Atualmente, a diversificação de frutíferas é uma forte tendência para ampliação de oportunidades para o fruticultor. O cultivo da pitaia se tornou importante, tanto para a economia quanto para a saúde, devido ao exotismo de sua aparência, por suas características organolépticas e suas propriedades nutracêuticas. No entanto, informações sobre o cultivo desta frutífera são escassas, necessitando de pesquisas para facilitar seu manejo. Neste sentido, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a influência do manejo do desponte nas características vegetativas e reprodutivas em diferentes tamanhos de cladódios de pitaia vermelha de polpa branca. Para execução do experimento foi utilizado o delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 5 x 3, correspondente a cinco comprimento de cladódios (menores que20 cm, entre 20-40 cm, 41-60 cm, 61-80 cme maiores que80 cm) e o segundo se refere a três tipos de desponte (sem desponte do cladódio, com desponte em setembro e desponte em outubro). Utilizaram-se 6 repetições e 1 cladódio por parcela. Foram analisadas as seguintes características: comprimento das brotações, números de brotações, número total de flores, quantidade de flores abortadas e frutos, porcentagem de pegamento das flores e massa fresca dos frutos. O desponte de cladódios não influenciou na maioria das características avaliadas. No entanto, para a melhor floração e produção de frutos, recomenda-se priorizar o desponte nos cladódios superiores a60 cmde comprimento.Palavras-chave: Cactácea. Frutificação. Hylocereus undatus. Poda.AbstractCurrently the diversification of fruit is a strong tendency to increase opportunities for the fruit grower. Pitaya cultivation has become important for both economy and health, due to the exotic nature of its appearance, its organoleptic characteristics and its nutraceutical properties. However, information on the cultivation of this fruit is scarce, requiring research to facilitate its management. Therefore, the present work had as objective to evaluate the influence of the topping management in the vegetative and reproductive characteristics in different sizes of cladodes of  white fleshed red pitaya. In order to carry out the experiment, the completely randomized experimental design in factorial scheme 5 x 3 was utilized, corresponding to five cladode lengths (shorter than 20 cm, between 20-40 cm, 41-60 cm, 61-80 cm and longer than 80 cm) and the second is regarding  the three kinds of topping (no topping of the cladode, with topping in September and topping in October). Six replications and one cladode per plot were used . The following characteristics were investigated: length of the shoots, number of shoots, total number of flowers, amount of aborted flowers and fruits, percentage of flower set and fresh mass of fruits. The topping of cladodes did not influence the evaluated characteristics. For the best flowering and fruit production, it is advisable to prioritize  the cladodes over 60 cm long.Keywords: Cactaceae. Fructification. Hylocereus undatus. Pruning.

RESUMO O Araçá-boi é uma fruta de origem amazônica pouco conhecida no Brasil, possui elevado potencial para exploração comercial e utilização na agroindústria. O presente trabalho objetivou avaliar a qualidade física e química de frutos do Araçáboi em Lavras-MG para determinar seu potencial na região. Os frutos foram colhidos em propriedade particular na zona rural de Lavras-MG, no período de janeiro a março de 2017, quando apresentavam a casca com a coloração totalmente amarelada, em plena maturação. O delineamento estatístico utilizado foi inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 3x3, sendo o primeiro fator três plantas de Araçazeiro-boi e o segundo fator três períodos de avaliação de frutos (janeiro, fevereiro e março). A cada trinta dias por um período de três meses foram realizadas as coletas dos frutos e avaliados as características de massa total dos frutos (MT, g), diâmetros longitudinal (DL em mm) e transversal (DT em mm), relação (DT/DL), número de sementes, massa total da semente (MTS em g), pH, sólidos solúveis totais (ºBrix), e acidez total titulável (ATT, % ácido cítrico). O Araçá-boi demonstrou ser uma espécie apta para o plantio na região de Lavras-MG. Dentre as três plantas avaliadas a planta 1 se destacou nas características de massa de frutos, número de sementes, pH, sólidos solúveis totais e acidez total titulável em relação às demais plantas. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Araçazeiro, frutas da Amazônia, qualidade de frutos.

The aim of this study was to adjust the basic culture medium for germination of pollen grains for the different species from the genus Hylocereus. Pollen grains from the species Hylocereus polyrhizus Weber and Hylocereus undatus (Haw.) Britton & Rose were withdrawn of anthers from flowers bagged the previous day, before its opening. Then, with a brush, the pollen grains were spread on the surface of Petri dishes containing 20 mL of culture medium. Four experiments were sequentially installed, considering and selecting the best results from the previous experiment to install the next one. Measurements were made on the length of pollen tube under different concentrations of boric acid. Moreover, germination rate readings were performed after 24 h. The pollen viability of species from the genus Hylocereus varies according to species and the pollen germination was influenced by composition and concentration of medium. The culture medium for the germination of pollen grains from H. polyrhizus species must be increased with 100 g L −1 of sucrose, 518 mg L −1 of calcium nitrate and 636 mg L −1 of boric acid, the pH being measured for 5 and the medium solidified with 6 g L −1 of agar. For H. undatus, the medium should be composed of 100 g L −1 of sucrose, 616 mg L −1 of calcium, 619 mg L −1 of boric acid, 6 g L −1 of agar and pH 6. Both species increased the length of pollen tube with the addition of boric acid.

Recently avocado oil has emerged as an alternative to olive oil because of its physicochemical and nutritional characteristics. However, the research is still in the initial stages of testing, where countless evaluations are carried out in order to prove the viability of the oil. One of the main evaluation techniques is through sensory analysis that is of great importance for evaluating market acceptability and product quality, being an essential part of the quality control plan of any production chain that aims at a product that wins the preference the consumer.

The fruit plant ‘Longan’ is considered as being native to Asia and is at present commercially explored in some regions. The objective of this work was to study the influence of seed size on seed emergence and initial seedling growth. The experiment was carried out using a randomized block design (DBC), with three treatments, namely, the seed sizes at seedling emergence according to their longitudinal diameter: small, medium and large. Each plot was composed of six seeds and five replications per treatment. The following characteristics were evaluated: emergence speed index, average time, percentage and relative frequency of emergence, leaf number, stem diameter, plant height, shoot dry mass and root dry mass. Seeds of medium and large size are those that presented satisfactory results for the characteristics related to seed emergence. The same ones stood out in relation to the small seeds for the variables percentage, average time, average speed and emergence speed index. Small seeds are not recommended for the production of ‘Longan’ seedlings, given the long period of time to emerge and the low probability of the seedlings establishing satisfactorily in the field. The medium and large seeds were the most promising for the variables number of leaves, stem diameter, plant height, dry shoot mass and dry root mass.Therefore, according to the conditions in which the present work was conducted, the use of medium and large seeds for the production of ‘Longan’ seedlings is suggested.