Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) plants were grown in small (3-L), medium (10-L) and large (24-L) pots for 115 or 165 d after transplanting (DAT), which allowed different degrees of root restriction. Effects of altered source : sink ratio were evaluated in order to explore possible stomatal and non-stomatal mechanisms of photosynthetic down-regulation. Increasing root restriction brought about large and general reductions in plant growth associated with a rising root : shoot ratio. Treatments did not affect leaf water potential or leaf nutrient status, with the exception of N content, which dropped significantly with increasing root restriction even though an adequate N supply was available. Photosynthesis was severely reduced when plants were grown in small pots; this was largely associated with non-stomatal factors, such as decreased Rubisco activity. At 165 DAT contents of hexose, sucrose, and amino acids decreased in plants grown in smaller pots, while those of starch and hexose-P increased in plants grown in smaller pots. Photosynthetic rates were negatively correlated with the ratio of hexose to free amino acids, but not with hexose content. Activities of acid invertase, sucrose synthase, sucrose-P synthase, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, starch phosphorylase, glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase, PPi : fructose-6-P 1-phosphotransferase and NADP : glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase all decreased with severe root restriction. Glycerate-3-P : Pi and glucose-6-P : fructose-6-P ratios decreased accordingly. Photosynthetic downregulation was unlikely to have been associated directly with an end-product limitation, but rather with decreases in Rubisco. Such a down-regulation was largely a result of N deficiency caused by growing coffee plants in small pots.

a b s t r a c tHeavy bearing is a typical phenomenon on unshaded coffee (Coffea arabica L.) trees and limits both the production and retention of leaves, leading to branch dieback, and, thus, results in a strong biennial bearing pattern. The major goals of this study were to investigate the physiological mechanisms that may be associated with the leaf-to-fruit ratio (LFR), branch dieback, biennial production and the relationships between carbohydrate and mineral fluctuations and branch dieback in coffee plants. The trees were grown in north-south-oriented hedgerows under conditions of full sunlight. Leaves and plagiotropic branches from the upper and lower strata of the east-and west-facing sides of the hedgerow were examined. A strong biennial pattern of coffee production was observed over three harvests. Overall, the east face of the hedgerow produced a more sellable crop than the west face, and this was associated with more light availability for the east-facing branches. The branch growth rate was higher with an increasing LFR during 2006-2007, regardless of the canopy position, and no compensatory increase in the photosynthetic rate was found in response to a decreasing LFR. Due to a relatively low fruit yield in 2007-2008, there was no branch dieback. The extent of branch dieback increased dramatically with decreasing LFR and was probably not closely related to changes in the concentrations of carbohydrates, amino acids and minerals. The extent of branch dieback was apparently unrelated to the differences in the photosynthetic rates per unit leaf area, carbon isotope composition, or oxidative stress, as was assessed by the electrolyte leakage from the leaf tissues. We discuss these responses in terms of the relative lack of branch autonomy in coffee trees.

It has long been held that the regulation of photosynthesis in source leaves may be controlled by carbohydrates. The mechanisms that govern the diurnal fluctuation of photosynthesis and the potential role of feedback regulation by carbohydrates during photosynthesis in coffee (Coffea arabica) leaves were investigated in three independent and complementary experiments. An integrative approach using gas exchange measurements in addition to carbon isotope labelling and steady-state carbohydrate and amino acid analysis was performed. Canonical correlation analysis was also performed. In fieldgrown plants under naturally fluctuating environmental conditions (Experiment I), the overall pattern of gas exchange was characterised by both low stomatal conductance (g s ) and net carbon assimilation rate (A) in the afternoon; no apparent signs of photoinhibition were observed. Under conditions of low air evaporative demand (Experiment II), only slight decreases (*20%) in A were observed at the end of the day, which were associated with a reduction (*35%) in g s . For both conditions, any increase in carbohydrate and amino acid pools over the course of the day was small. In leaves from girdled branches (Experiment III), a remarkable decrease in A and particularly in g s was observed, as were increases in starch but not in hexoses and sucrose pools. Furthermore, the rate of 14 CO 2 uptake (assessed under saturating CO 2 conditions) and the partitioning of recently fixed 14 C were not affected by girdling. It is proposed that the diurnal oscillations in A and the differences in A in leaves from girdled and non-girdled branches were merely a consequence of diffusive limitations rather than from photochemical constraints or direct metabolite-mediated down-regulation of photosynthesis.

Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa) is native of the Amazon rainforest. Brazil nuts are consumed worldwide and are known as the richest food source of selenium (Se). Yet, the reasoning for such Se contents is not well stablished. We evaluated the variation in Se concentration of Brazil nuts from Brazilian Amazon basin, as well as soil properties, including total Se concentration, of the soils sampled directly underneath the trees crown, aiming to investigate which soil properties influence Se accumulation in the nuts. The median Se concentration in Brazil nuts varied from 2.07 mg kg (in Mato Grosso state) to 68.15 mg kg (in Amazonas state). Therefore, depending on its origin, a single Brazil nut could provide from 11% (in the Mato Grosso state) up to 288% (in the Amazonas state) of the daily Se requirement for an adult man (70 μg). The total Se concentration in the soil also varied considerably, ranging from <65.76 to 625.91 μg kg, with highest Se concentrations being observed in soil samples from the state of Amazonas. Se accumulation in Brazil nuts generally increased in soils with higher total Se content, but decreased under acidic conditions in the soil. This indicates that, besides total soil Se concentration, soil acidity plays a major role in Se uptake by Brazil nut trees, possibly due to the importance of this soil property to Se retention in the soil.

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Sena Madureira presents As concentration in soils higher than the prevention level. • Average extractable As (soluble + available) corresponds to 0.24% of the total. • Available As represents N70% of the extractable As, on average. • Arsenic fractions are mainly influenced by soil pH and are highly correlated with Al 3+ .

‘Cedro doce’ [Pochota fendleri (Seem) Alverson & Duarte] is a native forest species in Amazon with great ecological and economic importance. Understanding nutritional requirements of the species allows cultivating Pochota fendleri with more efficient fertilization practices since its initial growth, as a seedling. Thus, this research aimed to evaluate the symptoms of nutritional deficiency of young ‘cedro doce’ plants. The experiment was carried out from September to December 2016, under greenhouse conditions, at Embrapa Roraima, in Boa Vista, RR, Brazil. The experiment was a randomized complete block design with seven treatments [complete solution and individual omission of the macronutrients (N, -P, -K, -Ca, -Mg, -S)] and three replications. Each experimental plot corresponded to a pot with one plant, corresponding to 21 plots. At 77 days after transplanting the seedlings to the pots, the plants were evaluated for symptoms of nutritional deficiency: total height, collar diameter, leaf number, chlorophyll a and b, chlorophyll a/b index ratio, shoot and root dry mass, and root/shoot ratio. The macronutrients omission caused nutritional deficiency symptoms in all ‘cedro doce’ plants. In general, P and N omission caused the least development of plants. This result is an indicative that ‘cedro doce’ is a high demanding species for both nutrients, especially phosphorus.

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