Gladiola (Gladiolus × grandiflorus Hort.) is an important cut flower for small farmers in Brazil. While the El Niño Southern Oscillation, which causes interannual variability to air temperature in Southern Brazil, can shift the optimum planting window of gladiola, an increase in temperature due to climate change can accelerate gladiola flowering and cause injuries by heat. The objective of this study was to assess the potential climate change effects on gladiola optimum planting date for specific market dates and investigate injuries occurrence on spikes in the Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Field experiments were conducted from 2016 to 2018 at four different locations across the Rio Grande do Sul State to evaluate the performance of the PhenoGlad model in simulating the developmental stages of gladiola. The PhenoGlad model was run on climate scenarios of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) named RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. The climate change scenarios caused a delay in the optimum planting date to harvest gladiola for All Souls' Day across the Rio Grande do Sul State. For harvesting spikes for Mother's Day, negative anomalies (earliest planting date) occurred in the warmest regions, because the very high temperature extended the crop development. Injuries by heat on spikes reached positive anomalies in 70 % of the years in the warmest regions for scenario RCP8.5. To harvest spikes for Mother's Day, heat injury did not exceed 20 % of the years. Mitigation strategies for farmers to deal with climate change and keep their gladiola production include adjusting the optimum planting date.

Little is known about the relationships between soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] maturity grouping and the yield-limiting factors in the subtropics. This information can be used to estimate soybean potential yield (Yp) and the water-limited yield (Yw) and to optimize current soybean management practices to improve yield and resource use efficiency. The objectives were (a) to estimate the Yp, Yw, and yield gaps (YGs) of soybean in subtropical Brazil and (b) to identify the biophysical and management factors which potentially explain the YG. The CSM CROPGRO model that was calibrated with data collected between 2011 and 2019 was used to estimate the influence of sowing date and maturity group (MG) on yield potentials and water efficiencies. Yield varied from 6.1 to 7.2 Mg ha −1 and from 2.5 to 5.1 Mg ha −1 between buffer zones (BZs) for Yp and Yw, respectively. The YG caused by water deficit (YGw) ranged from 26% (1.8 Mg ha −1 ) to 62% (4.1 Mg ha −1 ) of the Yp and the YG caused by management (e.g., sowing date, MG, final density) ranged from 9% (0.6 Mg ha −1 ) to 39% (2.7 Mg ha −1 ) of the Yp. The main management factor of the YG was sowing date. The potential yield was higher in the early MGs, showing greater water use efficiency in MG ≤ 5.5 (9.6 kg ha −1 mm −1 ) than in high MGs (MG ≥ 5.6). Findings from this study can be used by agronomists in subtropical regions to optimize soybean yields.

Flower crops are an alternative for diversification in small farms, being gladiolus an option of cut flower. The objective of this study was to disseminate the gladiolus crop as an alternative for diversification and profit for small farms through an extension project where crop management practices were demonstrated during its development cycle. An extension project was carried out in partnership with a rural extension agency, EMATER/RS-ASCAR, to identify the farmers interested in diversifying their production system for growing gladiolus. The extension project was developed in four counties in the Central region of the Rio Grande do Sul/Brazil. Together with the extensionists of EMATER/RS-ASCAR, farmers were assisted during the entire production cycle and learned the management practices from planting to harvesting. Altogether, approximately 2,400 gladiolus spikes were produced, which were marketed one week before and during Mother's Day week at local fairs. In all the counties, the demand and consumption of the flower stems were high, demonstrating acceptance of the consumers of gladiolus stems on Mother's Day. The gladiolus production has proven to be profitable for small family properties. This system encourages the production in short-chains, contributes to the growth of local flower production and may contribute for decreasing rural exodus and sustainability for future generations. ResumoA cultura do gladíolo como alternativa de diversificação e renda na pequena propriedade familiar O cultivo de flores é uma alternativa de diversificação de produção e renda para as propriedades familiares, sendo o gladíolo uma opção de flor de corte. O objetivo deste trabalho foi divulgar a cultura do gladíolo como alternativa de diversificação e renda para pequenos produtores rurais através de um projeto de extensão onde foram demonstradas as técnicas de manejo da cultura durante o seu ciclo de desenvolvimento. Para isso, foi firmada uma parceria com a instituição de extensão rural EMATER/RS-ASCAR, com o intuito de identificar produtores interessados em cultivar o gladíolo em suas propriedades. O projeto de extensão foi desenvolvido em cinco municípios da região da Depressão Central do Rio Grande do Sul. Juntamente com os extensionistas da EMATER/RS-ASCAR, foi acompanhado o ciclo de desenvolvimento do gladíolo, indicando aos produtores as principais técnicas de manejo do plantio à colheita. Ao todo, foram produzidas aproximadamente 2400 hastes de gladíolo, que foram comercializadas em feiras locais no Dia das Mães. Em todos os locais houve grande procura e consumo das hastes florais, demostrando aceitação do consumidor por hastes de gladíolo para o Dia das Mães. Esta atividade demostrou ser rentável aos produtores familiares. Este sistema de produção incentiva a produção em cadeias curtas, contribui para o crescimento da produção local de flores e pode contribuir para diminuir o êxodo rural e a sustentabilidade das futuras gerações no campo. Palavras-chave: Gladiolus x grandiflorus, extensão rural, Dia das Mães, planejame...

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Gladiolus (Gladiolus x grandiflorus Hort.), also called as Palma-de-Santa-Rita, is culturally known in Brazil as the All Soul's' Day flower. In recent years, it has also become popular in other special dates due to its robustness, liveliness, and magnificence. However, there are challenges regarding the cut flower production, since the largest producer investment is the corm acquisition. Due to the insufficiency of technical information, there are no fully established corm production protocols for gladiolus. Therefore, this technical article has the objective of bringing information related to the gladiolus corms production technique, in view of the sustainability of the production.