Dinâmica da população de Cardiospermum halicacabum e competição com a cultura da soja

O balãozinho (Cardiospermum halicacabum), planta daninha introduzida recentemente no Paraná, tem causado perdas econômicas em lavouras de soja no Sul do Brasil. O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar época e taxa de emergência, competição e sobrevivência de balãozinho na cultura da soja cultivar Embrapa 62, em dois sistemas de manejo. O experimento foi instalado em Londrina, PR, em maio de 1997, e conduzido por três anos consecutivos. Cinco densidades de semeadura de balãozinho (0, 60, 120, 240 e 480 sementes/m²) foram estabelecidas na cultura da soja sob semeadura convencional e direta. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos casualizados, com parcelas subdivididas e quatro repetições. A redução média anual do banco de sementes foi de 61,6% e 56,4%, em relação às semeaduras convencional e direta, correspondendo às sobrevivências de seis e sete anos, respectivamente. Taxas anuais de emergência, na ausência de reinfestações, foram maiores em semeadura direta (42,6%, 32,0% e 5,0%) do que na convencional (29,9%, 10,9% e 0,7%), nos três anos. Perdas de produtividade de soja foram estimadas em 8,1% com a presença de 10 plantas/m² de balãozinho, em 3.549 kg/ha de soja. O balãozinho apresenta significativa capacidade de infestação e competição com a soja, tendendo a ser eliminado por condições ambientais que favoreçam o ataque de míldio (Peronospora farinosa).

Biologia e manejo do Cardiospermum halicacabum

Estudos de biologia e manejo do balãozinho (Cardiospermum halicacabum) foram realizados na Embrapa Soja, Londrina-PR, através da condução de quatro experimentos em condições de campo e de casa de vegetação. O primeiro experimento teve o objetivo de avaliar o crescimento, o desenvolvimento e as exigências nutricionais das plantas de balãozinho. O segundo experimento foi conduzido em condições de campo, onde as sementes do balãozinho foram dispostas em várias profundidades, com o intuito de avaliar a capacidade de emergência das plantas. Dois outros experimentos foram conduzidos em casa de vegetação, a fim de avaliar a eficácia de herbicidas no controle dessa espécie. As maiores quantidades de matéria seca estão alocadas nos ramos, seguidos das folhas e das raízes. O balãozinho apresenta a seguinte seqüência decrescente de recrutamento de nutrientes: N, K, Ca, Mg, S e P. Há emergência de plantas de balãozinho em todas as profundidades de semeadura, desde a superfície do solo até 12 cm. Os tratamentos 2,4-D (1.005 g e.a. ha-1), paraquat (400 g i.a. ha¹), amônio-glufosinate (300 g i.a. ha-1), lactofen (144 g i.a. ha-1), carfentrazone-ethyl (12 g i.a. ha¹), sulfentrazone (600 g i.a. ha-1) e glyphosate (960 g i.a. ha-1) são eficazes no controle do balãozinho no estádio até quatro folhas.

Macrophomina phaseolina: density and longevity of microsclerotia in soybean root tissues and free on the soil, and competitive saprophytic ability

In field experiments, the density of Macrophomina phaseolina microsclerotia in root tissues of naturally colonized soybean cultivars was quantified. The density of free sclerotia on the soil was determined for plots of crop rotation (soybean-corn) and soybean monoculture soon after soybean harvest. M. phaseolina natural infection was also determined for the roots of weeds grown in the experimental area. To verify the ability of M. phaseolina to colonize dead substrates, senesced stem segments from the main plant species representing the agricultural system of southern Brazil were exposed on naturally infested soil for 30 and 60 days. To quantify the sclerotia, the methodology of Cloud and Rupe (1991) and Mengistu et al. (2007) was employed. Sclerotium density, assessed based on colony forming units (CFU), ranged from 156 to 1,108/g root tissue. Sclerotium longevity, also assessed according to CFU, was 157 days for the rotation and 163 days for the monoculture system. M. phaseolina did not colonize saprophytically any dead stem segment of Avena strigosa,Avena sativa,Hordeum vulgare,Brassica napus,Gossypium hirsutum,Secale cereale,Helianthus annus,Triticosecalerimpaui, and Triticum aestivum. Mp was isolated from infected root tissues of Amaranthus viridis,Bidens pilosa,Cardiospermum halicacabum,Euphorbia heterophylla,Ipomoea sp., and Richardia brasiliensis. The survival mechanisms of M. phaseolina studied in this paper met the microsclerotium longevity in soybean root tissues, free on the soil, as well as asymptomatic colonization of weeds.

Efeitos de herbicidas aplicados no período reprodutivo sobre o crescimento inicial de plantas daninhas na geração seguinte

Em 1990, 91 e 92 foi conduzido experimento na Faculdade de Agronomia da UFRS, em Porto Alegre, RS, com o objetivo de avaliar os efeitos de herbicidas aspergidos durante a fase reprodutiva em balãozinho (Cardiospermum halicacabum), corriola (Ipomoea grandifolia) e quinquilho (Datura stramonium). Foram testados dois compostos imidazolinonas (imazaquin e imazethapyr) e duas sulfoniluréias (chlorimuron e metsulfuron), e avaliadas as áreas foliar e cotiledonar, estatura e matéria seca das plântulas da geração seguinte. Em quinquilho, as áreas foliar e cotiledonar das plântulas aspergidas não diferiram da testemunha. Já as estaturas de balãozinho e quinquilho foram afetadas pelos herbicidas: em quinquilho, especialmente por clorimuron; em balãozinho, além de clorimuron, também por metsulfuron. Diversos tratamentos afetaram a matéria seca total ou de segmentos de plântulas de quinquilho. Em corriola não se constataram efeitos dos tratamentos herbicidas nas variáveis avaliadas. De modo geral, as características de plântulas da geração seguinte foram afetadas por alguns herbicidas aplicados na fase reprodutiva, como matéria seca em quinquilho e estatura em balãozinho, dependendo do produto, dose e época de aplicação.

Semeadura com pouco revolvimento de solo como auxílio no manejo de plantas daninhas em milho

Foi desenvolvido um equipamento, denominado ERRS, que, acoplado aos discos de corte das semeadoras de plantio direto, reduz o revolvimento de solo no momento da semeadura dos cultivos. Para avaliar a capacidade de essa ferramenta auxiliar o manejo de plantas daninhas, dois experimentos foram conduzidos em Cruz Alta-RS, nos quais se determinou a exposição de solo em linhas de semeadura de milho, a densidade e local de emergência de plantas daninhas e a interação dessas características com o controle químico da flora infestante. Utilizou-se o delineamento de blocos casualizados, com parcelas subdivididas e cinco repetições, sendo avaliados, em cada experimento, os fatores: controle químico, incluindo-se testemunha não tratada; e ERRS. O protótipo em avaliação reduziu a exposição do solo nas linhas de semeadura em até 78%, proporcionando redução na emergência de plantas daninhas, como Bidens sp. (55%), Brachiaria plantaginea (até 37%), Ipomoea sp.(50%) e Raphanus raphanistrum (26%). As espécies Bidens sp., B. plantaginea e R. raphanistrum germinaram predominantemente nas linhas de semeadura do milho; para as demais plantas daninhas avaliadas essa tendência não foi tão evidente, principalmente Cardiospermum halicacabum e Euphorbia heterophylla. O uso do ERRS na semeadora de plantio direto diminuiu a exposição do solo nas linhas de semeadura do milho, reduziu a densidade de plantas daninhas e otimizou o controle químico de parte da flora infestante.

Phytosociological variability of weeds in soybean field

Understanding spatial distribution of weeds in the crop enables to perform localized herbicide applications, increasing the technical and economic efficiency of operations and reducing environmental impacts. This work aimed to characterize the spatial and phytosociological variability of weeds occurring in soybean commercial field. It was conducted in an agricultural area located at the municipality of Boa Vista das Missões - RS, during the 2010/2011 harvest season. The area, that had been managed under no-tillage with soybean monoculture (summer) for five years, was divided in regular squares of 50 x 50 m (0.25 ha), totalizing 356 points. For species identification, 0.5 x 0.5 m sample squares were used. During the survey, 1,739 individuals were identified, distributed in 19 species of 13 families. The weed species Cardiospermum halicacabum, Digitaria horizontalis, Urochloa plantaginea and Raphanus raphanistrum showed the highest population variation in the area; however, only C. halicacabum, U. plantaginea and R. raphanistrum stood out based on the Importance Index Value (IVI). Localized management strategies considering the spatial variability of weed species placed in the Magnoliopsidas and Liliopsidas group show a high potential for use in soybean crop. The results show that the sampling method through regular grid was capable of characterizing the occurrence, population density and spatial variability of weed species in soybean crop.

Seeds of species from the ‘caatinga’: proteins, oils and fatty acid contents

The seeds of 14 species from the ‘caatinga’, a dry forest ecosystem of the semiarid region of northeast Brazil, were analysed for total protein and total lipid contents, as well as fatty acid distribution. The seeds of Argemone mexicana L., an introduced and naturalized species in Brazil, commonly found in ‘caatingas’ and other vegetation, were also analysed. The protein contents ranged from 123 g.kg-1 to 551 g.kg-1, higher contents being found in species of Leguminosae, but also in Jatropha mollissima (Pohl) Baill. (Euphorbiaceae, 409 g.kg-1). Oil contents ranged from 10 g.kg-1 to 400 g.kg-1. The contents of protein and oil were found to be inversely proportional in the seeds of most species, the figures for proteins being generally higher than those of oils. Most species presented either oleic or linoleic as predominant fatty acids. Cardiospermum cf. corindum L. presented eicosenoic acid as the predominant fatty acid.

Morfologia de plântulas e estádios juvenis de espécies invasoras

The morphology of 20 species of weeds that occur in the most common crops in Maringá, Paraná State, Brazil and adjacent regions were described at early developmental stages, in order to identify the species in the field and provide information for taxonomic and ecological works. Sixteen species featured epigeal-foliaceous seedlings. The seedling in Cardiospenuum halicacabum is epigeal-fleshy; in Cenchrus echinatus and Digitaria horizontalis it is hypogeal and in Commelina virginica is epigeal-cryptocotyledonar. The differentiation of the first eophyll occurred within ten (Digitaria horizontalis) to 35 days (Bidens pilosa) and the first metaphyll appeared within 22 (Commelina virginica) to 49 days (Acanthospenuum australe). The number of eophylls varied from one to four, and the phyllotaxis varied from alternate to opposite.

Compound specific stable isotopes, BIT, pollen and spores of Miocene to Pliocene sediments of ODP Hole 175-1085A

Pollen and stable carbon (d13C) and hydrogen (dD) isotope ratios of terrestrial plant wax from the South Atlantic sediment core, ODP Site 1085, is used to reconstruct Miocene to Pliocene changes of vegetation and rainfall regime of western southern Africa. Our results reveal changes in the relative amount of precipitation and indicate a shift of the main moisture source from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean during the onset of a major aridification 8 Ma ago. We emphasise the importance of declining precipitation during the expansion of C4 and CAM (mainly succulent) vegetation in South Africa. We suggest that the C4 plant expansion resulted from an increased equator-pole temperature gradient caused by the initiation of strong Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation following the shoaling of the Central American Seaway during the Late Miocene.

(Table 1) Non-arboreal and arboreal pollen spectra at DSDP Holes 75-532 and 75-530A

Some samples from DSDP Holes 530A and 532 were analyzed for their fossil pollen content. The sites are located in the southeastern corner of the Angola Basin, about 200 km west of the present coastline. Fossil pollen assemblages of Holocene to Miocene age were compared with present-day pollen deposition in the arid Namib sand sea. The strong resemblance of all the pollen spectra indicates that very arid conditions existed in the coastal region of Namibia in Quaternary and Pliocene times. These data are in agreement with the late Miocene origin of the coastal aridity and with the conception that upwelling of cold water was responsible for these desert conditions.

AMS radiocarbon dates and pollen analysis of ODP Hole 175-1078C

ODP Site 1078 situated under the coast of Angola provides the first record of the vegetation history for Angola. The upper 11 m of the core covers the past 30 thousand years, which has been analysed palynologically in decadal to centennial resolution. Alkenone sea surface temperature estimates were analysed in centennial resolution. We studied sea surface temperatures and vegetation development during full glacial, deglacial, and interglacial conditions. During the glacial the vegetation in Angola was very open consisting of grass and heath lands, deserts and semi-deserts, which suggests a cool and dry climate. A change to warmer and more humid conditions is indicated by forest expansion starting in step with the earliest temperature rise in Antarctica, 22 thousand years ago. We infer that around the period of Heinrich Event 1, a northward excursion of the Angola Benguela Front and the Congo Air Boundary resulted in cool sea surface temperatures but rain forest remained present in the northern lowlands of Angola. Rain forest and dry forest area increase 15 thousand years ago. During the Holocene, dry forests and Miombo woodlands expanded. Also in Angola globally recognised climate changes at 8 thousand and 4 thousand years ago had an impact on the vegetation. During the past 2 thousand years, savannah vegetation became dominant.

Distribution of pollen and spores in sediments of ODP Hole 175-1078C

The distribution of pollen in marine sediments is used to record vegetation change on the continent. Generally, a good latitudinal correspondence exists between the distribution patterns of pollen in the marine surface sediments and the occurrence of the source plants on the adjacent continent. To investigate land-sea interactions during deglaciation, we compare proxies for continental (pollen assemblages) and marine conditions (alkenone-derived sea surface temperatures) of two high-resolution, radiocarbon-dated sedimentary records from the tropical southeast Atlantic. The southern site is located West of the Cunene River mouth; the northern site is located West of the Angolan Huambe Mountains. It is inferred that the vegetation in Angola developed from Afroalpine and open savannah during the last Glacial maximum (LGM) via Afromontane Podocarpus forest during Heinrich Event 1 (H1), to an early increase of lowland forest after 14.5 ka. The vegetation record indicates dry and cold conditions during the LGM, cool and wet conditions during H1 and a gradual rise in temperature starting well before the Younger Dryas (YD) period. Terrestrial and oceanic climate developments seem largely running parallel, in contrast to the situation ca. 5° further South, where marine and terrestrial developments diverge during the YD. The cool and wet conditions in tropical West Africa, South of the equator, during H1 suggest that low-latitude insolation variation is more important than the slowdown of the thermohaline circulation for the climate in tropical Africa.

Palynological and geochemical data of sediment core GeoB3910-2 located offshore Northeast Brazil

High resolution palynological and geochemical data of sediment core GeoB 3910-2 (located offshore Northeast Brazil) spanning the period between 19 600 and 14 500 calibrated year bp (19.6-14.5 ka) show a land-cover change in the catchment area of local rivers in two steps related to changes in precipitation associated with Heinrich Event 1 (H1 stadial). At the end of the last glacial maximum, the landscape in semi-arid Northeast Brazil was dominated by a very dry type of caatinga vegetation, mainly composed of grasslands with some herbs and shrubs. After 18 ka, considerably more humid conditions are suggested by changes in the vegetation and by Corg and C/N data indicative of fluvial erosion. The caatinga became wetter and along lakes and rivers, sedges and gallery forest expanded. The most humid period was recorded between 16.5 and 15 ka, when humid gallery (and floodplain) forest and even small patches of mountainous Atlantic rain forest occurred together with dry forest, the latter being considered as a rather lush type of caatinga vegetation. During this humid phase erosion decreased as less lithogenic material and more organic terrestrial material were deposited on the continental slope of northern Brazil. After 15 ka arid conditions returned. During the humid second phase of the H1 stadial, a rich variety of landscapes existed in Northeast Brazil and during the drier periods small pockets of forest could probably survive in favorable spots, which would have increased the resilience of the forest to climate change.

Pollen analysis of sediment cores from the mouth of the river Congo to Walvis Bay and Lüderitz

The distribution of pollen in marine sediments is used to record vegetation changes over the past 30,000 years on the adjacent continent. A transect of marine pollen sequences from the mouth of the river Congo (~5°S) to Walvis Bay and Lüderitz (~25°S) shows vegetation changes in Congo, Angola and Namibia from the last glacial period into the Holocene. The comparison of pollen records from different latitudes provides information about the latitudinal shift of open forest and savannahs (Poaceae pollen), the extension of lowland forest (rain forest pollen) and Afromontane forest (Podocarpus pollen), and the position of the desert fringe (pollen of Caryophyllaceae, Chenopodiaceae and Amaranthaceae). High Cyperaceae pollen percentages in sediments from the last glacial period off the mouth of the river Congo suggest the presence of open swamps rather than savannah vegetation in the Congo Basin. Pollen from Restionaceae in combination with Stoebe-type pollen (probably from Elytropappus) indicates a possible northwards extension of winter rain vegetation during the last glacial period. The record of Rhizophora (mangrove) pollen is linked to erosion of the continental shelf and sea-level rise. Pollen influx is highest off river mouths (10-2000 grains year**-1 cm**-2), close to the coast (300-6000 grains year**-1 cm**-2), but is an order of magnitude lower at sites situated far from the continent (<10 grains year**-1 cm**-2).