Pitanga (Eugenia uniflora L.) cultivation has increased rapidly around the world, but most seedlings come from sexual propagation and thus present high genetic variability and respond differently to environmental conditions. This work studied the phenology and thermal requirement of pitanga genotypes in the Brazilian semiarid. Forty‐eight genotypes were evaluated in 2017 and 2018 in an experimental farm at the Federal Rural University of Semiarid, Mossoró, Brazil. The time and thermal requirement for phenological stages from fruit pruning to harvesting, and fruit production were evaluated. Highly productive and precocious genotypes were identified, and six groups were arranged based on dissimilarity.

Red pitaya (Hylocereus costaricensis) is a promising species, with high cultivation potential due to the organoleptic and functional qualities of its fruits. However, irrigation water salinity can affect the crop yield. Therefore, materials rich in organic substances can minimize the damage caused by excess salts in soil and/or water. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of organic matter sources as attenuators of salt stress on the production and biochemical responses of red pitaya seedlings. A completely randomized design in 4 × 5 factorial scheme, with five sources of organic matter (humus, sheep manure, biofertilizer, organic compost and sand + soil) and four salinities (0.6, 2.6, 4.6 and 6.6 dS m-1) with four replicates and two plants per plot was used. The shoot length, root length, cladode diameter, number of cladodes, number of sprotus, root volume, shoot dry mass, root dry mass and total dry mass, root and shoot dry mass ratio, chlorophyll a, b and total, amino acids and soluble sugars were evaluated at 120 days after the treatments began to be applied. Red pitaya is moderately tolerant to salinity (ECw from 4.0 to 6.0 dS m-1). Organic compost and sheep manure attenuate the harmful effects of salinity on red pitaya seedlings. Under salt stress conditions, red pitaya plants increase their levels of proline, amino acids and total sugars.

Pitanga (Eugenia uniflora L.) is an exotic fruit species of significant economic importance. However, due to genetic variability, its exploitation is hampered by the lack of homogeneous fruit production. In this scenario, this study aimed to select pitanga genotypes according to the physical and physicochemical parameters of fruits grown under semi-arid conditions. The study was developed at the Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid Region with genotypes resulting from the open pollination of the pitanga variety ‘Tropicana”. Thirty-nine pitanga genotypes were evaluated for fruit mass, fruit length, fruit diameter, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA), ascorbic acid (AA), pH, and SS/TA ratio. The pitanga genotypes showed high variability. The clustering method separated the genotypes according to desirable traits. Genotype A12 showed the largest fruit sizes, whereas genotype A8 showed the highest SS and TA contents. Genotypes A2, A13, A34, and A39 showed fruits with the highest AT values. On the other hand, genotypes A11, A16, A45, A9, A26, and A44 showed the most significant contents of pH and SS/TA. Highlights The grouping of two genotypes depends on the environmental conditions, mainly on the effect of two genotypes per year. The analysis of principal components allows selecting the genotypes based on their desired characteristics. The physical and chemical composition of two pitanga fruits are affected by climatic conditions, genotypes and years of cultivation.

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<p>The objective of this work was to evaluate the potential of conservation post-harvest starch-based edible film coatings manioc on ‘Tommy Atkins’ mangoes under refrigerated storage. We used fruit from a market in Natal / RN, respecting maturation stage “de vez”. After that the mangoes were taken to the Laboratory of Soils and Plants of the Agricultural School of Jundiaí - EAJ, where they were selected, aiming at the standardization of color, size and weight. The experimental design was completely randomized, in a factorial scheme of 5 x 6 type, corresponding to different treatments of the fruit (without coating application; edible film spraying based on cassava starch; fruit spraying with edible film based on manioc starch + calcium chloride, fruit spraying with edible film based on manioc starch + calcium propionate, fruit spraying with manioc starch + potassium permanganate) in six periods (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 days) in a refrigerated environment (12 ± 2, 85% RH ± 5), and four replicates. The results were submitted to analysis of variance, the means of comparison was done by the Tukey test (5% probability). It was verified that the treatments used were superior to the control from the 15th day of storage, to loss of mass, prolonging the shelf life of the fruit in 10 days, but with no effect for the associations with source of calcium and oxidizing agent.</p>

The need to diversify agricultural production has fostered the cultivation of several crops under environmental conditions atypical to their origin, justifying the extreme importance of studies on the agricultural management of crops in semiarid regions. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of irrigation depth and potassium doses on fig quality under semiarid conditions. The experiment was conducted in a 4 × 4 split-split-plot design, in randomized block design, with three replicates. The plots corresponded to four irrigation levels (50%, 75%, 100%, and 125% ETc), the subplots consisted of four potassium doses (0, 60, 120, and 240 g K2O plant−1), and the sub-subplot corresponded to the crop years (2018/19 and 2019/20). Results showed that water deficit reduced fig productivity, and the irrigation levels equal to or greater than 100% ETc performed cumulatively throughout the growing cycles. Therefore, irrigation depths from 85.19% to 95.16% ETc are recommended for greater water-use efficiency and fruit quality. Furthermore, potassium fertilization mitigated water stress in fig plants, allowing for reduced irrigation levels, especially in the second year, without compromising fruit traits.

This study aimed at evaluating the effect of organomineral fertilizer doses on the growth and nutrition of seedlings of pineapple cultivars during the acclimatization stage. The trial was carried out in the University Federal Rural do Semi-Árido under greenhouse conditions, at Mossoró – Rio Grande do Norte, from July 2013 to April 2014. The trial was carried out in randomized blocks design in a 2x5 factorial scheme, with 2 pineapple cultivars (Imperial and Vitoria) and 5 doses of organomineral fertilizer (0; 2.5; 5; 7.5 and 10 g), amounting 10 treatments with 4 replications and 5 seedlings per plot. The qualitative data means were compared by Scott-Knott test at 5% of probability, and the quantitative data were submitted to regression analysis and the mathematical models were adjusted with a probability for the t-test of p<0.05 for the equation parameters. The cultivars reached appropriate growth for transferring to the field after 210 days. The doses of organomineral fertilizer that increased the biometrical characteristics were 10 g and 5 g for both ‘Vitoria’ and ‘Imperial’ cultivars, respectively.

2 Professor(a) Doutor(a) do curso de Agronomia da Universidade Estadual do Piauí -UESPI (aurineteval@uespi.phb.br) Parnaíba-PI, Brasil. RESUMOA aceroleira possui importância econômica e social para o município de Parnaíba, PI, Brasil, onde a cultura está implantada em cerca de 240 ha e é cultivada em sistema orgânico. Objetivou-se com este trabalho avaliar o florescimento e a frutificação de aceroleiras da cv. BRS 366 -Jaburu e do clone CNPAT 13-02, em três diferentes épocas. O delineamento foi feito em dois pomares comerciais nos períodos compreendidos entre os meses de novembro-dezembro de 2017, fevereiro-março de 2017, e maio-junho de 2018. A cada ciclo de avaliação, foram selecionadas cinco plantas por genótipo, sendo que em cada planta marcou-se 40 botões florais, perfazendo um total de 200 plantas por genótipo. Foram estudados parâmetros relacionados ao florescimento e frutificação das aceroleiras. Os resultados obtidos permitiram concluir que algumas variáveis estudadas foram influenciadas pelo fator época. A cultivar BRS 366-Jaburu apresentou a maior porcentagem média de frutificação com 17,58%, sendo que na época entre os meses maio-junho obteve-se a maior taxa de frutificação com 28,25%. A duração média do ciclo da aceroleira desde a emissão do botão floral até a colheita do fruto verde, considerando as três épocas analisadas, foi de 22,42 dias. O menor intervalo de tempo entre a emissão do botão floral e a colheita do fruto verde ocorreu na época maio-junho com 21,96 dias. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: BRS 366-Jaburu, BRS 235-Apodi, CNPAT 13-02,, , Malpighia emarginata DC., DITALPI. ABSTRACTThe acerola tree has social-economic importance for the city of Parnaíba, PI, Brazil, where the crop is implanted in about 240 ha and is cultivated in an organic system. It was aimed with this work to evaluate the blooming and fruiting of acerola trees ENCICLOPÉDIA BIOSFERA, Centro Científico Conhecer -Goiânia, v.16 n.30; p. 2019 298 from cv. BRS 366 -Jaburu and the clone CNPAT 13-02 in three different periods. The design was made in two commercial orchards in the periods between November-December of 2017, February-March of 2018, and May-June of 2018. At each evaluation cycle five plants per genotype were selected, and in each plant was marked 40 flower buds, making a total of 200 per genotype. Were studied parameters related to the blooming and fruiting of the acerola trees. The obtained results allowed to conclude that some variables studied were influenced by the period factor. The cultivate BRS 366-Jaburu presented the highest average percentage of fruiting with 17.58%, being that in the time between May-June the highest fruiting rate was obtained with 28.25%. The average length of the acerola tree cycle from the flower bud emission until the green fruit harvest, considering the three analyzed seasons, was 22.42 days. The shortest time interval between floral bud and green fruit harvest occurred in the May-June season with 21.96 days.