Resumo: A intensidade do estresse causado pela salinidade nas culturas irá depender, principalmente, do nível de tolerância da espécie ou cultivar e das estratégias de manejo utilizadas. Dessa forma, objetivouse com este trabalho avaliar o crescimento e as respostas fisiológicas de duas cultivares de feijão-caupi, irrigadas com água salina e submetidas a diferentes níveis de potássio, em condições de ambiente protegido. Foram utilizadas sementes das cultivares CE 790 e CE 104, as quais foram submetidas a níveis crescentes de salinidade, utilizando-se água de irrigação com condutividade elétrica (CEa) de 0,8; 2,2; 3,6 e 5,0 dS m -1 e doses crescentes de potássio (K) na forma de KCl (0,5; 1,0; 2,0 e 4,0 g por vaso KCl). Aos 47 e aos 55 dias após o plantio (DAP) foram realizadas leituras das trocas gasosas foliares e de crescimento das plantas (comprimento da haste principal, diâmetro do caule e matéria seca total), respectivamente. O aumento da salinidade da água de irrigação reduziu o comprimento da haste principal, diâmetro do caule e matéria seca total, em ambas as cultivares. As maiores doses de potássio em conjunto com a salinidade proporcionaram efeito depressivo no crescimento da haste principal e na condutância estomática, em comparação ao efeito isolado da salinidade, sendo um indicativo da intensificação dos efeitos osmóticos. A existência de interações entre salinidade e potássio é um indicativo de que a dose ótima desse nutriente depende da salinidade na zona radicular das plantas, sendo uma informação importante para o manejo de cultivos em ambientes salinos.Palavras-chave: Adubação potássica. Estresse salino. Feijão-de-corda. Respostas fisiológicas. Vigna unguiculata. Abstract:The intensity of the stress caused in crops by salinity will largely depend on the level of tolerance of the species or cultivar, and on the management strategies used. The aim of this study therefore, was to evaluate growth and physiological response in two cultivars of the cowpea, irrigated with saline water and subjected to different levels of potassium under sheltered conditions. Seeds of the cultivars, EC 790 and EC 104 were used, which were exposed to increasing levels of salinity, using irrigation water with an electrical conductivity (CEa) of 0.8, 2.2, 3.6 and 5.0 dS m -1 , and increasing rates of potassium (K) in the form of KCl (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 g KCl per pot). Readings were taken of leaf gas exchange and plant growth (length of main stem, stem diameter and total dry matter) at 47 and 55 days after planting (DAP) respectively. Increases in the salinity of the irrigation water reduced the length of the main stem, the stem diameter and total dry matter in both cultivars. The larger levels of potassium together with the salinity resulted in a depressive effect on the growth of the main stem and on stomatal conductance, compared to the isolated effect of salinity, indicating an enhanced osmotic effect. The existence of an interaction between salinity and potassium is an indication that the optimal level of the nutrie...

This study compares two mangroves with different land uses in the Jaguaribe River estuary, harboring large shrimp farms, and in the more pristine Pacotí River estuary. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was used to compare the overall health of the forests. Measures of suspended matter (TSS), total (TP), particulate (PartP) and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) in the infl ow and outfl ow waters of tidal channels draining the mangroves were performed during tidal cycles. NDVI varied from 0.65 in the Jaguaribe estuary to 0.85 in the Pacotí, suggesting the impact of shrimp farm effl uents on mangrove canopy cover. The shrimp farm infl uenced site showed 10 times larger absolute ∑P (TP + PartP + SRP) = 1.2-5.2 kg.hr-1) fl ux than the pristine site (∑P = 0.22 kg.hr-1). Tidal balances showed smaller retentions of the total infl ux: 28-54%; 44-45%;

SUMMARYIn the search for high efficiency in root studies, computational systems have been developed to analyze digital images. ImageJ and Safira are public-domain systems that may be used for image analysis of washed roots. However, differences in root properties measured using ImageJ and Safira are supposed. This study compared values of root length and surface area obtained with public-domain systems with values obtained by a reference method. Root samples were collected in a banana plantation in an area of a shallower Typic Carbonatic Haplic Cambisol (CXk), and an area of a deeper Typic Haplic Ta Eutrophic Cambisol (CXve), at six depths in five replications. Root images were digitized and the systems ImageJ and Safira used to determine root length and surface area. The line-intersect method modified by Tennant was used as reference; values of root length and surface area measured with the different systems were analyzed by Pearson's correlation coefficient and compared by the confidence interval and t-test. Both systems ImageJ and Safira had positive correlation coefficients with the reference method for root length and surface area data in CXk and CXve. The correlation coefficient ranged from 0.54 to 0.80, with lowest value observed for ImageJ in the measurement of surface area of roots sampled in CXve. The IC (95 %) revealed that root length measurements with Safira did not differ from that with the reference method in CXk (-77.3 to 244.0 mm). Regarding surface area measurements, Safira did not differ from the reference method for samples collected in CXk (-530.6 to 565.8 mm 2 ) as well as in CXve (-4231 to 612.1 mm 2 ). However, measurements with ImageJ were different from those obtained by the reference method, underestimating length and surface area in samples collected in CXk and CXve. Both ImageJ and Safira allow an identification of increases or decreases in root length and surface area. However, Safira results for root length and surface area are closer to the results obtained with the reference method.Index terms: root length, root surface area, image processing, root system.

Monitoring phosphorus (P) concentration in water and sediments in the Castanhão reservoir, under intensive aquaculture, in Northeastern Brazil showed internal process to dominate P cycling following a reduction of reservoir volume due to an extended drought period. A strong negative correlation between soluble reactive phosphorus in surface waters (SRPs) with the reservoir volume results from diminishing dilution capacity; bottom water SRP showed no significant correlation with volume and imply SRP remobilization to surface layers. Total suspended solids (TSS) showed a significant correlation with chlorophyll-a, suggesting change primary productivity following SRP enrichment of surface waters and living cells dominating the TSS. As a result, eutrophication, as established by a trophic state index, was triggered in the reservoir probably enforced by intensive fish farming effluents, whose nutrients accumulated in bottom waters and which became available due to breaking of the thermocline. Since low rainfall periods are typical of the semiarid region and tend to be more frequent and stronger due to climate change, multiple use of reservoirs in NE Brazil should be reevaluated.

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Quantifying the organic carbon content of soil over large areas is essential for characterising the soil and the effects of its management. However, analytical methods can be laborious and costly. Reflectance spectroscopy is a well-established and widespread method for estimating the chemical-element content of soils. The aim of this study was to estimate the soil organic carbon (SOC) content using hyperspectral remote sensing. The data were from soils from two localities in the semi-arid region of Brazil. The spectral reflectance factors of the collected soil samples were recorded at wavelengths ranging from 350–2500 nm. Pre-processing techniques were employed, including normalisation, Savitzky–Golay smoothing and first-order derivative analysis. The data (n = 65) were examined both jointly and by soil class, and subdivided into calibration and validation to independently assess the performance of the linear methods. Two multivariate models were calibrated using the SOC content estimated in the laboratory by principal component regression (PCR) and partial least squares regression (PLSR). The study showed significant success in predicting the SOC with transformed and untransformed data, yielding acceptable-to-excellent predictions (with the performance-to-deviation ratio ranging from 1.40–3.38). In general, the spectral reflectance factors of the soils decreased with the increasing levels of SOC. PLSR was considered more robust than PCR, whose wavelengths from 354 to 380 nm, 1685, 1718, 1757, 1840, 1876, 1880, 2018, 2037, 2042, and 2057 nm showed outstanding absorption characteristics between the predicted models. The results found here are of significant practical value for estimating SOC in Neosols and Cambisols in the semi-arid region of Brazil using VIS-NIR-SWIR spectroscopy.