A forma cooperativa de organização tem-se mostrado uma alternativa importante para o desenvolvimento das pequenas e médias organizações. Entretanto, assim como ocorre em outras organizações, as cooperativas necessitam ser avaliadas do ponto de vista da eficiência que apresentam ao desempenharem suas atividades. A avaliação de eficiência é de grande importância para as organizações deste tipo, pois as cooperativas possuem uma gestão que deve atender às necessidades dos seus diversos cooperados. Neste trabalho foi realizada a aplicação do método Análise Envoltória de Dados (DEA) para avaliar o desempenho das cooperativas de crédito rural do estado de São Paulo. O estudo realizado demonstrou que as cooperativas que dispunham de maiores volumes de recursos conseguiram obter desempenho superior, no tocante ao seu objetivo de operação (concessão de crédito). Um dos resultados mais relevantes, evidenciados no estudo, foi que as cooperativas que dispunham de maiores volumes de recursos conseguiram obter maiores taxas de eficiência, quando considerada a relação ativo total e despesas administrativas relativamente ao volume de crédito concedido. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que a análise envoltória de dados pode ser uma interessante alternativa para a avaliação de desempenho.

Authos contribution: RM, EM and RZ conceived the paper; EM performed and coordinated hybridizations; RM and EM coordinated vegetative propagation, plant development and treatment application; RM coordinated assessments, processed the data and performed the statistical analysis; EM and RZ achieved the funds; RM coordinated the writing of the manuscript; EM and RZ helped in writing by subsequent revisions.

Summary Reproductive phenology was studied in a Pinus radiata seed orchard, located in northern Spain. Timing of flowering was determined on the basis of data recorded by visual observations made in 2000, 2001 and 2002. The genetic and environmental factors affecting female and male phenology, as well as reproductive synchronization, were studied. The dates of beginning of the receptive phase and pollen shedding varied greatly from year to year but the variation on the sum of degree-days was low. In general, the flowering periods of the different clones overlapped. The clonal differences in the phenology of receptivity and pollen shedding were in most cases statistically significant. The time needed to reach flowering stages was under strong genetic control. Genetic control was stronger for the female than the male flowering process. However, correlations between years were stronger for male than for female flowering phenology. The male flowering clones that best synchronized with the females appeared to be those that started flowering earlier. The phenological overlap index varied greatly among clones, whether male or female, and also among years.

SummaryThe magnitude and practical importance of family x site interactions for growth and form traits in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) breeding in the coastal area of Galicia (NW Spain) were analysed using several different techniques. Data were from 58 8-yr-old half-sib families planted across four sites. The analysis of variance and the ratio of interaction to family variance component showed the interactions to be quantitatively important for several traits, especially for volume and straightness. Genetic correlations between the same trait at different sites were moderate and highly variable, especially for certain pairs of sites. The results indicated that interactions are a consequence of few highly interactive families that may be particularly sensitive to environmental variation. The removal of these families from the breeding program appeared as an effective strategy to solve the interactions. Results are discussed in relation to the stability parameter considered to identify the most unstable progenies.

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