Rainfall, runoff and soil loss from 6
m
×
12
m plots were recorded during 7 years (2000–2006) in an experiment in which three different soil management systems were compared in a young olive grove ...installed on a heavy clay soil, near Cordoba, Southern Spain. The no-tillage (NT) system, kept weed-free with herbicides, had both the largest soil loss (6.9
t
ha
−1
year
−1) and the highest average annual runoff coefficient (11.9%). By contrast, a cover crop (CC) of barley, reduced the soil losses to 0.8
t
ha
−1
year
−1 and the average annual runoff coefficient to 1.2%. Conventional tillage (CT), had intermediate values of soil loss (2.9
t
ha
−1
year
−1) and an average runoff coefficient of 3.1%. The different treatments were established 4 years after planting the olive trees, and a significant decrease in soil and runoff losses was observed with time as the olive trees grew and their canopies developed. Measurements at the end of the experiment showed a significant improvement in the topsoil properties of the CC treatment as compared to CT and NT. The soil under NT presented a significant degradation with respect to traditional CT management. Organic matter values were 2.0, 1.4 and 1.0%, and stability in water of macroaggregates was 0.452, 0.418 and 0.258
kg
kg
−1 for CC, CT and NT, respectively. These results indicate that the use of a cover crop can be a simple, feasible soil and water conservation practice in olive groves on rolling lands in the region. A key factor in its practical use is to establish it early enough to protect the soil in the critical initial years of the grove, when most of the soil is unprotected by the small olive canopy.
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•T. polysporum controlled efficiently melon wilt in a naturally infested crop field.•T. polysporum and fertigation with liquid compost had a synergist effect on control.•Synergism ...between T. polysporum and liquid compost doubled fruit production.
The control of melon wilt caused Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis (Fom) has become a complex problem for melon (Cucumis melo L.) growers worldwide. In this study, we evaluated the ability of Trichoderma spp. to control melon wilt under field conditions, and the application of liquid compost as a food-based strategy to improve the biocontrol efficiency of the selected strain. In a first experiment, we evaluated the use of Trichoderma harzianum LCB47, Trichoderma viride LCB48, Trichoderma koningii LCB49, and Trichoderma polysporum LCB50 to control melon wilt in a naturally infested soil. The treatment with T. polysporum LCB50 (Tp) showed the highest efficiency to control melon wilt (44.85%), increasing the fruit yield in 43%. In the second experiment, Tp was applied as seed treatment, and repeated once at 15days after transplanting. Two doses of liquid compost: 25 (LC25) and 50mLpL−1 (LC50), were applied by fertigation on a weekly basis along the crop development. In this experiment, T. polysporum LCB50 applied alone resulted in a significant (P<0.05) control of wilt (32.2%), and 27% increase in fruit production. Single application of both doses of LC did not significantly reduced disease incidence. However, a strong synergistic effect was observed applying Tp and LC25 and LC50, resulting in a highly significant wilt control (68 and 72%, respectively) and an increase in productivity. The use of Tp+LC50 treatment increased in 100% the production of commercial fruits. From the results, a strategy based on the use of T. polysporum LCB50 and an organic matter source is proposed for the integrated management for melon wilt.
The correct nutritional balance is necessary to achieve maximum productivity and fruit quality in pineapple culture. The aim was evaluate the effects of macronutrients and boron deficiencies in ...pineapple 'Vitória', in order to profile the deficiency visual symptoms and the plants nutritional contents. The experiment was conducted from October 2016 to April 2018, in Campos dos Goytacazes-RJ, Brazil. The experimental design was random blocks, with eight treatments (complete solution, -N, -P, -K, -Ca, -Mg, -S and -B) and six replicates. The seedlings were planted in 20 L pots. Foliar contents of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S and B were evaluated at eight, nine and sixteen months after planting. Nine months after planting, at the time of floral induction, the length, width, fresh mass and area of 'D' leaf were evaluated. The foliar contents found in the 'D' leaf at the ninth month of planting were: N: 12.5 g kg
−1
; P: 1.67 g kg
−1
; K: 29.8 g kg
−1
; Ca: 3.01 g kg
−1
; Mg: 2.60 g kg
−1
; S: 1.33 g kg
−1
and B: 14.1 mg kg
−1
. Deficiencies of N, P, K, Mg and B reduced the fresh mass of 'D' leaf at the time of flower induction. Nitrogen deficiency caused visual symptoms on plants. Calcium and boron deficiencies reduced the firmness of the fruit peel, while nitrogen deficiency increased. Boron deficiency increased the occurrence of crooked peduncles in plants. Phosphorus deficiency reduced the diameter and length of the peduncle.
Brazil is one of the three major fruit producers in the world. Native and/or exotic Brazilian fruits have great nutritional and economic potential. Eggfruit, blackberry, Brazilian guava, atemoya, ...bacuri, sweetsop, starfruit, feijoa, cactus pear, fruit of wolf, breadfruit, jaboticaba, jackfruit, rose apple, lychee, mangaba and marolo are already present in the Brazilian diet, but they are not yet industrialized and are minor agricultural products. These fruits are produced and used in the manufacture of handicraft products such as jellies and sweets that are available in free markets, but production is small-scale and without safe operational procedures. These fruits are seasonal with large postharvest losses. Thus, it is necessary to initiate competitive agribusinesses in the producing regions for these fruits to enhance local economies. This review summarizes the major nutritional and bioactive compounds found in these fruits, the technological aspects of their cultivation, and future prospects for introducing consumption of these fruits and their respective products to Brazilian and/or foreign markets.
► A wide variety of native and/or exotic fruits are consumed in Brazil. ► Fresh fruit consumption may assist in rapid recovery from dehydration. ► Non-digestible carbohydrates, such as fibers, are very common in these fruits. ► Only cactus pear and lychee are classified as low-fiber fruits.
Modern agriculture relies on domesticated pollinators such as the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.), and to a lesser extent on native pollinators, for the production of animal-pollinated crops. There is ...growing concern that pollinator availability may not keep pace with increasing agricultural production. However, whether crop production is in fact pollen-limited at the field scale has rarely been studied. Here, we ask whether commercial highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) production in New Jersey is limited by a lack of pollination even when growers provide honey bees at recommended densities. We studied two varieties of blueberry over 3 yr to determine whether blueberry crop production is pollen-limited and to measure the relative contributions of honey bees and native bees to blueberry pollination. We found two lines of evidence for pollen limitation. First, berries receiving supplemental hand-pollination were generally heavier than berries receiving ambient pollination. Second, mean berry mass increased significantly and nonasymptotically with honey bee flower visitation rate. While honey bees provided 86% of pollination and thus drove the findings reported above, native bees still contributed 14% of total pollination even in our conventionally managed, high-input agricultural system. Honey bees and native bees were also similarly efficient as pollinators on a per-visit basis. Overall, our study shows that pollination can be a limiting factor in commercial fruit production. Yields might increase with increased honey bee stocking rates and improved dispersal of hives within crop fields, and with habitat restoration to increase pollination provided by native bees.
Replacing herbicide fallow with alternative floor management can conserve soil and reduce agrochemical use in an orchard. Increased perennial weed resistance to foliar preparations has recently ...become an additional motivation to abandon herbicides. This study explores apple tree understory weed flora alteration after introducing Festuca ovina living mulch to the rows. Delayed cover crop sowing was tested as a possible approach to address the problem of high perennial weed dominance when a living mulch is introduced in the year of orchard establishment, in addition to reducing competition. The effect of replacing the M.9 dwarfing rootstock with the M.26 and P 60 semi‐dwarfing rootstocks to foster tree competitiveness was also investigated, and the influence of the mulch dominance on apple yield was analysed. Abundant perennial weed flora developed in the living mulch regardless of the mitigation strategy, and one of the cover crop cohorts exhibited unsatisfactory persistence when maintained under trees on P 60. This pattern was attributed to an interactive effect of shadowing by the more vigorous trees and by Glechoma hederacea and Artemisia vulgaris weeds, which abounded due to insufficient mowing frequency. More intensive tree understory management is recommended, especially in semi‐dwarf orchards, and G. hederacea should be studied more as a candidate mulch species, potentially superior to F. ovina.
Tropical fruits production, trade and consumption have increased significantly due to their attractive sensory and nutrimental properties; nevertheless, their highly perishable nature limits their ...postharvest life. Postharvest treatments have been used to preserve quality of fresh produce and have been focused mainly on preserving freshness and avoid microbial growth. However, an improvement on the antioxidant system as a secondary response under certain adverse environmental and stress conditions has been observed, including some types of stress used as postharvest treatments. This review focuses on analyzing and proposing some possible mechanisms induced by postharvest treatments affecting the antioxidant status of treated tropical fruits.
The article is devoted to the important problem of competitiveness of agricultural production. The concept of long-term socio-economic development of the Russian Federation up to 2020 focuses on ...increasing the competitiveness of domestic producers and the ecologization of products. In modern conditions of Russia's economic sanctions and limited domestic commodity producers are significantly affected. The development of the competitiveness of individual enterprises is possible in case of forming of clearly-defined economic consumer - demand oriented policy. The article provides interpretation of definition "competitiveness" by the various authors and highlights its substantial features. The dynamics of fruit plantations, volumes of croppage and productivity of fruit production are reviewed and analyzed. The areas of pome and drupaceous crops in specialized farms of Krasnodar region in 2013 grouped by fruit zones are presented in the article. The advantages of domestic producers over the western ones are presented in view of food embargo imposed to European food products by the Government of the Russian Federation. In these conditions it is necessary to continuously improve the competitiveness of the products at the expense of maximum compliance with consumer and cost characteristics of existing and potential demands of customers. The sociological research aimed at identifying the consumer demands to fruits and berries of the population of the city of Krasnodar was conducted. The research aimed at identifying factors influenced on the consumers while choosing fruit at the markets of the city of Krasnodar was conducted. The estimation of factors influencing on consumers' choice was conducted. The data has been presented in the ranking. The perspective courses of business entities' activities which orient on development of competitiveness in conditions of globalization, ecologization, institutional and economic constraints were determined
Selection on quantitative trait loci (QTL) may vary among natural environments due to differences in the genetic architecture of traits, environment‐specific allelic effects or changes in the ...direction and magnitude of selection on specific traits. To dissect the environmental differences in selection on life history QTL across climatic regions, we grew a panel of interconnected recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of Arabidopsis thaliana in four field sites across its native European range. For each environment, we mapped QTL for growth, reproductive timing and development. Several QTL were pleiotropic across environments, three colocalizing with known functional polymorphisms in flowering time genes (CRY2, FRI and MAF2‐5), but major QTL differed across field sites, showing conditional neutrality. We used structural equation models to trace selection paths from QTL to lifetime fitness in each environment. Only three QTL directly affected fruit number, measuring fitness. Most QTL had an indirect effect on fitness through their effect on bolting time or leaf length. Influence of life history traits on fitness differed dramatically across sites, resulting in different patterns of selection on reproductive timing and underlying QTL. In two oceanic field sites with high prereproductive mortality, QTL alleles contributing to early reproduction resulted in greater fruit production, conferring selective advantage, whereas alleles contributing to later reproduction resulted in larger size and higher fitness in a continental site. This demonstrates how environmental variation leads to change in both QTL effect sizes and direction of selection on traits, justifying the persistence of allelic polymorphism at life history QTL across the species range.
Colombia is the fourth largest avocado producer globally and the third largest in terms of harvested area, with a 6% share of the world area. The development and promotion of this production line ...represents an important source of growth in agriculture for Colombia, due to the generation of rural employment, equitable development across the different regions of the country, and due to the diversity of thermal floors and the different varieties planted. Imports of this product have decreased by 96% in the last four years from 3128 tons in 2014 to 133 tons in 2017. In recent years, the projects developed in the Colombian avocado sector have been aimed at the foreign market due to the profitability and demand of the Hass variety of this fruit. In addition, there is a state effort to implement plans for regions free of quarantine pests that allow access to foreign markets. This constitutes a strategic proposal made up of a coherent set of objectives, strategies and programmes which, based on a vision of the future, seek the initial goal of doubling the area of production. That move would ensure the technological and innovative conditions for sustainable and quality production, as well as achieve full links in international markets. This review aimed to know the main developments of avocado production in Colombia, its challenges and opportunities for the next decade.
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