Physiological disorders during fruit storage are common, leading to remarkable losses of marketable yield, could be strongly affected by the mineral composition of fruits at harvest. The present study was conducted during three years and was based on experimental data obtained from a fertilizer trial arranged into completely randomized blocks, with three replications, installed in an orchard in the Portuguese Region of Bairrada. This experiment was established in order to evaluate the influence of nitrogen and potassium fertilization on the yield and fruit mineral composition of Actinidia deliciosa cv. Hayward. Three levels of nitrogen (30, 60, and 90 kg.ha-1 ,N) and four levels of potassium (0, 45, 90 and 135 kg.ha-1 ,K 2 O) were used, arranged into 12 experimental treatments. Since 2004, nitrogen and potassium was applied annualy. Total yield and its distribution according to fruit size from each plot: [65-75g[, [75-85g[, [85-105g[ and >105g was evaluated. A sample of 16 fruits of each fruit size was taken from each plot and analysed (N,

The benefits of calcium applications pre and postharvest on fruit storage ability have been mentioned in the bibliography. It was objective of this work to study the effect of calcium preharvest application in two different forms and calcium chloride application postharvest on 'Hayward' kiwifruit storage ability.Kiwifruit vines were sprayed with 0.03% CaCl 2 or 0.03% CaO at one, three and four months before harvest. The control did not have any treatment. After harvest, half fruits were dipped for 2 min in a solution of 1% CaCl 2 , left to dry and stored at 0ºC. The other half was stored at the same temperature without any treatment.The commercial yield was not affected by treatments. During storage, fruits dipped in 1% CaCl 2 softened slower and than fruits not treated. Weight loss was higher in fruits treated with CaO preharvest. SSC showed a significant decrease in fruits sprayed with CaO from 4 to 6 months storage.This work suggests that immersion of kiwifruit in 1% CaCl 2 postharvest benefits storage life capacity; preharvest spaying with CaCl 2 seems to be better than with CaO. However, we have to try higher calcium concentrations in order to get better results in storage ability but, without causing toxicity on the vines.

It is well know that calcium increase the storage capacity of many fruits. This study investigated the effect of foliar calcium application, as well as postharvest application on the storage behaviour of kiwifruits cv. ´Hayward'. Three applications of 0.03% CaCl 2 or CaO were made in June, July and September. After harvest half of the fruits from the sprayed vines were dipped in a solution of 2% CaCl 2 ; the other half did not have any treatment. All fruit were then stored at 0ºC and relative humidity of about 90-95%. Foliar application of CaCl 2 appeared to be more effective in keeping fruit quality through storage than CaO. Kiwifruit dipped in 2% CaCl 2 postharvest maintained higher firmness through storage than undipped fruit mainly in large sized fruits, but soluble solids content was not affected.

No abstract

A região Nordeste do Brasil – o Semiárido, em particular – constitui-se num amplo mosaico de diversidade biológica e edafoclimática. Essa diversidade é particularmente importante para a agricultura, pois pode assegurar uma produção sustentável, especialmente no Semiárido, com a utilização de práticas agroecológicas na agricultura familiar, fundamentadas no manejo dos agroecossistemas a partir da convivência com o Semiárido. As famílias têm a tradição de produzir, armazenar e conservar as sementes em suas casas. Nesse cenário, avaliaram-se as interações entre a ciência e as políticas públicas de sementes como estratégias de desenvolvimento, amparadas na Convenção sobre Diversidade Biológica, da Organização das Nações Unidas, ratificada pelo Brasil. Durante todo o processo, os conhecimentos dos agricultores foram valorizados e integrados com o saber científico,  mostrando como, a partir das sementes crioulas, são geradas variadas estratégias de uso e manejo dos agroecossistemas. Pelos resultados observados durante cerca de 10 anos de pesquisa, os agricultores concluíram que suas sementes crioulas apresentam desempenho superior ao das sementes comerciais. Os espaços de trocas das sementes crioulas são estratégias que devem ser reconhecidas pelas políticas públicas como mecanismos de gestão da agrobiodiversidade, pois superam a lógica assistencialista dos programas tradicionais de distribuição de sementes.