Resumo -Com o objetivo de estudar a variação temporal do índice de área foliar (IAF) da cultura de café, utilizando um método simples e não-destrutivo, foi instalado um experimento no Departamento de Produção Vegetal, da Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, da Universidade de São Paulo. Utilizou-se a cultivar Mundo Novo IAC 388-17, enxertada sobre a cultivar Apoatã IAC 2258 (de 15 até 35 meses de idade), no espaçamento de 2,5 x 1,0 m. Foram coletadas todas as folhas de duas plantas de café, em intervalos de 60 a 150 dias, para a mensuração da área foliar com o equipamento LI-COR (modelo 3100). Para obter a relação funcional entre IAF e diferentes variáveis de crescimento (altura da planta, número e massa total de folhas e área foliar) e arquitetura da copa (área da seção inferior, média e superior do dossel, área lateral do dossel, diâmetro inferior, médio e superior do dossel, volume do dossel da planta e altura do primeiro par de ramos), assumiu-se que a parte aérea do cafeeiro tem a forma cônica. O diâmetro da seção inferior do dossel (primeiro par de ramos) e a altura da planta podem ser utilizadas para estimar o índice de área foliar do cafeeiro.Termos para indexação: Coffea arabica, dossel, culturas perenes, modelos. Equations for estimating the coffee leaf area indexAbstract -With the purpose of estimating the temporal variation of the coffee leaf area index (LAI), using a non destructive simple methodology, an experiment was carried out at the Crop Production Department, Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, of the Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil. The Mundo Novo IAC 388-17 cultivar, grafted on the cultivar Apoatã IAC 2258 (15 to 35 months old), was used with a distance between plants of 2.5 m x 1.0 m, where all leaves of two coffee plants were collected, with intervals varying from 60 to 150 days, to measure the leaf area using the LI-COR equipment (model 3100). To obtain the functional relationship between the LAI and different growth variables (plant height, total number and mass of leaves and leaf area) and the canopy architecture (inferior, medium and superior crop canopy area; crop canopy lateral area; inferior, medium and superior canopy diameter; the plant canopy volume; and the first two branches height), a conic shape for aerial plant architecture was assumed. The inferior canopy diameter (first two branches) and the plant height can be used to estimate the coffee leaf area index.

The element Ni is considered an essential plant micronutrient because it acts as an activator of the enzyme urease. Recent studies have shown that Ni may activate an isoform of glyoxalase I, which performs an important step in the degradation of methylglyoxal (MG), a potent cytotoxic compound naturally produced by cellular metabolism. Reduced glutathione (GSH) is consumed and regenerated in the process of detoxification of MG, which is produced during stress (stress-induced production). We examine the role of Ni in the relationship between the MG cycle and GSH homeostasis and suggest that Ni may have a key participation in plant antioxidant metabolism, especially in stressful situations.

Increasing biodiversity is an important issue in more secure and sustainable agriculture. Diversified systems are more resilient to climate change, environmental stresses and enhance soil health, nutrient cycling and nutrient use efficiency. In tropical agroecosystems, cover crops and intercrops are an alternative toward a more diverse and sustainable production. Urochloa spp. (syn. Brachiaria spp.) are perennial grasses, known for their high biomass production. They are commonly used as cover and companion crops in conservation agriculture in the tropics and the residues left in the field after cutting protect the soil and provide nutrient to the next crop cycle or intercropped culture. Urochloa species roots are vigorous, abundant and deep, as opposed to the more shallow and scarce roots of common crops. These traits contribute to carbon sequestration, soil organic matter stabilization and nutrient cycling. Urochloa roots also improve soil physical characteristics and influence soil nutrient dynamics, reducing nutrient losses and enhancing cycling, what is key to achieve greater nutrient use efficiency in agriculture. For instance, Urochloa root exudates can reduce nitrogen losses by denitrification and leaching through a process called biological nitrification inhibition; root exudates can mobilize recalcitrant phosphorus from soils and make it available for plant uptake; the deep roots of these grasses have the potential to recover nutrients that are virtually lost away from the root zone of other crops. This review compiles scientific progress regarding the introduction of Urochloa in agroecosystems, mainly on the aspects related to the contribution to more secure and sustainable agriculture.

Resumo Estudou-se a repartição de nutrientes nos ramos, folhas e flores na antese da primeira fase reprodutiva do cafeeiro (Coffea arabica L.), cultivares Mundo Novo IAC 388-17 enxertada sobre Apoatã IAC 2258 (4.000 plantas ha -1 ) e Catuaí Amarelo IAC 62 (5.000 plantas ha -1 ). No florescimento, coletou-se um ramo plagiotrópico no terço médio de 20 plantas, contando, em média, 37 e 29 ramos floríferos na cultivar Mundo Novo e Catuaí Amarelo, respectivamente, separando-se flores, folhas, e ramo (lenho). As flores do cafeeiro constituem um forte dreno de nutrientes, variável entre as cultivares; o acúmulo de nutrientes pelas cultivares Catuaí Amarelo e Mundo Novo antecede a antese no início da primavera, e a extração total de Mg pelas flores das cultivares representa 52% do extraído pelas partes da planta (flores, folhas e ramos), o que sugere que a adubação do cafeeiro deve iniciar antes do florescimento.Termos para indexação: Coffea arabica, floração, nutrientes minerais, disponibilidade de nutrientes. Nutrients repartition in the coffee branches, leaves and flowersAbstract The nutrients repartition in the coffee (Coffea arabica L.) branches, leaves and flowers were studied at anthesis of the first reproductive phase for Mundo Novo IAC 388-17 cultivar grafted on Apoatã IAC 2258 (4,000 plants ha -1 ) and Catuaí Amarelo IAC 62 (5,000 plants ha -1 ) cultivars. At flowering, the reproductive branches were collected using its median third part computing 37 and 29 flowering branches of Mundo Novo and Catuaí Amarelo cultivars, respectively, where the flowers, leaves and branches were separated. The coffee flowers are an important physiological drain of nutrients, changeable among cultivars; the nutrients accumulation by Mundo Novo and Catuaí Amarelo cultivars was verified before the anthesis, at the beginning of Spring season, and the total Mg extraction by flowers represents 52% of the flowers, leaves and branches extraction, indicating that the coffee fertilization must initiate before flowering phase.Index terms: Coffee Arabica, flowering, mineral nutrients, nutrient availability.(1) Aceito para publicação em 25 de setembro de 2001.

Background and Aims: Phosphate (Pi) is one of the most limiting nutrients for agricultural production in Brazilian soils due to low soil Pi concentrations and rapid fixation of fertilizer Pi by adsorption to oxidic minerals and/or precipitation by iron and aluminum ions. The objectives of this study were to quantify phosphorus (P) uptake and use efficiency in cultivars of the species Coffea arabica L. and Coffea canephora L., and group them in terms of efficiency and response to Pi availability.Methods: Plants of 21 cultivars of C. arabica and four cultivars of C. canephora were grown under contrasting soil Pi availabilities. Biomass accumulation, tissue P concentration and accumulation and efficiency indices for P use were measured.Key Results: Coffee plant growth was significantly reduced under low Pi availability, and P concentration was higher in cultivars of C. canephora. The young leaves accumulated more P than any other tissue. The cultivars of C. canephora had a higher root/shoot ratio and were significantly more efficient in P uptake, while the cultivars of C. arabica were more efficient in P utilization. Agronomic P use efficiency varied among coffee cultivars and E16 Shoa, E22 Sidamo, Iêmen and Acaiá cultivars were classified as the most efficient and responsive to Pi supply. A positive correlation between P uptake efficiency and root to shoot ratio was observed across all cultivars at low Pi supply. These data identify Coffea genotypes better adapted to low soil Pi availabilities, and the traits that contribute to improved P uptake and use efficiency. These data could be used to select current genotypes with improved P uptake or utilization efficiencies for use on soils with low Pi availability and also provide potential breeding material and targets for breeding new cultivars better adapted to the low Pi status of Brazilian soils. This could ultimately reduce the use of Pi fertilizers in tropical soils, and contribute to more sustainable coffee production.