Enes Furlani Junior

The use of nickel (Ni) as a fertilizer remains a topic of debate, particularly in non-legume species, as Ni is required only in trace amounts for optimal plant function. Urea application in plants, whether foliar or root-based, relies on the urease enzyme to convert urea into NH_4⁺ and CO₂, with Ni serving as an essential cofactor. In this study, we conducted an experiment using a 2 × 2 factorial design, combining two urea concentrations [4% and 8% (w/v)] with the absence or presence of Ni (0.3 g L⁻¹ supplied as NiSO₄·6H₂O). Gas exchange parameters were measured two days after fertilization. We quantified urease enzyme activity, urea content, photosynthetic pigments, carbohydrates, and other nitrogenous metabolites. The presence of Ni during foliar urea fertilization significantly increased the photosynthetic rate and photosynthetic pigments, which we attributed to improved urea assimilation. The combination of urea and Ni enhanced urease activity, leading to higher levels of various nitrogenous metabolites. Ni positively influenced foliar urea assimilation, promoting its conversion into organic compounds, such as proteins, while mitigating the toxic effects associated with urea accumulation.

The relationship between zinc mineral nutrition and plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) is pivotal in enhancing agricultural productivity, especially in tropical regions characterized by diverse climatic conditions and soil variability. This review synthesizes and critically evaluates current knowledge regarding the synergistic interaction between zinc mineral nutrition and PGPB in tropical agricultural systems. Zinc is an essential and fundamental micronutrient for various physiological and biochemical processes in plants. Its deficiency affects plant growth and development, decreasing yields and nutritional quality. In tropical regions, where soil zinc availability is often limited or imbalanced, the PGPB, through different mechanisms such as Zn solubilization; siderophore production; and phytohormone synthesis, supports Zn uptake and assimilation, thereby facilitating the adverse effects of zinc deficiency in plants. This review outlines the impacts of Zn–PGPB interactions on plant growth, root architecture, and productivity in tropical agricultural systems. The positive relationship between PGPB and plants facilitates Zn uptake and improves nutrient use efficiency, overall crop performance, and agronomic biofortification. In addition, this review highlights the importance of considering indigenous PGPB strains for specific tropical agroecosystems, acknowledging their adaptability to local conditions and their potential in sustainable agricultural practices. It is concluded that Zn fertilizer and PGPBs have synergistic interactions and can offer promising avenues for sustainable agriculture, addressing nutritional deficiencies, improving crop resilience, and ensuring food security.

The presence of salts in the culture medium and the addition of phytohormones, necessary to break seed dormancy in the in vitro germination of passion fruit, can induce critical values of osmotic potential. This can change the membrane permeability of seeds, affecting the hydration rate, enzyme release, ion transport, pH, and inhibitor values, which may decrease germination percentage. The aim of this study was to evaluate different types of culture media, composed of other substances, combined with mechanical techniques of tegument removal to determine the most appropriate culture medium for the in vitro germination of Passiflora edulis (Sims flavicarpa Deg.) seeds obtained by open pollination. The experimental design was completely randomized in a 10 × 3 factorial scheme (10 culture media × three types of seed-intact, scarified, and cut), with eight replicates and five seeds per plot. Scarified seeds cultivated in a medium composed of a commercial substrate and gibberellic acid presented a higher percentage of germination than intact or cut seeds cultivated in different concentrations of Murashige & Skoog (MS) medium. Scarification is a satisfactory method for breaking the dormancy of passion fruit seeds, and commercial substrates Bioflora® enriched with gibberellic acid may replace in vitro germination.

Papaya cultivation is widespread in Brazil, particularly in the states of Bahia and Espírito Santo, where most commercial plantations are concentrated. Owing to the economic and social importance of papaya, the present study aimed to determine the explanatory variables between the genotypes of two cultivars: Golden (from the Soil group) and Tainung Nº 1 hybrid (from the Formosa group), cultivated under high temperatures and hydric stress. The genotypes containing more desirable agronomic characteristics were identified for use in plant genetic improvement programs. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to select the desirable genotypes for Golden and Tainung Nº 1 cultivars based on specific variables analyzed for two groups of variables; for group 1, the plant height, stem diameter, leaf length, leaf width, and leaf number were analyzed, whereas for group 2, the leaf and root dry mass, stem dry mass and fresh mass of 10 discs, fresh mass, and stem and root fresh mass were analyzed. When exposed to hydric and thermal stress, the Tainung Nº 1 cultivar outperformed the Golden cultivar for the evaluation characteristics selected for use in genetic improvement programs.

RESUMO O estudo da eficiência nutricional de mudas de porta-enxertos de seringueira é uma ferramenta importante para selecionar genótipos responsivos à adubação, garantindo assim, a racionalização do uso dos fertilizantes. Nesse contexto, o objetivo do estudo foi avaliar a eficiência de absorção, transporte e utilização de nutrientes nos porta-enxertos oriundos de sementes dos clones GT1, PB235 e IAN873 cultivados em viveiro suspenso no município de Ilha Solteira- SP. O experimento foi desenvolvido em viveiro a céu aberto instalado na Faculdade de Engenharia - UNESP, campus de Ilha Solteira- SP, durante o período de março/2018 a janeiro/2019. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos ao acaso, em esquema fatorial de 3 x 5, sendo três porta-enxertos GT1, PB235 e IAN873 e cinco épocas de coleta de dados 60, 120, 180, 240 e 300 dias após transplantio (DAT), com três repetições de 10 mudas por parcela. Os porta-enxertos demonstraram similaridade quanto a eficiência de absorção (EA) e eficiência de transporte (ET) para os macronutrientes, e eficiência de transporte (ET) de micronutrientes, porém, diferiram quanto a eficiência de utilização (EU) dos nutrientes. O IAN873 apresentou maior desempenho na EU de P, K e Fe, em contrapartida, o porta-enxerto GT1 obteve menor EU de Ca, Mg, Mn, Zn e Cu. Apesar da EA de Zn ter sido superior ao Cu, os porta-enxertos exibiram melhor EU do Cu em relação ao Zn.

The quality of cotton fiber is a fundamental criterion for determining the commercial value of the product, being influenced by the conditions of cultivation. The study aimed to evaluate irrigated and non-irrigated cultivation systems and the management of silicon fertilization on cotton fiber characteristics. The experiment was carried out in the field in Selvíria-MS, in the 2017/2018 agricultural crop. It was adopted a randomized block design, in a 2x6 factorial scheme, with two cultivationconditions (irrigated and rainfed) and six doses of Si (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 400 g ha-1), with four replications. Seeds of the genotype TMG 11 WS were used. Irrigation was carried out with sprinklers spaced at 6x6 m. The application of Si via leaf was carried out at 50 and 70 days after emergence. From thecotton fiber, the characteristics of length, micronaire, strength, uniformity, elongation, reflectance, yellowing, degree of leaves, impurity and impurity particles were analyzed. The data submitted to analysis of variance by the F test, the means compared for the cultivation condition, and regression analysis for the amount of Si. The cotton fiber in irrigated cultivation showed improvement in the characteristics resistance, reflectance and yellowing.The application of Si via leaf reduced the leaf grade in the cotton fibers.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar os possíveis efeitos alelopáticos do extrato aquoso de eucalipto (Corymbia citriodora) em diferentes concentrações (0, 25, 50, 75 e 100%) na germinação das sementes, crescimento inicial e no desenvolvimento de mudas de rúcula (Eruca sativa L.). Utilizou-se Delineamento Inteiramente Casualizado, com três repetições e cinco tratamentos compostos por doses crescentes (0, 25, 50, 75 e 100%) de extrato de eucalipto testados tanto em mudas, por aplicação foliar, quanto em sementes, por embebição. O extrato foi produzido pelo método frio de turbólise, com folhas de eucalipto trituradas com água em um liquidificador. Para as sementes de rúcula, foi avaliado o Índice de Velocidade de Germinação (IVG) e porcentagem de germinação até os 10 dias após semeadura (DAS) e altura de planta (AP) e número de folhas (NF), comprimento de raiz (CR), relação alométrica (RA). Para as mudas de rúcula, foram avaliadas as variáveis AP, NF, CR, RA, massa fresca da parte aérea (MFPA), massa fresca da raiz (MFRZ), massa seca da parte aérea (MSPA) e massa seca da raiz (MSRZ). A análise estatística dos dados foi realizada com o auxílio do aplicativo computacional SISVAR. Os resultados das variáveis estudadas foram submetidos à análise de variância e Teste de Tukey a 5% de probabilidade e à análise de regressão, para as variáveis quantitativas, quando o resultado da ANAVA foi significativo. Diante dos resultados obtidos, concluiu-se que extrato aquoso de eucalipto não apresentou efeito negativo sobre a germinação e desenvolvimento de plantas de rúcula.

Passiflora foetida, a species of wild passion fruit, has been investigated due to its pharmaceutical potential and its agronomic characteristic of resistance to Fusarium spp., enabling its use as a rootstock for passion fruit species susceptible to premature death. Thus, in order to perform the propagation of this species, micropropagation is one of the most used forms, being necessary the use of accessions of a matrix plant to, by organogenesis, generate new seedlings with the same genotype. Thus, the aim of the present study was to establish a protocol for the in vitro propagation of P. foetida, inducing the buds of this plant, by organogenesis, testing two concentrations of mineral salts from MS medium, without addition of phytohormones. For in vitro establishment, apical and lateral buds obtained from plants of P. foetida, grown in a greenhouse, were used. The experiments were carried out in a completely randomized design. Sixty days after inoculation of explants, the following criteria were evaluated: number of buds, length of sprouting, number of leaves, coloration score, developmental score and root number. To guarantee the accuracy of the results, statistical techniques were applied to data analysis and optimization of results. The development of plants by organogenesis showed statistically similar values ​​in both concentrations, concluding that the MS medium with half concentrations of nutrients was considered the most viable for the in vitro establishment of this species.

A Passiflora caerulea L. além de apresentar importância gastronômica e medicinal vem sendo utilizada como porta-enxertos de maracujá comercial, mediante resistência a doenças fitopatogênicas. Entretanto, essa espécie apresenta suscetibilidade a patógenos virais e baixa taxa de germinação. Nesse aspecto, a cultura de tecidos torna-se uma alternativa viável por proporcionar a produção em larga escala, em curto período de tempo e livre de doenças virais, sendo assim uma ferramenta de extrema importância na preservação e propagação dessa espécie. No entanto, existem poucos estudos relacionados ao cultivo in vitro de P. caerulea. Dessa forma, o objetivo deste trabalho foi estabelecer um protocolo de cultivo in vitro para essa espécie. Foi utilizado o meio de cultivo MS com 100% e 50% das concentrações de sais (MS 100% e MS 50%). Para execução desse experimento, inicialmente foi realizada a morfometria das sementes de P. caerulea, com intuito de escolher o material seminífero para posterior germinação. Em seguida, microestacas oriundas de plantas germinadas a partir dessas sementes foram inoculados em meio MS 100% e MS 50%, sem adição de fitormônios. O experimento foi conduzido em delineamento inteiramente casualizado com 25 repetições, do qual foram avaliados o número de gemas, comprimento da brotação, número de folhas, coloração da folha e desenvolvimento da microestaca. A utilização do meio MS 50% se mostrou viável para o estabelecimento in vitro de P. caerulea, sem o comprometimento no desenvolvimento e da qualidade das plantas, proporcionando redução dos custos na produção do meio de cultivo.