growing lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. cv. Kermit) in a greenhouse pot experiment on soil that contained 577 mg As kg(-1), taken from a former As smelter site. All combinations of iron (Fe) oxides, at concentrations of 0.00, 0.22, 0.54, and 1.09% (w/w), and lime, at concentrations of 0.00, 0.27, 0.68, and 1.36% (w/w), were tested in a factorial design. To create the treatments, field-moist soil, commercial-grade FeSO4, and ground agricultural lime were mixed and stored for one week, allowing Fe oxides to precipitate. Iron oxides gave highly significant (P < 0.001) reductions in lettuce As concentrations, down to 11% of the lettuce As concentration for untreated soil. For the Fe oxides and lime treatment combinations where soil pH was maintained nearly constant, the lettuce As concentration declined in an exponential relationship with increasing FeSO4 application rate and lettuce yield was almost unchanged. Iron oxides applied at a concentration of 1.09% did not give significantly lower lettuce As concentrations than the 0.54% treatment. Simultaneous addition of lime with FeSO4 was essential. Ferrous sulfate with insufficient lime lowered soil pH and caused mobilization of Al, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Sr, and Zn. At the highest Fe oxide to lime ratios, Mn toxicity caused severe yield loss.

Temperature sensitivity of the low-moisture-content limit to negative seed longevity-moisture content relationships in hermetic storage

Background and Aims The negative logarithmic relationship between orthodox seed longevity and moisture content in hermetic storage is subject to a low-moisture-content limit (m(c)), but is m(c) affected by temperature? Methods Red clover (Trifolium pratense) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa) seeds were stored hermetically at 12 moisture contents (2-15 %) and five temperatures (-20, 30, 40, 50 and 65 degrees C) for up to 14.5 years, and loss in viability was estimated. Key Results Viability did not change during 14.5 years hermetic storage at -20 degrees C with moisture contents from 2.2 to 14.9 % for red clover, or 2.0 to 12.0 % for alfalfa. Negative logarithmic relationships between longevity and moisture contents > m(c) were detected at 30-65 degrees C, with discontinuities at low moisture contents; m(c) varied between 4.0 and 5.4 % (red clover) or 4.2 and 5.5 % (alfalfa), depending upon storage temperature. Within the ranges investigated, a reduction in moisture content below m(c) at any one temperature had no effect on longevity. Estimates of m(c) were greater the cooler the temperature, the relationship (P < 0.01) being curvilinear. Above m(c), the estimates of C-H and C-Q (i.e. the temperature term of the seed viability equation) did not differ (P > 0.10) between species, whereas those of K-E and C-W did (P < 0.001). Conclusions The low-moisture-content limit to negative logarithmic relationships between seed longevity and moisture content in hermetic storage increased the cooler the storage temperature, by approx. 1.5 % over 35 degrees C (4.0-4.2 % at 65 degrees C to 5.4-5.5 % at 30-40 degrees C) in these species. Further reduction in moisture content was not damaging. The variation in m(c) implies greater sensitivity of longevity to temperature above, compared with below, m(c). This was confirmed (P < 0.005).

Phenotyping parents of mapping populations of rice for heat tolerance during anthesis

Seed set of rice (Oryza sativa L.) is highly sensitive to short episodes of high temperature at anthesis events that are likely to be more frequent in future climates. Breeding for tolerance is therefore an essential component of adaptation to climate variability and change. Experiments were conducted in 2003 and 2004 at optimum (30 degrees C daytime) and high (35 and 38 degrees C) air temperature using parents of some prominent mapping populations (i) to determine whether there were differences in the daily flowering pattern and hence a potential heat avoidance mechanism, and (ii) to identify rice genotypes having true heat tolerance during anthesis, that is, high seed set in spikelets exposed to high temperature. Rice cultivar CG14 (O. glaberrima) reached peak anthesis earlier in the morning (1.5 h after dawn) under both control (30 degrees C) and high (38 degrees C) temperature conditions than O. sativa genotypes (>= 3 h after dawn). Exposure to high temperature (centered on the time of peak anthesis) for 6 h reduced spikelet fertility more than exposure for 2 h, and fertility was lower at 38 degrees C than at 35 degrees C. Genotypic ranking for spikelet fertility at 35 and 38 degrees C was highly correlated in both 2003 and 2004. Fertility was also highly correlated across years, suggesting a consistent and reproducible response of spikelet fertility to temperature. The check cultivar N22 was the most heat tolerant genotype (64-86% fertility at 38 degrees C) and cultivars Azucena and Moroberekan the most susceptible (<8%).