Apple trees cultivars Gala and Fuji were sprayed four weeks before commercial harvest with aminoethoxyvinilglycine (AVG), at doses of 0, 125, or 250 mg L-1, and assessed for preharvest fruit drop, fruit growth, and maturation on tree. In 'Gala', 64 days after AVG spraying, fruit drop for control treatment was 85%, and AVG (at 125 and 250 mg L-1) reduced it to 10%. In 'Fuji', 64 days after AVG spraying, fruit drop for control was 6%, while treatments with AVG (at 125 and 250 mg L-1) increased fruit drop to 10%. AVG was a powerful retardant of fruit maturation for 'Gala' but not for 'Fuji'. In 'Gala', the most affected attribute was the skin background color, followed, in decreasing order, by soluble solids content, the starch index, skin red color, the flesh firmness, and titratable acidity. In 'Gala', only flesh firmness retention was improved by increasing AVG dose from 125 mg L-1 to 250 mg L-1. The AVG at 250 mg L-1 inhibited "Gala" late fruit growth but not 'Fuji'.

Yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims) yield and longevity have been drastically reduced by bacterial spot (Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. passiflorae -Xap) and passion fruit woodiness disease (PWD) (Cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus -CABMV). This study was aimed at evaluating the reaction of 11 genotypes of yellow passion fruit, based on the reaction of their progenies, to both mechanically inoculated Xap and CABMV, under greenhouse conditions. There was a progressive increase in bacterial spot and PWD severity with time. BRS Gigante Amarelo, MAR20#12, and MAR20#34 were selected as the progenies with lowest bacterial spot severity and disease progress over time. MAR20#2005, EC-L-7, UnB2015-1, and EC-3-0 presented the lowest PWD severity and disease progress over time. These progenies, along with individual plants from other progenies in which disease severity was significantly low until the last evaluation, will be cloned and tested again for Xap and CABMV, including other isolates.

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A cama aviária e a casca de pinus (Pinus taeda) são subprodutos de empresas avícolas e florestais que podem ser utilizados na melhoria da fertilidade e das propriedades físicas e químicas do solo. As morangas 'Tetsukabuto' (Cucurbita maxima x C. moschata) e 'Exposição' (Cucurbita maxima) e o pepino 'Caipira' (Cucumis sativus) estão entre as cucurbitáceas mais cultivadas em Santa Catarina. Avaliou-se os efeitos de doses (0 a 50 g.kg-1 de solo) de cama aviária (2,82% N; 2,53% P; 1,2% K; 2,5% Ca; 0,5% Mg) e da casca de pinus (0,30% N; 0,10% P; 0,12% K; 0,21% Ca; 0,03% Mg), incorporadas ao solo, no desenvolvimento de plantas e na produção de moranga e pepino. Os experimentos foram delineados em blocos ao acaso, desenvolvidos em casa de vegetação e no campo, e, dependendo do experimento, possuíam tratamentos variando de quatro a cinco, e, repetições de quatro a oito. Em casa de vegetação, doses de cama aviária de até 30 g kg-1 de solo (correspondendo a ~3 kg m-2) aumentaram as plantas emergentes (~15% a 50%) e a massa da matéria fresca (~90% a 200%) de plantas de moranga 'Exposição' e de pepino 'Caipira'. O pH e os conteúdos de Ca, K, Mg, Mn, N, P e Zn do solo aumentaram com o incremento das doses de cama aviária. O incremento nas doses de casca de pinus diminuiu (~27%) os níveis de nitrogênio mineral do solo. Nos experimentos de campo, a incorporação de cama aviária e casca de pinus aumentou a emergência (~15%) de plântulas de pepino. A produção de frutos de moranga 'Tetsukabuto' e de pepino 'Caipira' aumentou (~120%) nos tratamentos com cama aviária, na dose de 30 g kg-1 (correspondendo a ~ 3 kg m-2).

The control of anthracnose (Colletotrichum simmondsii) during the post-harvest stage in guava fruits (Psidium guajava L.) was performed by the application of phosphites [phosphite-K (40% P2O5 and 30% K2O) and phosphite-Ca (10.7% P2O5, 3.89% Ca, and 0.5% B)] including the Carbendazim as reference, calcium chloride (CaCl2), acetyl salicylic acid (ASA), hot water (HW), and 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP). These treatments were applied individually or in combination each other with two or three compounds. The evaluated parameters were diameter of anthracnose lesion (DL), number of lesions (NL), and fruit quality (fresh weight loss, pH, total soluble solids, and titrable acidity]. The fruits were disinfested, inoculated, and maintained in an incubator containing fluorescent lights at 75 μmol·m -2 ·s -1 (25°C, 12h photoperiod) for 5 days and were then analyzed. The results showed that the DL and the NL were reduced following treatments, and that the HW (47°C for 20 min) was the strongest and the 1-MCP treatment was the least effective. The physico-chemical characteristics of fruits were affected by some treatments without compromising fruit quality. The combination of treatments was also able to alleviate the anthracnose effect on fruits compared to individual treatments and the control without affect the fruit quality. The combinations which included the HW treatment showed the best performance to control this disease, particularly when combined with the 1-MCP and phosphite.Additional key words: Colletotrichum simmondsii, fruit lesion, fruit quality, titrable acidity Hort. Environ. Biotechnol. 56 (3):330-340. 2015.