Ethyl carbamate (EC) (NH 2 COOCH 2 CH 3) is found in cachaça, and its presence in the beverage is conspicuous for its toxicity. Copper, the metal of choice used in the construction of stills, is also considered a beverage contaminant and is often related to the presence of EC in beverages. The study aimed to monitor the quality of cachaça by measuring the presence of copper and EC, and comparing the influences of sugarcane cultivation systems on the concentration of these contaminants. The varieties, RB 867515, RB 962869 and RB 85553, were cultivated under the following management systems: planting without fertilization; organic planting; and conventional planting. For cultivation, a completely randomized design in a factorial scheme of 3 varieties × 3 managements was used as experimental planning, in 4 replications. The concentrations of copper and EC in beverages were evaluated and submitted to univariate analysis of variance (p ≤ 0.05). The organic and conventional systems presented no significant variations in copper content, both of which are recommended for the planting of sugarcane as raw material for cachaça. From amongst the varieties evaluated, RB966928 presented the lowest concentrations of copper for the organic and conventional systems, and was the most recommended for the production of cachaça. To evaluate the EC concentration (μg L-1) in the cachaças produced, all beverages were considered in accordance with national legislation. Significant differences were observed between them, but the conventional and organic systems are favored for deployment in the cultivation of sugarcane as the raw material of cachaça. The same applies to the RB966928, RB867515 and RB855453 varieties.

Soil phosphorus (P) is a major driver of forest development and a critically limited nutrient in tropical soils, especially when topsoil is removed by mining. This nutrient can be present in soils in the form of different fractions, which have direct consequences for P availability to plants and, consequently, for restoration success. Therefore, understanding how the stocks of different soil P fractions change over the restoration process can be essential for guiding restoration interventions, monitoring, and adaptive management. Here, we investigated the recovery of soil P fractions by forest restoration interventions on bauxite mine sites in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We assessed the concentration of different fractions of soil organic and inorganic P at (1) a bauxite mine prepared for restoration; (2) two former bauxite mines undergoing forest restoration for 6 and 24 years; and (3) an old-growth forest remnant. Overall, restored areas recovered levels of labile organic P (P o-NaHCO 3) at 5-40 cm and of moderately labile organic P (P o-NaOH) at different depths, exhibiting concentrations similar to those found in a conserved forest. The use of P-rich fertilizers and forest topsoil may have greatly contributed to this outcome. Some other fractions, however, recovered only after 24 years of restoration. Other inorganic P fractions did not differ among mined, restored, and conserved sites: nonlabile P i (residual P and P-HCl), labile P i (P i-NaHCO 3), and moderately labile P i (P i-NaOH). Forest restoration was able to promote efficient recovery of important soil P fractions, highlighting the value of restoration efforts to mitigate soil degradation by mining.

1. Ecosystem restoration is a global priority, currently promoted by several ambitious commitments. Most of the research to guide restoration practices was so far put on the recovery of above-ground functions and services, although soil health is increasingly recognized as a fundamental condition to restoration success. Soil restoration is particularly needed in mining areas, in which the surface soil layers are removed and the left over, highly deprived substrate does not support vegetation recovery.2. Here, we evaluated the potential of active restoration to recover soil attributes after bauxite mining in the Brazil's Atlantic Forest. We specifically studied how physical, chemical and microbiological soil attributes down to 40 cm depth respond to restoration (i.e. topsoil spreading and tree planting) by comparing newly mined areas, areas undergoing restoration for ~7 years and conserved forests. We further explored the associations between microbiological and physico-chemical soil attributes.3. Restoration interventions resulted in a 10-fold increase in the soil organic matter content compared to mined areas, as well as in the recovery of P content.Restoration was also shown to be associated with the recovery of the activity and diversity of soil bacterial communities, reaching similar levels to those observed in conserved forest. Restored and conserved forests were characterized by a higher proportion of Acidobacteria, Planctomycetes and Verrucomicrobia.All bacterial attributes were correlated with soil physical attributes, except for microporosity, and with organic matter and cation exchange capacity.

Na região centro-sul do Estado de São Paulo, informações sobre a adaptabilidade de plantas de cobertura cultivadas na estação seca são escassas. Objetivou-se com este estudo investigar a produção de fitomassa e extração de macronutrientes em plantas de cobertura durante a estação seca, em um Latossolo Vermelho distrófico, no município de Araras-SP.  O delineamento foi em blocos ao acaso, com cinco tratamentos, correspondendo a espécies, em seis blocos. Na entressafra de milho 2015/2016, foram cultivadas: crotalária-spectabilis (Crotalaria spectabilis Roth.), feijão-guandu (Cajanus cajan L.), feijão-de-porco (Canavalia ensiformes L.), mucuna-preta (Stilozobium aterrimum Piper et Tray) e milheto (Pennisetum glaucum L.). O milheto foi a espécie que produziu mais fitomassa seca (acima de 8 t ha-1) e a que mais extraiu macronutrientes (185;10;106;42;18 e 8 kg ha-1 de N, P, K, Ca, Mg e S, respectivamente), apresentando relação C/N inferior a 25, sugerindo que seus resíduos sofreriam uma rápida decomposição e mineralização.A análise de agrupamento indicou que o feijão-guandu obteve desempenho semelhante ao do milheto. Crotalária-spectabilis apresentou a menor fitomassa seca e extraiu menor quantidade de macronutrientes. Neste estudo, milheto e feijão-guandu foram as espécies que mais contribuíram para cobertura do solo e para a reciclagem de nutrientes na estação seca.Palavras-chave: biomassa, nutrição, relação C/N, safrinha. BIOMASS PRODUCTION AND NUTRIENT ACCUMULATION BY COVER CROPS CULTIVATED IN THE DRY SEASON ABSTRACT: In the south-central region of the State of São Paulo, data on the adaptability of cover crops grown in the dry season are insuficient. The objective of this study was to investigate the biomass production and extraction of macronutrients in cover crops during the dry season, in a Oxysoil (LatossoloVermelho), in the city of Araras-SP. The design was in randomized blocks, with five treatments, corresponding to species in six blocks. In the maize off-season 2015/2016, were cultivated: crotalaria spectabilis (Crotalaria spectabilis Roth.), pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.), pig bean (Canavalia ensiformes L.), velvet bean (Stilozobium aterrimum Piper et Tray) and millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.). Millet was the species that produced the highest dry matter average (above 8 tons ha-1) and the one that most extracted macronutrients (185;10;106;42;18 and 8 Kg ha-1 of N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S, respectively), showing a C/N ratio of less than 25, suggesting that its residues would undergo rapid decomposition and mineralization. The clustering analysis indicated that the pigeon pea had similar performance to millet. Crotalaria-spectabilis presented the lowest dried biomass extracted a smaller amount of macronutrients. In this study, millet and pigeon pea were the species that contributed the most to cover the soil and to recycle nutrients in the dry season.Keywords: biomass, nutrition, C/N ratio, off-season.

Classical methods of analysis of nonlinear models are widely used in studies of ruminal degradation kinetics. As this type of study involves repeated measurements in the same experimental unit, the use of mixed nonlinear models (MNLM) is proposed, in order to solve problems of heterogeneity of variances of the responses, correlation among repeated measurements and consequent lack of sphericity in the covariance matrix. The aims of this work are to present an evaluation of the applicability of MNLM in the estimation of parameters to describe the in situ ruminal degradation kinetics of the dry matter of Tifton 85 hay and to compare the results with those obtained from the usual analysis in two-phases. The steers used in the trial were fed diets composed of three different combinations of roughage and concentrate and two hays with different nutritional qualities. The proposed approach was proven as effective as the traditional one for estimating model parameters. However, it adequately models the correlation among the longitudinal data, which can affect the estimates obtained, the standard error associated with them and potentially change the results of the inferences. It is quite attractive when the research seeks to understand the behavior of the process of food degradation throughout the incubation times.

Este é um artigo publicado em acesso aberto (Open Access) sob a licença Creative Commons Attribution, que permite uso, distribuição e reprodução em qualquer meio, sem restrições desde que o trabalho original seja corretamente citado. Estudo da qualidade físico-química, tecnológica e sensorial de caldos de cana-de-açúcar para consumo Study of the physical-chemical, technological and sensory quality of sugar cane juice for consumption

Resumo No Brasil, o açúcar mascavo possui apenas o valor de polarização como padrão de qualidade exigido em legislação própria; entretanto, este valor (90% de polarização) não representa a realidade dos produtos encontrados à venda nos mercados. Além disso, procedimentos como a adição de açúcar bruto de alta polarização (VHP) têm se tornado frequentes, uma vez que esta ação altera a qualidade final do produto e de seu processamento. É essencial, portanto, a elaboração de novos padrões de qualidade a serem exigidos para o açúcar mascavo. Avaliou-se, neste trabalho, a qualidade do açúcar mascavo produzido sem e com adição de VHP, sendo ambos os processos sem e com correção de pH, com o objetivo de fornecer subsídios que possam auxiliar na atualização dos padrões de qualidade do açúcar mascavo no país. Os resultados obtidos demonstram que não houve interação entre a matéria-prima (caldo de cana com diferentes teores de sólidos solúveis iniciais) e o processo utilizado (adição de VHP com e sem correção de pH) que influenciasse as características físico-químicas analisadas, exceto a umidade, em que o processo de adição de açúcar VHP acompanhado de correção de pH resultou em produtos com menores teores de umidade.

Kale is a vegetable that has high nutrition content, and balanced fertilization is essential to ensure high yield and quality of agricultural products. Curly kale, less known than regular leaf kale, is a new possibility for consumption. However, little is known about the influence of the type of fertilization on nutritional characteristics. This study aims to evaluate the influence of using organic fertilizers on the productivity, microbiological, and physico-chemical characteristics of Darkibor hybrid curly kale. The treatments consisted of three sources of organic fertilizers, one of organomineral fertilizer, and the control (without fertilization). The highest productivity was observed for kale that was treated with fertilizer in the organomineral composition in all harvests. For microbiological analyses, there was no contamination in all treatments, following legislation. There was no significant difference between treatments for the physicochemical composition, highlighting the high levels of phenolic compounds and proteins in curly kale. There was no difference between treatments regarding the mineral content of the leaves. Organic and organomineral fertilizers made it possible to produce curly kale with adequate physicochemical composition, free from microbiological contamination and heavy metals.