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-The objective of this work was to evaluate the impacts of spittlebug (Mahanarva fimbriolata) attack on sugarcane quality and ethanol production. Technological and microbiological parameters of juice and fermentation process were evaluated in ten fermentation cycles and two harvest seasons. Treatments consisted of different spittlebug stalk damage levels: control, with 100% of apparently healthy stalks; medium, with 15% of damaged or dry stalks (DDS); high, with 30% of DDS; and very high, with 60% of DDS. Spittlebug attack caused significant losses in cane quality, reducing total soluble solids, sucrose content, total reducing sugars, and pH, and increasing total phenolic compounds, and total and volatile juice acidity. The fermentation process was also significantly affected, resulting in lower ethanol content in wine. There was an increase in acetaldehyde concentration in the distillate. The spittlebug attack caused negative impacts on sugarcane quality and fermentation process, and these impacts are stronger in late season harvests.Index terms: Mahanarva fimbriolata, Saccharum, cane quality, ethanolic fermentation, technological quality. Impacto da cigarrinha-das-raízes na qualidade da cana-de-açúcar e na produção de etanolResumo -O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o impacto do ataque da cigarrinha-das-raízes (Mahanarva fimbriolata) na qualidade da cana-de-açúcar e na produção de etanol. Os parâmetros tecnológicos e microbiológicos do caldo e do processo fermentativo foram avaliados em dez ciclos de fermentação e duas épocas de colheita. Os tratamentos consistiram de diferentes níveis de danos da cigarrinha nos colmos: testemunha, com 100% de colmos aparentemente sadios; médio, com 15% de dano ou colmos secos (DCS); alto, com 30% de DCS; e muito alto, com 60% de DCS. O ataque da praga causou significativa redução na qualidade da cana, ao diminuir teores de sólidos solúveis, teores de sacarose, açúcares redutores totais e pH, e aumentar os compostos fenólicos e a acidez total e volátil do caldo. O processo fermentativo também foi significativamente afetado, o que resultou em vinhos com menores teores alcoólicos. Houve aumento na concentração de acetaldeído no destilado. O ataque da cigarrinha-das-raízes causou impactos negativos na qualidade da cana-de-áçucar e no processo fermentativo, e esses impactos são maiores nas colheitas de final de temporada.Termos para indexação: Mahanarva fimbriolata, Saccharum, qualidade da cana, fermentação etanólica, qualidade tecnológica.

The sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis (F.) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is a key pest of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.). While damage caused by this pest has increased in the past 20 yr, studies investigating the insect–plant interactions are still lacking. Moreover, there is no information about the consequences of borer damage on the parameters of sugar quality. Therefore, two field experiments were performed during the 2010 and 2011 growing seasons in Brazil to compare the raw material and sugar quality of SP80‐3280 sugarcane plants with and without the sugarcane borer. Plants were protected within screen cages and infested weekly during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, using egg masses starting at the second and third internode stage. At harvest, 25.77 and 19.01% of the internodes were bored by larvae (infestation intensity, II) in the first and second seasons, respectively. There was no correlation between the borer gallery total volume and II. The fiber content significantly increased with increasing II. The stalk biometric parameters, such as length, diameter, and yield, were not correlated with II. The sucrose yield significantly decreased with increasing II. Consequently, sugar yield losses were estimated at 8.83 and 19.80% per 1% bored internode for the first and second seasons, respectively. The concentration of phenolic compounds increased, and unclarified juice color quality decreased, with increasing II. Significant differences were detected in the quality of the sugar. These results should be confirmed for other sugarcane cultivars and incorporated into an economic injury level to enhance decision‐making strategies for borer management.

RESUMO Os biocombustíveis apresentam-se com grande importância para suprir a demanda global de energia. São produzidos a partir de biomassa vegetal, emitem menor

Biosurfactants are bioactive agents that can be produced by many different microorganisms. Among those, special attention is given to yeasts, since they can produce many types of biosurfactants in large scale, using several kinds of substrates, justifying its use for industrial production of those products. For this production to be economically viable, the use of residual carbon sources is recommended. The present study isolated yeasts from soil contaminated with petroleum oil hydrocarbons and assessed their capacity for producing biosurfactants in low cost substrates. From a microbial consortium enriched, seven yeasts were isolated, all showing potential for producing biosurfactants in soybean oil. The isolate LBPF 3, characterized as Candida antarctica, obtained the highest levels of production - with a final production of 13.86 g/L. The isolate LBPF 9, using glycerol carbon source, obtained the highest reduction in surface tension in the growth medium: approximately 43% of reduction after 24 hours of incubation. The products obtained by the isolates presented surfactant activity, which reduced water surface tension to values that varied from 34 mN/m, obtained from the product of isolates LBPF 3 and 16 LBPF 7 (respectively characterized as Candida antarctica and Candida albicans) to 43 mN/m from the isolate LPPF 9, using glycerol as substrate. The assessed isolates all showed potential for the production of biosurfactants in conventional sources of carbon as well as in agroindustrial residue, especially in glycerol

Neotropical Entomology 37(1): 068-073 (2008) Infl uência da Injúria de Mahanarva fi mbriolata (Stål) (Hemiptera: Cercopidae) na Qualidade do Caldo de Cana RESUMO -Mahanarva fi mbriolata (Stål) é considerada praga importante na América Latina por reduzir a produtividade de cana-de-açúcar. Há pouca informação sobre o efeito do inseto na qualidade da cana que será utilizada para produção de açúcar e álcool. Assim, objetivou-se avaliar a qualidade do caldo da cana de plantas atacadas pela cigarrinha-das-raízes. Adotou-se o delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado com 15 repetições e dois tratamentos: testemunha e controle químico com tiametoxam. Nas parcelas experimentais foram encontradas em média 9,2 ± 4,44 ninfas m -1 em monitoramento inicial (dezembro/2003). As ninfas foram contadas aos 18, 35, 55, e 82 dias após a primeira contagem, sendo a infestação expressa em insetos-dia acumulados. Em julho de 2004, procedeu-se à colheita de colmos e extração do caldo, analisando-se o Brix, Pol, açúcares redutores, pH, fi bra, pureza, açúcares redutores totais, dextrana, amido, compostos fenólicos totais e produtividade. O controle químico reduziu a população do inseto e elevou a produtividade de colmos e do pH do caldo. A infestação acumulada foi correlacionada signifi cativa e negativamente com a produtividade, Pol, pH, e pureza. O teor de compostos fenólicos aumentou com a elevação da infestação, enquanto que os valores de dextrana e amido não foram alterados. Infestações de 2,4 e 7,3 ninfas m -1 dia -1 causaram reduções da ordem de 8,3% e 29,8% na produtividade; 1,9 e 5,8% na Pol; 0,4% e 1,1% no pH e 0,4% e 1,2% na pureza, respectivamente, em comparação com áreas de população baixa (< 0,1 ninfa m -1 ).PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Cigarrinha-das-raízes, inseto-dia, controle químico ABSTRACT -Mahanarva fi mbriolata (Stål) is an important pest in Latin America and causes signifi cant reduction in sugarcane productivity. There is no information regarding the effect of this pest on the quality of cane juice used for sugar and alcohol production. This work aimed at evaluating the quality of sugarcane juice from plants attacked by spittlebugs. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design with 15 replications, and comprised two treatments: control and chemical treatment with thiamethoxam. An average of 9.2 ± 4.44 spittlebug nymphs m -1 were found in the plots prior to insecticide application. Nymphs were counted 18, 35, 55, and 82 days after the initial sampling (december/2003). During the mid growing season (July 2004), the juice was extracted from stalks and analyzed for Brix, Pol, RS, pH, fi ber, purity, TRS, dextran, starch, and total phenolic compounds. Stalk yield was also measured. Chemical treatment was effi cient in reducing spittlebug population, and elevated both stalk yield and juice pH. The accumulated infestation expressed as insect-days was signifi cantly and negatively correlated to yield, Pol, pH, and purity. The concentration of phenolic compounds increased with pest infestation, while dextra...

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Mahanarva fimbriolata (Stål) (Hemiptera: Cercopidae) has become a key pest in the sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) fields of center-south Brazil. Although some control technologies have shown to be efficient, the damage promoted by this spittlebug species and its interaction with sugarcane are poorly characterized. At high infestation levels the symptoms are similar to those of severe water restriction. This work was conducted to determine whether the stress promoted by spittlebug infestation can be measured in terms of free proline accumulation. The water restriction tolerance of two sugarcane genotypes was also compared. Two experiments were set up in a greenhouse and arranged in a completely randomized design in a 2 × 2 × 4 factorial, with two cultivars (SP80-1816 and RB72454), two stress levels (control and ten nymphs per plant or 50% water restriction), and four sampling dates. The water deficit caused by spittlebug nymphs sucking xylem sap does not result in proline accumulation, illustrating that there are different mechanisms to sense when the water deficit is caused by insect feeding or water potential variation in root cells. The cultivar RB72454 accumulates more free-proline, and the dry mass accumulation and stalk growth are less affected in this cultivar under water restriction. The levels of compatible solutes probably cannot be used to measure spittlebug infestation stress in sugarcane and RB72454 is more tolerant to water shortage than SP80-1816. Key words: Mahanarva fimbriolata, Saccharum spp., proline accumulation, water deficit ACÚMULO DE PROLINA EM CANA-DE-AÇÚCAR SOB ESTRESSE HÍDRICO OU SUBMETIDA AO ATAQUE DE CIGARRINHA-DAS-RAÍZESRESUMO: A cigarrinha-das-raízes Mahanarva fimbriolata (Stål) (Hemiptera: Cercopidae) tornou-se uma praga importante da cultura da cana-de-açúcar na região centro-sul do Brasil. Estratégias de controle têm sido desenvolvidas, mas os danos promovidos por essa praga e sua interação com a cana-de-açúcar ainda são pouco caracterizados. Em altos níveis de infestação da praga, os sintomas nas plantas são muito semelhantes à restrição hídrica severa. Este trabalho foi conduzido com o objetivo de determinar se o estresse promovido pela infestação de ninfas de cigarrinha-das-raízes resulta em acúmulo de prolina livre, além de comparar dois genótipos de cana-de-açúcar quanto à tolerância ao déficit hídrico. Dois experimentos foram conduzidos em delineamento inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 2 × 2 × 4 com duas cultivares (SP80-1816 e RB72454), dois níveis de estresse (controle e dez ninfas por planta ou 50% de restrição hídrica) e quatro épocas. O déficit hídrico promovido por M. fimbriolata não resultou em acúmulo de prolina, ilustrando a existência de mecanismos distintos para a percepção do estresse hídrico promovido pela praga e pela variação no potencial osmótico nas células das raízes. A cultivar RB72454 acumula maiores teores de prolina livre, e o acúmulo de massa seca e o crescimento dos colmos são menos afetados nessa cultivar sob restrição hídric...