BackgroundIn the sugarcane industry, large amounts of lignocellulosic residues are generated, which includes bagasse, straw, and tops. The use of the whole sugarcane lignocellulosic biomass for the production of second-generation (2G) ethanol can be a potential alternative to contribute to the economic viability of this process. Here, we conducted a systematic comparative study of the use of the lignocellulosic residues from the whole sugarcane lignocellulosic biomass (bagasse, straw, and tops) from commercial sugarcane varieties for the production of 2G ethanol. In addition, the feasibility of using a mixture of these residues from a selected variety was also investigated.ResultsThe materials were pretreated with dilute acid and hydrolyzed with a commercial enzymatic preparation, after which the hydrolysates were fermented using an industrial strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The susceptibility to enzymatic saccharification was higher for the tops, followed by straw and bagasse. Interestingly, the fermentability of the hydrolysates showed a different profile, with straw achieving the highest ethanol yields, followed by tops and bagasse. Using a mixture of the different sugarcane parts (bagasse-straw-tops, 1:1:1, in a dry-weight basis), it was possible to achieve a 55% higher enzymatic conversion and a 25% higher ethanol yield, compared to use of the bagasse alone. For the four commercial sugarcane varieties evaluated using the same experimental set of conditions, it was found that the variety of sugarcane was not a significant factor in the 2G ethanol production process.ConclusionsAssessment of use of the whole lignocellulosic sugarcane biomass clearly showed that 2G ethanol production could be significantly improved by the combined use of bagasse, straw, and tops, when compared to the use of bagasse alone. The lower susceptibility to saccharification of sugarcane bagasse, as well as the lower fermentability of its hydrolysates, can be compensated by using it in combination with straw and tops (sugarcane trash). Furthermore, given that the variety was not a significant factor for the 2G ethanol production process within the four commercial sugarcane varieties evaluated here, agronomic features such as higher productivity and tolerance of soil and climate variations can be used as the criteria for variety selection.

Vegetable crops as functional foodAlthough a very old concept, the relationship between food and health has never been as close as it is today. Diets rich in fat, salt, and sugar and poor in complex carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals in association with a more sedentary lifestyle, are responsible for an increase in diet-related diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular problems, hypertension, osteoporosis, and cancer. It is believed that the ingestion of fruits and vegetables helps in the prevention of these diseases. Vegetables are an important component of the diet, usually in association with protein-and starch-rich foods. They are responsible not only for adding variety of color and texture to meals, but also for providing important nutrients. Vegetables are low fat and low calorie foods, with relatively small amounts of protein, but they are rich in carbohydrates and fibers and add significant amounts of micronutrients to the human diet. They are also a source of functional substances, which might benefit one or more physiological functions in the body, besides adequate nutritional effects. Functional elements might play a role in improving health and wellbeing, as well as reducing the risk of the onset of diet-related diseases. The development of vegetable cultivars with greater amounts of these substances is one of the main goals of modern breeding programs. Many of these programs, working on different vegetables, are currently underway in Brazil and other countries, aiming to improve the amount and variety of carotenoids present in the diet. In the present paper, the main aspects of vegetable crops as functional foods are discussed. The most important achievements of tomato and carrot breeding programs in Brazil aiming to improve the amount and types of functional compounds are also presented.

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Five strains of Gibberella fujikuroi and one of Fusarium moniliforme were screened for the production of gibberellic acid (GA3) in coffee husk, and based on the results, one strain, G. fujikuroi LPB-06, was selected. The comparative production of GA3 by solid-state fermentation and submerged fermentation indicated better productivity with the former technique, mainly with pretreated substrate. The GA3 accumulation was 6.1 times higher in the case of solid-state fermentation. Considering the C:N relation, higher yields of GA3 were achieved using a mixed substrate comprising coffee husk and cassava bagasse (7:3, dry wt), increasing the results twice. Supplementation of an optimized saline solution containing 0.03% FeSO4 and 0.01% (NH4)2SO4 enhanced the accumulation of GA3 1.7 times in the fermented substrate. Under the finally optimized condition, the culture gave a maximum of 492.5 mg of GA3/kg of dry substrate, with a pH of 5.3, moisture of 75%, and incubation temperature of 29 degrees C. GA3 yield was almost 13 times more than the initial results.

In this work the growth of Gibberella fujikuroi and gibberellic acid (GA3) production were studied using coffee husk and cassava bagasse as substrates in a packed-bed column bioreactor connected to a gas chromatograph for exit gas analysis. With the respirometric data, a logarithmic correlation between accumulated CO2 and biomass production was determined, and the kinetics of the fungal growth was compared for estimated and experimental data. The solid medium consisted of coffee husk (pretreated with alkali solution), mixed with cassava bagasse (7:3 dry weight basis), with a substrate initial pH of 5.2 and moisture of 77%. Cultivation was carried out in glass columns, which were packed with preinoculated substrate and with forced aeration of 0.24 L of air/[h (g of substrate)] for the first 3 days, and 0.72 L of air/[h (g of substrate)] for the remaining period. The maximum specific growth rate (microm) obtained was 0.052 h(-1) (between 24 and 48 h of fermentation). A production of 0.925 g of GA3/kg of substrate was achieved after 6 days of fermentation.

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IAlterações físicas e químicas em cebolas armazenadas sob refrigeração Chemical 'Beta Cristal' and 'Óptima' cultivars, respectively, when compared to the values observed in the beginning of the experiment.

A cenoura é uma das hortaliças tradicionais mais consumidas no Brasil. Em 2001, com o objetivo de criar novas alternativas para o agronegócio da cultura e para as agroindústrias familiares, a Embrapa Hortaliças desenvolveu uma tecnologia de processamento mínimo, que propicia a obtenção da Cenourete -mini cenoura similar à "baby carrot" americana, utilizando-se de raízes finas tipo 1A de cultivares em uso no Brasil (LANA et al., 2001;SILVA et al., 2001). Atualmente, o consumo de cenoura tipo "baby carrot" no Brasil ainda é pequeno não havendo demanda de importação de outros países. Entretanto, o principal entrave para a ampliação do consumo bem como da disseminação desta atividade agroindustrial é a dificuldade em se obter matéria prima de qualidade e com regularidade, especialmente no período de verão, uma vez que as raízes das principais cultivares utilizadas no país não apresentam coloração, formato e tamanho adequados para processamento.Dentro deste cenário, foi desenvolvida a cultivar de polinização aberta denominada "Esplanada", que apresenta adaptação às condições edafoclimáticas brasileiras, caracterís-ticas de raiz adequadas para fins de processamento e resistência à queimadas-folhas , o que viabiliza seu cultivo sem o emprego de agrotóxicos em qualquer época do ano nas principais regiões de produção. "Esplanada" tem o potencial para ocupar uma posição estratégi-ca na cadeia produtiva de cenoura, podendo viabilizar a produção de mini cenouras durante todo o ano no País. Esta cultivar apresenta excelente qualidade, com coloração interna da raiz mais uniforme e menor incidência de ombro verde em relação às cultivares atualmente plantadas no verão. Além disso, as raízes são longas (comprimento >20 cm) e finas (diâmetro <3 cm) aos 90 dias após a semeadura, o que garante maior rendimento industrial na produção de cenourete.Além das boas características para processamento, a cultivar Esplanada foi avaliada durante cinco ciclos de cultivo em sistema orgânico de produção, visando o consumo in natura. A produtividade da "Esplanada" neste sistema atingiu cerca de 38 t/ha. Em avaliações realizadas com produtores orgânicos na RESUMOA cenoura é uma das hortaliças tradicionais mais consumidas no Brasil. Entretanto, o consumo de mini cenouras tipo "cenourete" obtidas via processamento mínimo ainda é muito pequeno no país. Isto se deve possivelmente ao restrito conhecimento da tecnologia de produção deste produto e da dificuldade em se obter matéria prima de qualidade e com regularidade, especialmente no período de verão. As raízes das principais cultivares utilizadas no Brasil não apresentam características de qualidade como coloração, formato e tamanho adequados para possibilitar máximo rendimento industrial. Neste contexto, foi desenvolvida a cultivar de polinização aberta "Esplanada", que apresenta boa adaptação às condições edafoclimáticas brasileiras, possui alta resistência à queima-das-folhas, baixa incidência de florescimento precoce no verão e resistên-cia moderada a nematóides formadores de galhas. Estas car...