RESUMO -O trabalho foi realizado com o objetivo de se avaliarem as características morfogênicas e estruturais de Brachiaria brizantha cv. Xaraés, submetido a quatro doses de nitrogênio (0, 40, 80 e 120 mg/dm 3 ) e três regimes de desfolhação (três, quatro e cinco folhas completamente expandidas), em um esquema fatorial 4 x 3. O experimento foi conduzido em casa de vegetação, com os tratamentos dispostos em um delineamento inteiramente casualizado, com quatro repetições. Após desbaste, foram mantidas três plantas por vaso com capacidade de 5,8 dm 3 . As plantas receberam adubação fosfatada e potássica, de acordo com análise de fertilidade do solo. A adubação nitrogenada, via solução aquosa, foi parcelada em quatro aplicações. Quando apresentaram número de folhas expandidas indicador de corte, as plantas foram colhidas a 5 cm do solo, iniciando-se as avaliações das características morfogênicas e estruturais. Os resultados indicaram que o nitrogênio tem efeito sobre as características morfogênicas e estruturais e sobre a produção de MS, com exceção da MS radicular. Observou-se incremento de até 37% na taxa de alongamento (cm/dia) para a mais elevada dose de N (120 mg/dm³ ) em relação ao tratamento sem adubação nitrogenada. A freqüência de corte influenciou a taxa de alongamento foliar, o filocrono, o comprimento final da lâmina, o número de folhas vivas por perfilhos, a taxa de senescência e o teor matéria seca da parte aérea e raiz.Palavras-chave: Brachiaria brizantha cv. Xaraés, forrageira, matéria seca, morfogênese Morphogenetic and Structural Characteristics of Xaraésgrass Submitted to NitrogenFertilization and Defoliation ABSTRACT -The morphogenetic and structural traits of Brachiaria brizantha cv. Xaraés submitted to the treatment combinations of four nitrogen rates (0, 40, 80 and 120 mg/dm 3 ) and three defoliation frequencies (two, four and five completely expanded leaves) were evaluated according to a 4 x 3 factorial arrangement. The experiments were conducted in a greenhouse, with the treatments arranged as factorial combination. The experimental design was completely randomized, with four replications. After thinning, three seedlings were left per pot (5,8 dm 3 ). The phosphate fertilization was performed according to the soil fertility. The pots were fertilized with phosphorus and potassium, according to soil fertility. Nitrogen fertilization was split in four applications and applied in aqueous solution. When the plants reached the number of expanded leaves (defoliation moment), they were cut at 5 cm height from soil level before evaluation of morphogenetic and structural traits in the aftermath. Significant nitrogen effect was observed on morphogenetic and structural characteristics of xaraésgrass and on DM yield, except on root DM. Leaf elongation rate (LER) increased linearly up to 37% at the N rate of 120 mg/dm³. Defoliation influenced leaf elongation rate, phyllochron, blade length, number of live leaves per tiller, senescence rate and dry matter yield of shoot and root.

Physical, physicochemical, and microbiological changes were monitored in 256 samples of artisanal Minas cheese from eight producers from Serro region (Minas Gerais, Brazil) for 64 days of ripening to determine the minimum ripening time for the cheese to reach the safe microbiological limits established by Brazilian legislation. The cheeses were produced between dry season (April–September) and rainy season (October–March); 128 cheeses were ripened at room temperature (25 ± 4 °C), and 128 were ripened under refrigeration (8 ± 1 °C), as a control. No Listeria monocytogenes was found, but one cheese under refrigeration had Salmonella at first 15 days of ripening. However, after 22 days, the pathogen was not detected. Seventeen days was the minimum ripening time at room temperature to reduce at safe limits of total coliforms > 1000 cfu.g −1 ), Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus (> 100 cfu.g −1 ) in both periods of manufacture. Otherwise under refrigeration, as expected, the minimum ripening time was longer, 33 days in the dry season and 63 days in the rainy season. To sum up, we suggest that the ripening of artisanal Minas cheese be done at room temperature, since this condition shortens the time needed to reach the microbiological quality that falls within the safety parameters required by Brazilian law, and at the same time maintain the appearance and flavor characteristics of this traditional cheese.

The simultaneous release of various chemical elements with inhibitory potential for phosphate solubilization from rock phosphate (RP) was studied in this work. Al, B, Ba, Ca, F, Fe, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, Rb, Si, Sr, V, Zn, and Zr were released concomitantly with P during the solubilization of Araxá RP (Brazil), but only F showed inhibitory effects on the process at the concentrations detected in the growth medium. Besides P solubilization, fluoride decreased fungal growth, citric acid production, and medium acidification by Aspergillus niger. At the maximum concentration found during Araxá RP solubilization (22.9 mg F(-) per liter), fluoride decreased P solubilization by 55%. These findings show that fluoride negatively affects RP solubilization by A. niger through its inhibitory action on the fungal metabolism. Given that fluoride is a common component of RPs, the data presented here suggest that most of the microbial RP solubilization systems studied so far were probably operated under suboptimal conditions.

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e During fungal rock phosphate (RP) solubilization, a significant quantity of fluoride (F ؊ ) is released together with phosphorus (P), strongly inhibiting the process. In the present study, the effect of two F ؊ adsorbents [activated alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) and biochar] on RP solubilization by Aspergillus niger was examined. Al 2 O 3 adsorbed part of the F ؊ released but also adsorbed soluble P, which makes it inappropriate for microbial RP solubilization systems. In contrast, biochar adsorbed only F ؊ while enhancing phosphate solubilization 3-fold, leading to the accumulation of up to 160 mg of P per liter. By comparing the values of F ؊ measured in solution at the end of incubation and those from a predictive model, it was estimated that up to 19 mg of F ؊ per liter can be removed from solution by biochar when added at 3 g liter ؊1 to the culture medium. Thus, biochar acted as an F ؊ sink during RP solubilization and led to an F ؊ concentration in solution that was less inhibitory to the process. In the presence of biochar, A. niger produced larger amounts of citric, gluconic, and oxalic acids, whether RP was present or not. Our results show that biochar enhances RP solubilization through two interrelated processes: partial removal of the released F ؊ and increased organic acid production. Given the importance of organic acids for P solubilization and that most of the RPs contain high concentrations of F ؊ , the proposed solubilization system offers an important technological improvement for the microbial production of soluble P fertilizers from RP.