Existem poucas informações publicadas sobre o efeito da época de colheita no teor de sólidos solúveis - SS (°Brix) de frutos de minitomate. Diante disso, o objetivo do trabalho foi comparar o teor de sólidos solúveis de híbridos de minitomate, portadores do hábito de crescimento determinado versus indeterminado em função da época de colheita. O experimento foi realizado em estufa agrícola, com seis tratamentos: Mascot (hábito de crescimento indeterminado), TSV918 (hábito de crescimento indeterminado), TSV912 (hábito de crescimento indeterminado), TSV678 (hábito de crescimento indeterminado), TSV1278 (hábito de crescimento determinado), TSV910 (hábito de crescimento determinado).  Foram realizadas três colheitas em época distintas (90, 120 e 150 dias após o semeio - DAS) formando um fatorial 6 x 3. Durante as duas primeiras épocas de colheita (90 e 120 DAS) obteve-se os melhores teores de SS. Houve diferença significativa para os frutos coletados no ciclo final das plantas (150 DAS).  O teor de sólidos solúveis variou durante as colheitas (90, 120 e 150 DAS), sendo inferior na última colheita (150 DAS). O hábito de crescimento influenciou o teor de SS apenas no início da colheita (90 DAS).

Garlic cultivation has increased in Brazil in recent years primarily due to the adoption of appropriate technologies, such as the use of low temperatures during the maintenance of garlic seeds to overcome dormancy. However, there is no information on the effects of below-zero temperatures when treating seed cloves on garlic development. Therefore, this study’s objective was to evaluate the effects of below-zero temperatures and different visual indices of overcoming dormancy (VIDs) on garlic performance in Cristalina County, Goias State, Brazil. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with four replicates in a 2 × 3 factorial scheme: with two VIDs (40% and 60%), and three temperature ranges (−1 to −3 °C, 1 to 3 °C, and 2 to 4 °C). Vegetative characteristics, bulbar ratios, and commercial bulb yields were evaluated. The results showed that below-zero temperatures resulted in better vegetative characteristics. The yield increased after using below-zero temperatures to treat seed cloves with a VID of 60%. The garlic produced had a higher market value. We concluded that there is an enormous potential for using below-zero temperatures to improve the performance of the “Ito” garlic variety, and more studies should be conducted with other varieties of economic importance to enhance Brazilian garlic production.

No abstract

The pepper crop is cultivated in all Brazilian regions, and the planting system with the arrangement of plants in the single-row prevails. Therefore, this work aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance and physiological quality of the seeds of different pepper genotypes according to the planting systems. The experiment was carried out at the Federal University of Uberlândia, in Monte Carmelo, in a randomized blocks experimental design, in a 4 x 2 factorial scheme, four genotypes (UFU-62-5M; UFU-28-1M; UFU-58-6D and UFU-5-3BD) under two planting systems (Single-row planting-SRP and Double-row planting-DRP), with four repetitions. The spacing of 0.6 m between plants and rows was used in the SRP. In the DRP, the spacing of 0.6 m between rows and 1.20 m between plants were used. Each plot was composed of six plants, the two central plants were considered for the evaluations of total production; fruit mass; fruit diameter; fruit length; electric conductivity of seeds; 1000-seeds weight; fruit production; first germination count; and chlorophyll a and b. The double-row planting had significant increases in the physiological quality of pepper seeds; thus, for seed production, this would be the best system. Because there are no differences in productivity between the systems, the double-line system would be advantageous to facilitate the harvesting and allow future mechanization.

In modern agriculture, there is a growing need for increasing crop efficiency while minimizing environmental impacts. The use of high-efficiency light supplementation to enhance plant development is limited for high-productive crops at field conditions (outdoor). This study evaluated the soybean plant’s yield responses in an open commercial area (field scale) cultivated under conditions of artificial light supplementation. A commercial irrigated (pivot) area received an illumination system for light supplementation (LS) in its inner pivot spans. About 40 hours of LS were applied to the plants during the soybean crop cycle. The area’s outer pivot spans did not receive light supplementation (nLS). The internode number, the plant height, the pods per plant were evaluated weekly to compute the area under the progress curve (AUPC). The grain yield at harvest was also assessed. The AUPC of the internode number, plant height and pods per plant were positively affected by the LS treatment. The regular soybean cycle (nLS) is about 17 weeks; however, the LS harvest occurred three weeks later. Light supplementation increased soybean grain yield by 57.3% and profitability by 180% when compared to nLS. Although light supplementation at field scale poses a challenge, it is now affordable since sustainable field resistant technologies are now available. The present study is the first known report of light supplementation used to improve soybean crop production at field scale.