A produção de orquídeas do gênero Phalaenopsis tem crescido nos últimos anos devido principalmente ao seu rápido crescimento e a produção de hastes florais com uma grande variedade de cores. Entre os fatores que afetam o crescimento e desenvolvimento destas plantas, a adequada nutrição é fundamental para obtenção de mudas de qualidade. O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de doses de osmocote® (15-09-12-N-P2O5-K2O, respectivamente) no desenvolvimento inicial da orquídea Phalaenopsis sp. O fertilizante osmocote® foi adicionado nas seguintes doses: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 e 10 g vaso-1. Após doze meses foram avaliados: comprimento e largura média das folhas, área foliar total, massa seca da parte aérea e raiz e teores de clorofila a, b e carotenoides. Dos substratos foram avaliados o pH e a condutividade elétrica. O comprimento e largura das folhas atingiram seu máximo nas doses de 4,7 e 5,0 g vaso-1, respectivamente. Para massa seca de folhas, raizes e área foliar total, as doses de máxima eficiência estimada foram 4,6, 3,5 e 4,5 g vaso-1, respectivamente. O aumento nas doses de Osmocote® acarretou na morte das plantas na aplicação de 10 g vaso-1. Doses estimadas entre 3,5 a 5,1 g vaso-1 de Osmocote® (15-09-12) são recomendadas no desenvolvimento inicial da orquídea Phalaenopsis sp. por proporcionar incrementos na altura, largura, área foliar, massa seca da planta e nos pigmentos fotossintetizantes. Doses acima de 6 g vaso-1 foram prejudiciais ao desenvolvimento devido ao aumento da condutividade elétrica e redução do pH

Studies showed that intercropping garlic reduced pests in strawberry field crops. However, influence of intercropping on yield was not tested. The objective of the study was to evaluate the strawberry pseudofruit and garlic bulb productions in monocropping and intercropping systems. Assessments of the yields and calculation of the land equivalent ratio, competition ratio and gross income were performed. The experiments were conducted in three areas (two open field and one greenhouse) in Londrina municipality. Treatments in the field experiments were garlic or strawberry in monocrops (controls), strawberry (S) + one garlic row (GR), S + 2GR or S + 3GR per plot. In the greenhouse experiment, plants were grown in pots with following treatments: garlic or strawberry in monocrops, 2S + 2 garlic plants per plot (GPP), 2S + 4GPP or 2S + 5GPP. Similar yields (garlic bulbs and strawberry pseudofruits) were observed among the treatments. Intercropping garlic among strawberry plants increased the land equivalent ratio. The intercrop land equivalent ratio index ranged from 1.34 to 2.55. An increasing in gross income were observed when increasing garlic plant densities in intercropping with strawberry. Results showed that intercropping garlic with strawberry increases land equivalent ratio and gross income. Production of strawberry pseudofruits and garlic bulbs were not influenced by intercropping systems compared to monocropping.

No abstract

The hybrid of Cattleya forbesii x Cattleya loddigesii has a short stature and early flowering, a light lilac tending to white color and a labellum with a velvety purple lobe and corrugated edges. The flower lifetime lasts approximately 20 days.

An alternative for the conservation of orchid species threatened with extinction is the seeds preservation for long periods by cryopreservation. This work aimed to evaluate the influence of cryogenic solutions on the orchids Epidendrum radicans and Arundina bambusifolia seeds cryopreservation in liquid nitrogen. Seven treatments were performed: 0.4 M sucrose; 2 M glycerol; PVS1; PVS2; PVS3; PVS2 + 1% phloroglucinol and the control. After liquid nitrogen removal, half of the seeds were subjected to tetrazolium test, and another half was in vitro cultured. After 30 days seed germination was evaluated. There was no significant difference between A. bambusifolia and E. radicans in tetrazolium test and seeds germination. On the other hand, it was observed that in A. bambusifolia tetrazolium and seed germination tests the solutions of PVS1, PVS2, PVS2 + 1% phloroglucinol showed the best results. E. radicans seeds with 4% water content cryopreservation does not require the use of cryoprotectant. On the other hand, cryoprotectant´s use resulted in positive effect in maintenance and viability preservation of A. bambusifolia seeds. PVS1, PVS2 and PVS2 + 1% phloroglucinol showed best seeds survival rates after cryopreservation in liquid nitrogen.

The production of quality forest seedlings in large quantities is essential for the restoration of environments that have been deforested and degraded. However, obtaining seeds with high vigor is a challenge for several tree species native to Brazil. The objective of this work was to verify the germination potential of jatobá-da-mata seeds at different stages of maturation, in order to favor the production of seedlings of this species in nurseries. The seeds were extracted from green and ripe fruits detached from the mother plant and ripe fruits collected from the ground. The germination percentage, average germination time, emergence speed index, average speed, relative frequency, leaf area of the seedling, and length of the aerial part and root were measured. The planting was carried out with mechanically scarified and intact seeds from each maturation group. The results indicated that non-scarified green seeds can be used for planting and seedling production, as they do not require pre-germination treatment and have a favorable germination percentage (79%). Fruit seeds harvested from the ground, on the other hand, needed a method to overcome integumentary dormancy, such as mechanical scarification, obtaining a germination rate of 85%. The seeds of ripe fruits harvested in the matrix showed greater vigor, with a higher percentage of germination (96 to 100%), a higher emergence speed index, shorter average germination time, and seedlings with greater leaf area and greater length of shoot.

The knowledge of the physiological aspects of Caatinga’s vegetal species is extremely important for preserving this biome, which suffers with human impacts, mainly to select propagation methods. Erythrina velutina is a Brazilian tree, generally found in Caatinga, with medical and forestry potential. The objective of this paper was to determine the best soaking period in gibberellin solution to achieve the highest germination and to evaluate the internal anatomy by digital microtomography of E. velutina seeds. The design was completely randomized and consisted of eight treatments: 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 h of soaking, scarified seeds and the control with no-scarified seeds. Digital microtomography was efficient in describing the anatomy of the seeds and distinguishing their tissues. There was no significant difference between the treatments at different soaking times, as the gibberellic acid did not influence the germination; only the control presented a lower germination percentage, differing from the other treatments. The study presents evidence that E. velutina seeds do not require the exogenous use of gibberellic acid, but only the scarification process. In addition, the use of digital microtomography can be useful in understanding the anatomy of seeds, especially forest species, which can contribute to the future studies of other plant species.

Resumo A Physalis peruviana L. é uma pequena fruta reconhecida por apresentar grande importância farmacológica, uma vez que seus frutos apresentam altos teores de vitamina A, C, ferro e fósforo. Práticas culturais, como tutoramento e poda, podem influenciar a arquitetura da planta, de modo que ela obtenha frutos de melhor qualidade. Portanto, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a qualidade de frutos de Physalis peruviana L. produzidos em diferentes sistemas de tutoramento e poda. O trabalho foi realizado em Londrina-PR utilizando delineamento inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 4 × 2, contendo quatro tipos de tutoramento (tutoramento UEL, tutoramento “V” invertido adaptado, sem tutoramento e tutoramento vertical) e duas poda (com e sem desbrota), com quatro repetições. As variáveis analisadas foram: largura e altura dos frutos, massa fresca com e sem capulho, coloração (L*, C* e h°), número de frutos por planta, sólidos solúveis, pH e acidez. Os dados foram submetidos à análise de normalidade e homogeneidade e, se atendidos os padrões, foram comparados pelo teste de Tukey, com nível de 5% de probabilidade pelo programa Sisvar, e correlacionados pelo teste de Pearson utilizando o programa estatístico R. Foi possível concluir que plantas conduzidas livremente tiveram os maiores valores de massa fresca de frutos com capulho e que os sistemas de condução proporcionaram maior penetração da radiação solar no dossel, o que favoreceu o acúmulo de açúcares e a intensidade das colorações dos capulhos. Plantas conduzidas nos sistemas de tutoramento UEL – Universidade Estadual de Londrina e “V” invertido adaptado (ambos sem desbrota) obtiveram maiores quantidades de frutos. A desbrota provocou redução no volume de frutos, menores valores de sólidos solúveis, capulhos mais escuros e com maior tendência à coloração amarelada.