Alfalfa, considered one of the most important forage worldwide, requires a base saturation in the soil of approximately 80%, and this is a factor that can limit the expansion of cultivation of this crop in tropical soils that are predominantly acidic. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of base saturation levels on the development of alfalfa in soil of the Brazilian Cerrado. The experiment was conducted in the greenhouse, whose experimental units consisted of plastic pots with a capacity of 2 dm 3 . The experimental design was a completely randomized design with six treatments and five repetitions. The treatments consisted of six levels of base saturation (10,

The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of soil fertilization with sulfur-based fertilizers, sulfate and elemental sulfur forms on biomass production, nutrient characteristics of sorghum and soil chemical properties. The experiment was carried out in a 4 x 4 factorial scheme (four sulfur sources: single superphosphate, agricultural gypsum, elemental sulfur powder and elemental sulfur granulated with bentonite, and four sulfur doses: 0, 40, 80, 120 mgdm-3) using four replications in a completely randomized design, being cultivated in pots under greenhouse conditions. The sorghum was cultivated for a period of 51 days after emergence of the seedlings. The shoot dry mass, shoot macronutrients content, root and soil and pH of the soil were evaluated. There were interactions between sources and sulfur doses in the variables such as shoot dry mass, sulfur in the root, sulfur and calcium in the soil. Elemental sulfur (granulate) showed lower concentrations of phosphorus, sulfur and N:S ratio in the shoot. The concentrations of potassium, calcium and magnesium did not show significant differences, both for the shoot and the root. The pH of the soil was reduced depending on the sources and doses of elemental sulfur. The sources and doses of sulfur did not influence the levels of phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium in the soil. The elemental sulfur in the form of powder is the best source of sulfur for forage sorghum cultivated in soil with alkaline pH.

In the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, wheat is an alternative to the current production system, mainly in irrigated crops, with new cultivars improved for this environment and system. The objective was to determine the evapotranspiration of the irrigated wheat crop and the dual coefficients of cultivars for the Brazilian Midwest. The experiment was conducted in the field using 12 weighing lysimeters and mini-lysimeters, filled by soil monoliths. The wheat cultivars BRS-254 and BRS-394 were used in the first and second years, respectively. Reference evapotranspiration was obtained by the Penman-Monteith equation and crop evapotranspiration by the mass difference in the lysimeters. Basal crop coefficient and soil water evaporation coefficient were determined according to the crop development stages in both years of cultivation. The mean ETc and ETo values were 3.87, 3.49 mm d-1 and 4.10 and 3.23 mm d-1, respectively, in the first and second cultivation cycles, with higher values of ETc recorded in the reproductive stages of the crop, flowering and grain filling. The basal crop coefficients and soil water evaporation coefficients estimated by weighing lysimeters composed of soil monoliths are: Kcb - 0.42, 0.78, 0.94, 0.74 and 0.47 and Ke - 0.72, 0.52, 0.39, 0.58 and 0.13 for the cultivar BRS-254, and Kcb - 0.28, 0.27, 0.65, 0.98 and 0.66 and Ke - 1.04, 0.96, 0.65, 0.34 and 0.51 for the cultivar BRS-394, at the stages of emergence, tillering, flowering, maturation and harvest, respectively.

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) constitutes one of the principal protein sources for the economically constrained low-income sector. The composition of the wood ash reveals macro and micronutrients, which form an alternative source of high-added value fertilizers, very suitable for low-cost farming systems. The aim of this study was to estimate the use of wood ash as a fertilizer during the early developmental stages of the cowpea. A randomized block design with four replications was selected for the experiment. It was performed in a greenhouse, in pots 1.5 dm-3 capacity, to which five wood ash doses (0, 8, 16, 24 and 32 g dm-3) were added. The following variables were analyzed, viz. plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, chlorophyll index, shoot and root dry masses, mass and number of nodules, water consumption and water use

O Cerrado brasileiro apresenta uma certa previsibilidade em relação a pluviosidade, caracterizando-se em dois períodos: um chuvoso e outro seco. A oferta de água e seu consumo se tornam relevantes, para os diversos cultivos, isso porque a água é o principal preditor do desenvolvimento vegetal. A cultura do trigo surge como alternativa para produção no Brasil central, sendo importante sua adaptabilidade e eficiência nas condições do ambiente. O objetivo do trabalho foi submeter três cultivares de trigo, BRS264, BRS394, BRS404, indicadas para região central do Brasil, submetidas à cinco tensões hídricas: 12; 24; 36; 48 e 60kPa; em casa de vegetação, dispostos em vasos sob o delineamento em blocos ao acaso, esquema fatorial (5X3), com cinco repetições. O Monitoramento das irrigações foi a partir da leitura do sensor de capacitância (modelo- ML3, Delta T). As características avaliadas foram altura de plantas, número de espiguetas por espiga, número de grãos por espiga e índice de colheita. As cultivares BRS394 e BRS264 possuem as melhores respostas para as variáveis: altura de plantas, número de espiguetas por espiga e índice de colheita, em relação a cultivar BRS404 que demonstra menor adaptabilidade sob deficiência hídrica, A tensão hídrica do solo de 12KPa obteve os melhores resultados em relação as outras tensões.