Among the factors that contribute to better initial development of plants, it is the substrate used. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of substrate in initial formation and morphology of the roots of two species of passion fruits. The analyses were done in the nursery of the Federal University of Goiás (UFG), Regional Jataí, Brazil, with a light interception of 60%. The material used were seeds of yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa) and the cultivar FB 200 (Flora Brasil), harvested in the UFG experimental field. They were sown in three types of substrates: Soil I (mixture of soil, chicken manure and sand in a ratio of 2:1:1 by volume), soil II (steep bank), and Bioplant®, using for plants perforated bags with a capacity of 1.5 L. The experimental design was a completely randomized design with six treatments, eight replications and four plants per plot. After 30 days of sowing, fresh matter of root, root dry matter and morphology were evaluated. The substrate affected the initial development of yellow passion fruit, obtaining the best results with Bioplant®, showing as promising for the development of all the evaluated characteristics.

Citrus fruit tree has great importance in Brazil. Despite having many commercial cultivars, the lemon crop in Brazil is basically from “Tahiti” cultivar and there is a lack of studies about the characterization and assay of genetic diversity of sweet lemon (Citrus limetta) fruits. Therefore, this work aimed to characterize and evaluate the genetic diversity from nine stock plants produced in Porto Nacional-TO. Fruits in fully physiologic ripening were harvested and evaluated for weight, length, diameter, juice yield, soluble solids content, and color of peel and pulp. The experimental design was completely randomized with 9 treatments (stock plants) and five replications. For the characterization, the data were subjected to Tukey’s test and similarity measure and clustering of the stock plants were performed by Tocher’s method and UPGMA dendrogram. Weight, length, and diameter of all stock plants have not differed from each other. The coordinate b* indicated that stock plant 1 had fruits with peel and pulp clear when compared to the yellow color of the other stock plants. There was genetic diversity between the assessed stock plants and three groups were created, which stock plant 1 and 2 were the most divergent and compose group 3, according to Tocher’s method. The features contributed similarly to total variation.

The propagation of gabirobeira is carried out by seeds. However, the recalcitrance and not tolerance of the seeds to the storage compromise the formation of seedlings. Thus, the propagation by cuttings can be an option, being able to provide significant results in different seasons. The objective of this work was to evaluate the vegetative propagation by stem cuttings of two species of gabirobeira (Campomanesia adamantium and Campomanesia pubescens) associate to indolbutyric acid (IBA) at differents seasons of the year. Cuttings of the two species were obtained in the 4 seasons and concentrations of 0, 2000, 4000, 6000 and 8000 mg L-1 of IBA were used, by immersion in the solution for 15 seconds and sequentially staked on trays containing a sand substrate. Sixty days after experiments were set it was evaluated the percentage of cuttings with shoots, live cuttings, dead cuttings, cuttings with calluses and rooted cuttings. A completely randomized design with 5 treatments, 4 replicates and 8 cuttings per plot was adopted. During the whole experiment, the greenhouse, substrate and cutting leaves temperature was monitored. The use of IBA did not promote adventitious rhizogenesis, but provided a high percentage of survival for the species Campomanesia adamantium and Campomanesia pubescens by stem cuttings during the spring season.

The guava (Psidium guajava L., Myrtaceae) is originates of Tropical America and is distributed throughout the Brazilian territory. The seedling production stage is very important because seedlings of higher quality have a direct influence on success and final production. Therefore, it is necessary to use substrates with good nutritional quality to supply the nutrient demand of the crop. In this way, the objective of this study was to evaluate the germination of 'Cortibel' guava seeds and initial development of the plants in different substrates. The seeds were obtained in physiologically mature fruits and sown in 1.5 L bags with two types of substrate (sand and commercial substrate Bioplant ®). The design was completely randomized, two substrates were the treatments with nine replicates and each repetition with five bags, totaling 45 experimental units for each treatment. Germination was monitored for 129 days. The characteristics of plant height, stem diameter and number of leaves were evaluated. The substrate sand provided a higher germination rate in relation to the Bioplant ® substrate, however, the use of commercial substratum presented a higher initial development, with higher values of plant height and stem diameter, which is indicated for the production of seedlings of guava 'Cortibel' by seeds due to the presence of nutrients in its composition.