Coffee breeding based on root traits is important to identify productive genotypes under adverse environmental conditions. This study assessed the diversity of root traits in Coffea canephora and its correlation with plant height and crop yield. Undisturbed soil samples were collected down to 60 cm from 43 coffee genotypes, in which one of them was propagated by seed and all others by stem cutting. The roots were washed, scanned, and processed to quantify root length density, root volume, root superficial area, and root diameter. Additionally, plant height and crop yield were also assessed. Root length density ranged from 40 to 1411 mm cm−3, root volume from 6 to 443 mm3 cm−3, root superficial area from 61 to 1880 mm2 cm−3, and root diameter from 0.6 to 1.1 mm. Roots were concentrated in the topsoil (0–20 cm) for most genotypes. In deeper depths (30–60 cm), root length density, root volume, and root superficial area were higher in genotypes 14, 25, 31, and 32. Positive correlations were found between root traits and both plant height and crop yield. The results of this work may contribute to the overall cultivation of C. canephora, specially for crop breeding in adverse environmental conditions.

The present work aimed to characterize and evaluate Capsicum peppers in the South of the State of Espírito Santo, in order to estimate the variability among the accessions for the Germplasm Bank implementation. For this, 33 genotypes were collected through donations in four municipalities in the region. The genotypes were characterized based on nine quantitative descriptors: number of seeds per fruit (NS), number of fruit locules (NL), number of fruits per plant (NFR), plant height (PH), leaf width (LW), leaf length (LL), fruit length (FRL) and fruit diameter (FRD). Analysis of variance and means grouping by the Scott-Knott test was performed (P=.01). To estimate the diversity, the Tocher method was realized. The GT Biplot analysis was performed with using RStudio program to estimate discrimination, representativeness and correlation of characteristics. It was found a great diversity among the studied genotypes, being able to emphasize the accession Ifes 01 and Ifes 03 as the most divergent ones. The Tocher grouping allowed the formation of seven groups. The biplot analysis presented the formation of three groups of characteristics. The access Ifes 01 stood out for the group of characteristics FRL, NS and FRD. The Ifes 32 accession was highlighted for the PH and DC characteristics group, and the Ifes 20 accession was highlighted for the group formed by the NFR characteristic. It was observed that the characteristics that contributed the most to the divergence of accessions were PH and DC, and the most representative characteristic was DC. So, it’s concluded that there is great variability among the genotypes collected, presenting great phenotypic variation for the nine characters studied. In addition, some accesses were promising for plant breeding programs, pointing to gains in the various segments of the peppers market, which shows the importance of the collections of the producers in the South of Espírito Santo.

This work aimed to evaluate the variability in the distribution of the root system among genotypes of C. canephora cv. Conilon and indicate management strategies for a more efficient mineral fertilization. Root distribution was evaluated in six genotypes. The experimental design was in randomized blocks with three replications. Soil monoliths measuring about 27 cm3 were collected at six different soil depths, at three row distances and nine distances of inter-row planting. The collections were carried out in one plant of each repetition. In total, 1296 samples were evaluated. The roots were washed, digitized and processed to quantify length density, volume, surface area and diameter. The distribution of the root system was characterized using semivariograms. It was observed that the highest concentration of roots occurred in the distances close to the irrigation drippers. There was variation in the distribution of the root system among the genotypes. However, in general, the root system is concentrated at a depth of 0 to 20 cm in the soil, at distances up to 50 cm in the planting row and up to 60 cm in inter-rows. Therefore, the greatest efficiency in nutritional management can be achieved by applying fertilizers within a radius of 50 cm around the plant.

Genetic variability is the basis for coffee genetic breeding. This study evaluated the potential of leaf anatomy and morpho-agronomic traits in studies of genetic variability in C. canephoracultivars. Ten genotypes were distributed in randomized block designs with three replicates. Significant differences among genotypes were detected by F-test (P < 0.05) for 13 of 15 evaluated traits. These results evidenced the heterogeneity of the studied cultivars, which is essential in composition of genetic basis in breeding programs. The Scott-Knott test detected variability among genotypes, grouped into up to four mean groups. Leaf anatomy traits presented the largest variations. Five out of seven leaf anatomy traits presented heritability higher than 80%, with emphasis on stomatal density (95.69%) and stomatal pore length (92.72%). Positive correlations were observed among morpho-agronomic and anatomic traits. Cluster analysis used the Mahalanobis general distance (D2) as a measure of genetic dissimilarity and divided the genotypes into two distinct groups. The inclusion of leaf anatomic traits to characterize C. canephoragenotypes may assist plant breeders with better genetic discrimination and with greater security in plant selection when composing cultivars.

The study sought to evaluate maize germplasm accessions from the Ifes Germplasm Bank (Ifes BAG) to identify promising lines for breeding programs to increase yield under water-restricted conditions. A competition trial was carried in two contrasting environments in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil: municipality of Alegre and municipality of Colatina. Twenty-one maize accessions were collected and evaluated for agronomic performance in two locations (The municipalities of Almeida et al.; JEAI, 39(4): 1-13, 2019; Article no.JEAI.49978 2 Alegre and Colatina) in Espírito Santo State, Brazil. Trials were conducted under water-restricted conditions from vegetative to reproductive stage in a randomized block design with five replicates. Data were subjected to analysis of variance by the F Test and to multivariate clustering analysis according to the estimate of genetic distance proposed by Mahalanobis. Genotype by environment interaction identified promising genotypes for each specific environment. Maize germplasm accessions from the Ifes BAG showed genetic variability. Among the germplasm accessions from the Ifes BAG, the populations Padrinho, Piranão 14, Aliança and Palha Roxa are promising for breeding programs with the goal of increasing grain yield under water-restricted conditions in tropical climate regions. Original Research Article