The purpose of this review was to characterize the wheat crop phenology under drought conditions, at different stages of crop growth. Effects of drought on wheat plants are variable, and depend on the phenological stage of the plant as well as the duration, intensity and frequency of the drought. The crop evapotranspiration increases over the course of the phenological cycle, reaching a maximum in the growth stage (from the beginning of heading until the end of flowering), which is the most sensitive stage of the crop to drought. At ripening, the evapotranspiration decreases to save and allocate the energy to grain yield. The drought affects the plant density in the initial phase, tiller number per plant in the tillering phase, and plant height in the stretching phase, most severely. At the flowering stage, the processes related to fertilization and fixation of grain are most severely affected, i.e., the number of viable seeds per area decreases. In the grain formation stage, the ability of the source (leaf) to use and translocate the assimilates to the grain is most severely affected, thus affecting the grain weight.

This paper presents the results obtained with a treatment system by constructed wetland, when applied to effluent from a swine slaughterhouse. The experimental module was filled with a soil layer, followed by crushed stone and sand as filtering material and the upper layer was planted macrophyte Juncus effusus. A level controller and a pump provided the effluent recirculation in experimental module. This experiment was conducted for a hydraulic retention time of 96 hours, in addition, samples were collected every 24 hours for subsequent physical-chemical analyzes. The results were promising, was obtained 98.4 % removal of COD -Chemical Oxygen Demand after 96 hours of treatment. Moreover, there was also a decrease in the electrical conductivity of the effluent, possibly due to nutrient consumption by the plants. Avaliação da Eficiência de Um Sistema de Tratamento por

The effects of different species and grazing management of winter forage crops on the physical properties of a clayey Red Latosol of the western region of Parana State under crop-livestock integration systems were investigated in the present study. Treatments consisted of three different winter crops [white oat (Avena sativa), dual-purpose wheat (Triticum aestivum) and triticale (X Tritico secale)] and three grazing management (one and two grazing with 15 cm of residue height, and without grazing), followed by soybean cultivation, in a randomized block design. Undisturbed soil samples were collected at 0.00-0.10 and 0.10-0.20 m depths, after the winter crops harvest (October/2012) and soybean harvest (March/2013) and was determined the soil bulk density until 0.35 cm depth. The soil macroporosity in the 0.00-0.10 and 0.10-0.20 m soil layers and the total soil porosity in the 0.10-0.20 m layer, after winter crops harvest, were influenced by the crops and management of winter forage. In the evaluation performed after the soybean harvest, there were changes in the soil macroporosity in the 0.0-0.10 m layer and for microporosity and total soil porosity in the 0.10-0.20 m soil layer. The soil bulk density was not affected by the crops and management of winter forage. The different species and grazing management of winter crops in integrated crop-livestock systems promoted changes in soil penetration resistance in the 0.20-0.30 m soil layer. The cultivation of white oat during winter and management with two grazing resulted in lower soil penetration resistance levels.

ABSTRACTthe present study assessed the fruiting pattern, bird foraging behavior, and sugar content of ripe fruits of two sympatric species of rubiaceae (Psychotria brasiliensis and P. nuda). this study was carried out in an Atlantic forest area on ilha Grande, rJ, between August 1998 and July 1999. fruit production occurred year round, with a peak of mature P. brasiliensis fruits in december 1998 and another of P. nuda in february of 1999. Lipaugus lanioides (cotingidae), Baryphtengus ruficapillus (momotidae) and Saltator similis (emberizidae) made the most frequent foraging visits to fruiting P. brasiliensis, so that L. lanioides and B. ruficapillus removed the fruits with sallying maneuvers while S. similis gleaned the fruits. Lipaugus lanioides was by far the most important consumer, and potentially the main disperser of P. brasiliensis. birds of this genus are heavy frugivores in the tropical forests and are widely assumed to be important seed dispersers. the fruits were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively in relation to the amounts of sucrose and starch. Psychotria brasiliensis (the visited species) showed the smallest quantity of sucrose and the highest amount of starch. these findings suggest that what may influence the birds' choice of fruit is the proportion of starch in the Psychotria species studied here rather than the carbohydrate composition.Keywords: Psychotria, fruits, biochemical analysis. RESUMO Aves potenciais dispersoras de

Um dos indicadores importantes para um ecossistema é a serapilheira, pois ela fornece nutrientes e matéria orgânica que são essenciais para o funcionamento do ambiente. Assim sendo, o objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a taxa de decomposição foliar da serapilheira e correlacioná-la com índices meteorológicos, em duas áreas com sistemas agroflorestais (SAF1) formado por diversas espécies de plantas e (SAF2) formado por Heveicultura e abacaxi, em uma região de Cerrado, no município de Pedro Gomes, MS. Para avaliação da decomposição da serapilheira folhas recém-caídas foram coletadas das áreas de estudo e transferidas à estufa por 96 horas. Em seguida, foram pesadas frações de 10 gramas e inseridas em litterbags. Foram alocados 20 litterbags em cada área de estudo e a remoção das amostras ocorreu aos 30, 60, 90 e 120 dias, retirando-se 5 amostras por área e época avaliada. Foi estimada a massa foliar remanescente dos litterbags, o tempo de meia vida (t ½) e a constante de decomposição (k). Posteriormente, a correlação de Pearson (r) entre as variáveis climáticas e k. A perda da massa foliar foi maior na área do SAF2, e em ambas as áreas a temperatura e precipitação tiveram influência na decomposição foliar da serapilheira.

O objetivo foi avaliar o banco de sementes de três diferentes áreas em processo de restauração após 12, 13 e 16 anos de implantação, localizadas no estado de Mato Grosso do Sul. Foram coletadas 20 amostras (20 x 20 cm) no interior de cada floresta restaurada em pontos distribuídos ao acaso, a uma profundidade de 0 a 5 cm, considerando-se a serapilheira. Após serem dispostas em bandejas plásticas, as amostras foram irrigadas e monitoradas diariamente por um período de aproximadamente três meses (90 dias). As espécies também foram avaliadas conforme sua síndrome de dispersão, adotando os critérios morfológicos dos frutos como anemocóricas, zoocóricas, e autocóricas, além de serem classificadas quanto à forma de vida e a origem. A diversidade do banco de sementes foi estimada através do índice de diversidade de Shannon (H’) e a Equabilidade de Pielou (J’). Essas análises foram realizadas no programa Fitopac 2.0. Verificou-se, que a composição da comunidade herbácea variou com os locais, sendo a maior densidade de sementes viáveis para esta classe observadas em Ivinhema, onde o banco de sementes foi composto principalmente por ervas espontâneas oriundas de áreas antropizadas do entorno e grande densidade de plântulas da família Poaceae, contando com quatro espécies distintas. Já a área de Jateí apresentou uma alta densidade de plântulas de Cecropia pachystachya Trécul., além de quatro outras espécies arbóreas distintas. A área restaurada de Caarapó apresentou diferentes classes de vegetação e a presença de componentes importantes para sucessão tais como árvores e lianas. Nos três bancos de sementes avaliados houve a presença de espécies arbóreas representando um avanço no processo sucessional de cada área.

Some winter crops sown in no-tillage system can represent an important alternative to nutrient cycling. The objective of this work was to evaluate the production of dry matter (DM) and accumulation of nutrients for winter cultivation in the West of Paraná. The experimental design was a randomized block, with four treatments and six replications. The treatments were represented by four different winter crops (oat IPR 126, crambe FMS Brilhante, radish common cultivar and wheat BRS Taruma), and the DM, the contents of C, N, P, K, Ca, Mg and C/N ratio in DM and nutrients accumulation were determied The dry matter production was higher for radish with 4.929,14 kg ha -1 . The different winter crops used influenced the contents of C, N and C/N ratio. The other studied characteristics were not influenced. Among the four winter cultivation the radish presented larger production of dry matter. The chemical composition was influenced by the cultivations, the contents of C, N and C/N ratio, consequently in the contribution differentiated in the area. The winter cultivation in the studied conditions influences the accumulation of magnesium.

The study aims to assess the economic feasibility of biodiesel production in association with others by family farmers in the town of Corbélia/PR. Biodiesel is presented as a partial alternative to socioeconomic and environmental oil or total replacement of diesel oil, thus requiring studies on its economic viability. The work was developed through a case study to verify the economic feasibility of installing a biodiesel plant with other associations by family farmers. The raw materials used for oil extraction were soybean, sunflower and canola, depending on the meal being used in animal nutrition. Cash flows were developed, with the costs and revenues before and after installation of the project. From the cash flow, Net Present Value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR) and payback period of capital (payback) were calculated. The IRR of the project was 49%, the NPV was US$ 32, 283, 35 and payback was 2.03 years. The combined production of biodiesel presented economic viability with interaction between the activities of the property.