The genus Beauveria is considered a cosmopolitan anamorphic and teleomorphic genus of soilborne necrotrophic arthropod-pathogenic fungi that includes ecologically and economically important species. Species identification in Beauveria is difficult because of its structural simplicity and the lack of distinctive phenotypic variation. Therefore, the use of multi-locus sequence data is essential to establish robust species boundaries in addition to DNA-based species delimitation methods using genetic distance, coalescent, and genealogical concordance approaches (polyphasic approaches). In this regard, our study used multilocus phylogeny and five DNA-based methods to delimit species in Beauveria using three molecular makers. These polyphasic analyses allowed for the delimitation of 20–28 species in Beauveria, confirming cryptic diversity in five species (i.e. B. amorpha, B. bassiana, B. diapheromeriphila, and B. pseudobassiana) and supporting the description of B. peruviensis as a new taxon from northeastern Peru. The other five species were not evaluated as they did not have enough data (i.e. B. araneola, B. gryllotalpidicola, B. loeiensis, B. medogensis, and B. rudraprayagi). Our results demonstrate that the congruence among different methods in a polyphasic approach (e.g. genetic distance and coalescence methods) is more likely to show reliably supported species boundaries. Among the methods applied in this study, genetic distance, coalescent approaches, and multilocus phylogeny are crucial when establishing species boundaries in Beauveria.

Stomatal density and stomatal index of Buxus balearica Lam. as evidence of increased CO2 concentration from coprolites of extinct Myotragus balearicus Bate (Artiodactyla, Caprinae)

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The northeastern region of Peru is one of the centers of origin of cocoa due to the great diversity of this cultivar. The objective of this study is, therefore, to search for different genetic groups of 146 ecotypes of fine-aroma native cacao from the northeastern region of Peru, based on the morphological descriptors of pods, seeds, sensory, yield, and sampling altitude. The data were analyzed using multivariate statistics; a cluster analysis was performed with the numerical and categorical variables, followed by a principal component analysis (PCA) and the DGC (Di Rienzo, Guzmán y Casanoves) mean comparison test for the numerical data. Contingency tables and the multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) were performed for the categorical data. We differentiated 5 genetic groups; helpfully, sensory characteristics of the flowers and pod, size and weight of the seeds, and pod index were in fact crucial in separating the groups. The ecotypes of the groups labeled as “Indes” and “Bagüinos” reported the best sensory characteristics with high floral and fruity notes and with a good yield expressed in pod index (13.88 and 11.88, respectively). Furthermore, these ecotypes are found at medium and high altitudes, above 500 m a.s.l., a factor that enables them to express their sensory and yield attributes. On the contrary, the ecotypes known as “Toribianos” and “Cajas” report the highest pod indices (20.77 and 16.78, respectively), resulting in low productivity. In the future, the variability of the ecotypes found will help establish genetic improvement programs that contribute to the development of cocoa farming in general.

No abstract

La actividad ganadera de la región Amazonas, se ha caracterizado por la aplicación de sistemas no sostenibles de uso del suelo y los recursos, lo que ha generado continuos procesos de deterioro de los ecosistemas presentes. El objetivo del presente estudio fue caracterizar los principales Sistemas Silvopastoriles (SSP) prevalentes en las cuencas ganaderas en Molinopampa. Para ello, se aplicaron encuestas a 130 Unidades Agropecuarias considerando procedimientos de análisis del grado de validez y confiabilidad; validez del instrumento y prueba piloto, se empleó un análisis multivariado mediante conglomerados, correlaciones de Spearman y análisis de componentes principales (ACP), donde se identificaron cinco grupos,  diferenciados por el área de SSP que maneja, número de animales y producción de leche por hato ganadero, el grupo que presentó los mejores indicadores fue el cuarto grupo quienes se dedican netamente a la ganadería, 57% de los productores cuentan con un área de SSP establecido mayor a seis ha, poseen más de 51 cabezas de ganado vacuno y tienen una producción diaria de leche de 70 litros/hato/día; cuanto mayor conocimiento y capacitación reciba, el desarrollo de una ganadería sostenible con SSP se incrementa, teniendo en cuenta la siembra de árboles para protección del ganado, producción de madera, conservación de las fuentes de agua y la biodiversidad.

Silvopastoral systems (SPS) are presented as an alternative for the protection and recovery of soils; however, the relationship between the tree component and the physical-chemical characteristics of the soil is unknown. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the physical-chemical characteristics of the soil under four silvopastoral systems (SPS), alder ( Alnus acuminata ), pine ( Pinus patula ), cypress ( Cupressus macrocarpa ), and pona ( Ceroxylon quindiuense ), and a treeless system (TS) in the Amazonas region. A completely randomized design (CRD) with five treatments and three replicates was used. The experimental units were sampled at two depths, 0–15 and 15–30 cm. The parameters evaluated were pH, electrical conductivity (dS/m), organic matter (%), phosphorus (ppm), potassium (ppm), cation exchange capacity (meq/100 g), porosity (%), mechanical resistance (kg/cm 2 ), bulk density (gr/cm 3 ), moisture (%) and total carbon (t/ha). The results were analyzed by analysis of variance (α = 0.05 %) and Tukey's test of means (p ≤ 0.05). The systems presented strong acidic pH values (4.11–5.61), which resulted in high organic matter contents in all systems (6.74–9.99 %). The highest phosphorus content was in the SPS with alder (12.64 ppm), and the highest potassium content was in the SPS with cypress (382.33 ppm). Porosity in all systems was higher than 60 %. The highest bulk density was between 15 and 30 cm, and the highest percentage of moisture was in the surface layer (0–15 cm). The mechanical strength was higher in the SPS with cypress (2.62 kg/cm 2 ). For all the systems evaluated, the highest carbon stock was found in the first 15 cm. The SPS with pine had the best soil characteristics and carbon sequestration (149.05 t/ha).

The use of hormones is important in improving the propagation process. The objective of the experiment was to identify the best dose of indole butyric acid (IBA) hormone for the rooting of coffee cuttings of the typical variety through clonal propagation in the Amazon region. The experiment was carried out in two stages. Both stages were carried out under a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The percentage of rooting of cuttings and the number of roots were evaluated. The coffee tree clones were collected from rust tolerant elite plants. In the laboratory, the cuttings were immersed for 10 minutes in fungicide and then in five doses of IBA hormone (1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, and 3000 mg L−1) of IBA. They were then placed in a microtunnel. With the best dose obtained in stage 1 of IBA (T4: 2000 mg L−1), which achieved a rooting percentage of 52.50% and 5.8 roots on average, stage 2 was installed for the evaluation of acclimatization conditions (greenhouse and nursery). Thirty plants of the Típica variety were evaluated per treatment. Regarding the results after 90 days, the greenhouse obtained the highest values with 72.22% survival, a plant height of 9.48 cm, 4.32 mm stem diameter, 6.53 leaves per plant, 9.65 cm leaf length, and 3.83 cm leaf width. The IBA hormone in a controlled environment such as the greenhouse achieves good vegetative propagation for the Típica variety.