Asset productivity at container terminals in Latin America and the Caribbean: 2005-2013

This issue of the FAL Bulletin shows productivity trends at container terminals in Latin America and the Caribbean during the period from 2005 to 2013, comparing them to the trend of earlier years (2000 to 2004). One of the conclusions of the study is that most terminals in the region have improved their quay productivity in recent years, although there are large differences between the three container terminal size categories analysed. However, the author identifies a number of challenges still to be met at the region’s ports.

Latin America: Total factor productivity and its components

This article applies the stochastic-frontier model to examine total factor productivity (tfp) and its components in Latin America between 1960 and 2010. The likelihood-ratio test shows that, for a selection of Latin American countries over the 50 years analysed, the macroeconomic variables of technical inefficiency included in the model generally have a significant effect; and they allow for a better understanding of technical inefficiency throughout the region. The key variables explaining technical inefficiency in the selected countries are public expenditure and the inflation rate; and there is also an inverse relation between technical inefficiency and the extent to which local prices diverge from purchasing power parity.

Does public financial support stimulate innovation and productivity? An impact evaluation

This paper contributes to the empirical literature that evaluates the effects of public financial support to innovation on innovation expenditures, innovation itself and productivity in developing countries. Propensity score matching techniques and data from Innovation Surveys are used to analyse the impacts of public financial support to innovation on Uruguayan firms. The results indicate that there is no crowding-out effect of private innovation investment by public funds and that public financial support in Uruguay seems to increase private innovation expenditures. Financial support also appears to induce increased research and development expenditures and innovative sales, with these effects being greatest for service firms. Public funds do not, however, significantly stimulate private expenditures by firms that would have carried out innovation activities even in the absence of financial support.

A comparative analysis of productivity in Brazilian and Mexican manufacturing industries

This article analyses productivity trends in Brazilian and Mexican manufacturing industries between 1995 and 2009, a period in which international competition intensified sharply. A total of 14 manufacturing industries are considered, using two methods based on: (i) the Leontief (1951) model to measure the consumption of intermediate goods used in production; and (ii) the analysis of total factor productivity (TFP). The studies performed show that manufacturing trends have diverged in the two countries. In Mexico, an increased need for imported goods and services was offset by a reduction in domestic goods and service requirements, and an increase in the TFP of production. In the case of Brazil, the fact that manufactured goods markets are more isolated from foreign trade seems to have contributed to a weak productivity performance.

Productivity, social expenditure and income distribution in Latin America

This paper discusses the role of institutions and structural change in shaping income inequality. It is argued that while social expenditure and direct redistribution are crucial for improving income distribution, sustainable equality requires structural change to create decent jobs. The relative importance of these variables in different countries is analyzed and a typology suggested. It is argued that the most equal countries in the world combine strong institutions in favor of redistribution and knowledge-intensive production structures that sustain growth and employment in the long run. Both institutions and the production structure in Latin America fail to foster equality and this explains its extremely high levels of inequality. The last decade witnessed significant advances in reducing inequality in Latin America, but these advances are threatened by slow productivity growth and weak structural change.

Neoleucinodes elegantalis (Guenée) (Lep.: Crambidae) em tomateiro estaqueado: dinâmica populacional, nível de controle com feromônio sexual e eficiência de agrotóxicos

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Entomologia Agrícola) - FCAV

Estimativa da produção anual de serapilheira dos bosques de mangue no Furo Grande, Bragança-Pará

As condições ambientais de determinado local podem influenciar a produtividade dos manguezais. Assim, este estudo estimou a produção total e dos componentes da serapilheira no Furo Grande, Bragança, PA. Este estudo compreendeu quatro ciclos anuais (julho/2000 a agosto/2004) em três sítios. Foram instaladas sete cestas em cada sítio ao longo de uma transecção de 140 m, com intervalos de 20 m. Cada cesta possuía uma área útil de 1 m², com tela de 1 mm², suspensa acima do nível das marés de sizígia. O material acumulado nas cestas foi coletado mensalmente, separado em folha, flor, fruto, estípula, galho e miscelânea, sendo posteriormente secado a 70 ºC até alcançar peso constante. A produção média dos quatro anos foi de 9,85 t.ha^-1.ano^-1 no sítio 1, 6,41 t.ha^-1.ano^-1 no sítio 2 e 5,99 t.ha^-1.ano^-1 no sítio 3, cuja comparação apresenta diferença significativa entre os sítios 1 e 3 (H=7,53; gl=2; p<0,05). Em suma, os resultados apontaram que a folha foi o componente de maior produtividade e, juntamente com a flor, teve pico na estação seca, o que parece favorecer uma economia de energia para o investimento em reprodução, enquanto a maior produção de fruto foi na estação chuvosa, promovendo a dispersão de propágulos e, conseqüentemente, a renovação e manutenção dessas florestas.

Influence of pitfall trap size and design on herpetofauna and small mammal studies in a Neotropical Forest

One of the most commonly used sampling techniques to capture leaf litter amphibians, lizards and small mammals is a set of pitfall traps with drift fences. However, there are still many speculations concerning the effectiveness of different designs of pitfall traps and the most adequate size of each trap. To address this problem, we conducted the first standardized comparison of patterns of species richness, rank-abundance, and community structure of leaf litter amphibians, lizards and small mammals for two trap designs (I and Y format) and three bucket sizes (35, 62, and 100 L) in a Neotropical forest. Results are very similar for the herpetofauna, regardless of the pitfall trap design or size used, while for small mammals values of species richness were higher for 100 L pitfall traps, as compared to the smaller traps. Therefore, the use of 100 L pitfall traps is recommended to sample the terrestrial vertebrate fauna, in multidisciplinary studies. For surveys aiming only the herpetofauna the use of smaller (35 L) traps is acceptable, taking into consideration the cost-benefits obtained by the smaller traps, in comparison to the larger ones.

Development of the BG-Malaria trap as an alternative to human-landing catches for the capture of Anopheles darlingi

Although the human-landing catch (HLC) method is the most effective for collecting anthropophilic anophelines, it has been increasingly abandoned, primarily for ethical considerations. The objective of the present study was to develop a new trap for the collection of Anopheles darlingi . The initial trials were conducted using the BG-Sentinel trap as a standard for further trap development based on colour, airflow direction and illumination. The performance of the trap was then compared with those of the CDC, Fay-Prince, counterflow geometry trap (CFG) and HLC. All trials were conducted outdoors between 06:00 pm-08:00 pm. Female specimens of An. darlingi were dissected to determine their parity. A total of 8,334 anophelines were captured, of which 4,945 were identified as An. darlingi . The best trap configuration was an all-white version, with an upward airflow and no required light source. This configuration was subsequently named BG-Malaria (BGM). The BGM captured significantly more anophelines than any of the other traps tested and was similar to HLC with respect to the number and parity of anophelines. The BGM trap can be used as an alternative to HLC for collecting anophelines.

Alternative substrates in the production of lettuce seedlings and their productivity in the field

Based on the hypothesis that alternative substrates should improve the yield of lettuce crops by producing better quality seedlings, the objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of different substrates on the production of seedlings of this species, and their growth in the field. The study was in two stages. The first consisted of the production of lettuce seedlings, and the second assessed their development in the field. Four alternative substrates were tested, obtained by mixing together a sieved vermicompost from which all clumps had been removed, sterilized sand, charred rice husks and basalt powder. The commercial substrate, Plantmax HA®, was also tested. In the first phase, which was conducted in a completely randomised design with four replications, the height, root length, number of leaves, leaf area and dry weight of the seedlings were all evaluated 28 days after sowing. In the second phase, which was carried out in the field in a randomised block design with four replications, the plants were harvested 50 days after transplanting and the head diameter, fresh weight, number of leaves and leaf and stem dry weight were evaluated. The alternative substrates produced larger seedlings in less time than the commercial substrate, resulting in a reduction of 10 days in the total crop cycle. The reduction in the time between sowing and harvesting, together with those aspects relating to sustainability, are the main advantages of the use of alternative substrates, since in the field crop production did not differ between treatments.

Sugarcane productivity correlated with physical-chemical attributes to create soil management zone

The socioeconomic importance of sugar cane in Brazil is unquestionable because it is the raw material for the production of ethanol and sugar. The accurate spatial intervention in the management of the crop, resulting zones of soil management, increases productivity as well as its agricultural yields. The spatial and Person's correlations between sugarcane attributes and physico-chemical attributes of a Typic Tropustalf were studied in the growing season of 2009, in Suzanápolis, State of São Paulo, Brazil (20°28'10'' S lat.; 50°49'20'' W long.), in order to obtain the one that best correlates with agricultural productivity. Thus, the geostatistical grid with 120 sampling points was installed to soil and data collection in a plot of 14.6 ha with second crop sugarcane. Due to their substantial and excellent linear and spatial correlations with the productivity of the sugarcane, the population of plants and the organic matter content of the soil, by evidencing substantial correlations, linear and spatial, with the productivity of sugarcane, were indicators of management zones strongly attached to such productivity.

Soil uses during the sugarcane fallow period: influence on soil chemical and physical properties and on sugarcane productivity

The planting of diversified crops during the sugarcane fallow period can improve the chemical and physical properties and increase the production potential of the soil for the next sugarcane cycle. The primary purpose of this study was to assess the influence of various soil uses during the sugarcane fallow period on soil chemical and physical properties and productivity after the first sugarcane harvest. The experiment was conducted in two areas located in Jaboticabal, São Paulo State, Brazil (21º 14' 05'' S, 48º 17' 09'' W) with two different soil types, namely: an eutroferric Red Latosol (RLe) with high-clay texture (clay content = 680 g kg-1) and an acric Red Latosol (RLa) with clayey texture (clay content = 440 g kg-1). A randomized block design with five replications and four treatments (crop sequences) was used. The crop sequences during the sugarcane fallow period were soybean/millet/soybean, soybean/sunn hemp/soybean, soybean/fallow/soybean, and soybean. Soil use was found not to affect chemical properties and sugarcane productivity of RLe or RLa. The soybean/millet/soybean sequence improved aggregation in the acric Latosol.

Dynamics of the chemical composition and productivity of composts for the cultivation of Agaricus bisporus strains

Two compost formulations based on oat straw (Avena sativa) and brachiaria (Brachiaria sp.) were tested for the cultivation of three Agaricus bisporus strains (ABI-07/06, ABI-05/03, and PB-1). The experimental design was a 2 x 3 factorial scheme (composts x strains) with 6 treatments and 8 repetitions (boxes containing 12 kg of compost). The chemical characterization of the compost (humidity, organic matter, carbon, nitrogen, pH, raw protein, ethereal extract, fibers, ash, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin) before and after the cultivation of A. bisporus and the production (basidiomata mass, productivity, and biological efficiency) were evaluated. Data were submitted to variance analysis, and averages were compared by means of the Tukey's test. According to the results obtained, the chemical and production characteristics showed that the best performances for the cultivation of A. bisporus were presented by the compost based on oat and the strain ABI-07/06.

Modalities for soil preparation and gypsum application in ultisol: stem productivity of sugarcane

O trabalho foi conduzido em área de expansão de cana-de-açúcar da Usina Vale do Paraná, no município de Suzanápolis - SP, na região do noroeste paulista. Foi utilizada a variedade de cana RB92-5345, espaçamento de 1,5 m entre linhas, em ARGISSOLO VERMELHO. O trabalho objetivou avaliar a produtividade em cana-planta e 1ª cana-soca e alguns atributos químicos de solo, em função dos métodos de preparo do solo e aplicação ou não de gesso. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos ao acaso, com seis tratamentos, fatorial 3x2, e seis repetições. Os tratamentos principais foram preparos de solo com três equipamentos: arado de aivecas, escarificador e grade pesada, e dois tratamentos secundários com aplicação de 1 t ha-1 de gesso e sem gesso. Após cada colheita da cana, o solo foi caracterizado quanto aos indicadores de fertilidade nas camadas de 0,0-0,15; 0,15-0,30 e 0,30-0,45 m. As diferenças dos atributos químicos do solo, devido aos métodos de preparo ocorridas na cana-planta, não perduraram até a colheita da 1ª cana-soca e também não influenciaram na produtividade da cultura. A gessagem proporcionou maiores valores de ATR e produtividade de TCH, para cana-planta e 1ª cana-soca, respectivamente, confirmando a hipótese inicial.

Corn productivity in function of surface application of lime in differents management systems and cultural preparation

The evaluation of technologies employed at the agricultural production system such as crop rotation and soil preparation, both associated with crop-livestock integration, is crucial. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the incorporation of lime for three no-tillage systems and cultural managements in system of crop-livestock integration, with emphasis on corn grain yield. The experiment was conducted from January 2003 to April 2005 at Selvíria city, MS, in Dystroferric Red Latosol, clay texture. The experimental design was randomized blocks with split plots consisted of three main treatments, aimed the soil physics conditioning and the incorporation of lime: PD - No-no-tillage; CM - minimum no-tillage, and PC - conventional no-tillage; and of two secondary treatments related to the management: rotation and crop succession, with four replications. Data on agronomic traits of maize were analyzed: plant height, stem diameter, height of the first spike insertion, 100 grains weight and grain yield. The results showed that the maize produced under the system of crop-livestock integration is quite feasible, showing that grain yields are comparable to averages in the region and the different soil physical conditioning and incorporation of lime did not influence the corn yield as well as the cultural managements, rotation and succession, did not affect the maize crop behavior after two years of cultivation.