Three experiments were carried out to verify the effects of the enzyme phytase, alone or combined with an enzyme complex, in diets deficient in available phosphorus (AP), calcium (Ca), and metabolizable energy (ME) on broiler performance, ME, and dietary amino acid digestibility. A total of 1,538 male Cobb 500 broilers were allocated to the three experiments, each of which consisted of five treatments: positive control (PC; basal ration); negative control 1 (NC1; PC minus 0.15% of AP, 0.16% of Ca, and 68 kcal kg-1 ME); negative control 2 (NC2; PC minus 0.15% of AP, 0.16% of Ca, and 101 kcal kg-1 of ME); NC1 plus phytase; and NC2 plus phytase plus enzymatic complex. Body weight gain (WG) and feed intake were measured from 1-21 days and from 1-42 days, and the corrected feed conversion rate (FCR) for mortality was calculated. In the second and third experiments, the apparent ME corrected for nitrogen balance (AMEn) and standardized digestibility of amino acids, respectively, were determined, for the diets supplemented with phytase and the enzymatic complex. In the first experiment, enzyme supplementation increased (p < 0.05) WG at 21 days and 42 days relative to the negative controls. Phytase inclusion improved (p < 0.05) FCR at the initial phase compared to the NC1 diet. In the second experiment, enzyme supplementation did not affect (p > 0.05) AMEn. In the third experiment, both enzyme treatments improved (p < 0.05) the digestibility of amino acids in the supplemented diets compared to the deficient diets. Supplementation with phytase and carbohydrases preserves the performance of broilers fed diets deficient in AP, Ca, and ME and improves amino acid digestibility.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of adding different xylanase and ?-glucanase enzyme blends to maize- and soybean meal-based diets on performance and energy metabolizability in broilers. Two experiments were carried out with broilers of the COBB 500 strain. In the first experiment, 1960 chicks were assigned to a completely randomized design with a 2 × 3 + 1 factorial arrangement, totaling seven treatments, namely, T1- Positive control (PC); T2 - Negative control 1 (NC1; PC minus 200 kcal kg-1 ME); T3 - NC1 + Blend A; T4 - NC1 + Blend B; T5 - Negative control 2 (NC2; PC minus 167 kcal kg-1 ME and 5% amino acids); T6 - NC2 + Blend A; and T7 - NC2 + Blend B. Fourteen replicates were used per treatment and 20 birds per experimental unit. The parameters evaluated at 21 and 42 days of age were weight gain (WG), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion (FC). At 42 days, production efficiency index (PEI), viability and the yields of cuts were also calculated. Birds that received diets with a reduced nutritional value showed a reduction in WG and PEI and worsened FC as compared those of PC treatment (p < 0.05). However, the birds that consumed the NC2 diet with Blend B exhibited a similar WG to those in PC group (p > 0.05) from 1 to 21 days of life. For the yield of thigh + drumstick, the factors were statistically similar (p > 0.05) to those observed in the PC birds. In the second experiment, 432 fourteen-day-old chicks were distributed in a completely randomized design with seven treatments, with eight replicates per treatment and six birds per experimental unit. The apparent metabolizable energy (AME) and nitrogen-corrected AME (AMEn) values were determined. Overall, the NC2 diet with Blend B provided the highest AME and AMEn values; however, NC1 with the same enzyme blend was the treatment which provided the lowest values. The addition of xylanase and ?-glucanase enzyme blends to maize- and soybean meal-based diets improves WG at 21 days as well as PEI in broilers; however, it does not influence the yield of cuts. Enzymes (Blend B) improve the energy metabolization of broiler diets with reduced energy and amino acid levels.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of four machine learning models, as well as multitask learning, to predict soybean root variables from simpler variables, under two water availability conditions. In order to do so, 100 soybean cultivars were conducted in a greenhouse under a control condition and a stress condition. Aerial part and root variables were evaluated. The machine learning models used to predict complex root variables were artificial neural network (ANN), random forest (RF), extreme gradient boosting (EGBoost) and support vector machine (SVM). A linear model was used for comparison purposes. Multitask learning was employed for ANN and RF. In addition, feature importance was defined using RF and XGBoost algorithms. All the machine learning models performed better than the linear model. In general, SVM had the greatest potential for the prediction of most of the root variables, with better values of RMSE, MAE and R2. Dry weight of the aerial part and root volume exhibited the greatest importance in the predictions. The models developed using multitask learning performed similarly to the ones conventionally developed. Finally, it is concluded that the machine learning models evaluated can be used to predict root variables of soybean from easily measurable variables, such as dry weight of the aerial part and root volume.
Soybean seeds are susceptible to field deterioration after reaching physiological maturity, which usually occurs at the R7 stage, with harvest at R8. This study aimed to evaluate the biochemical and physiological changes in seeds of different soybean cultivars submitted to delayed harvest in the field. Seeds of the cultivars NS 5959, BMX Potência, and TMG 1175 were harvested at four times (0, 10, 20, and 30 days after reaching R8). Moisture, germination, first count, accelerated aging, emergence, and tetrazolium tests were performed in each harvest period. The activities of the antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POX), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) were also evaluated. The experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design in a 3×4 factorial scheme (three cultivars and four harvest times). A reduction in germination and vigor of seeds of different soybean cultivars was found at R8 + 20 and R8 + 30 days related to field deterioration due to delayed harvest. The seeds of the cultivars did not differ in terms of viability under delayed harvest but differed in terms of antioxidant and physiological responses. Better and worse seed performances were found for the cultivars BMX Potência and TMG 1175, respectively, at R8 and in R8 + 10 days.
Tomato plants respond well to potassium fertilization, whose insufficiency leads to a drop in fruit production and quality. On the other hand, the association of growth-promoting fungi (GPF) with roots has been shown to be able to optimize nutrient absorption, which implies lower financial costs and a decreased risk of loss of K applied to the soil. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of inoculation with GPF and K rates on the postharvest quality of grape tomato hybrid 'Mascot' grown in a hydroponic system. The plants were cultivated in a hydroponic drip system using washed and sterilized sand as substrate. They were trained with two stems, leaving three bunches per stem. The experiment was carried out in a splitsplit-plot arrangement in a completely randomized design with three replicates. Ripe fruits were stored for 30 days in PET containers in storage chambers at a temperature of 25 °C. After 0, 10, 20 and 30 days of storage, five fruits were collected to determine the titratable acidity (TA) and soluble solids (SS), reducing sugars (RS) and vitamin C contents. The K rates provided an increase in the quality attributes. At low K rates, inoculation with GPF led to higher TA, SS, RS and vitamin C values. Inoculation of the plants with GPF improved the postharvest preservation of the fruits, especially when the plants underwent nutritional stress during cultivation.
Water availability is one of the main factors responsible for wheat productivity, as well as the quality of the produced seeds. Silicon (Si) has an important role in mitigating the effects of various biotic and abiotic stresses. Thus, Si application can be used to mitigate the effects of different irrigation depths on the production and quality of wheat seeds. The work aimed to evaluate the yield and physiological quality of wheat seeds produced from plants fertilized with leaf Si and grown under different irrigation depths. The experiment was laid out in a split-plot randomized block design, with four replications. The plots consisted of three irrigation depths (0, 50, and 100% of the total irrigation requirement [TIR]). In the subplots, Si treatments were allocated (without application [0 mM] and 5 mM SiO2, applied at the tillering stage). The following parameters were evaluated: water balance of the system; soil moisture; yield; thousand seed weight; germination; electrical conductivity; accelerated aging; seedling length and emergence. The water balance of the system was negative for the 0% TIN irrigation depth after anthesis and there was less soil moisture in this depth. There was no effect of irrigation depths and Si application on plant yield. The smaller irrigation depths imposed reduced the thousand seed weight and the electrical conductivity of the seeds produced. Plants fertilized with Si did not differ in germination, but they produced more vigorous seedlings with greater growth and uniformity.
The osmopriming technique can reduce the period between sowing and the emergence of seedlings in the field, as well as favor seed performance under stress conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of osmopriming on the physiological performance and antioxidative enzymatic activity of sunflower seeds with different vigor levels and exposed to thermal stress. Three sunflower seed lots of the cultivar Hélio 250 were used. Initially, the seeds were evaluated by germination and vigor tests to characterize the lots. Subsequently, they were primed in a polyethylene glycol 6000 solution at -2.0 MPa and 15 °C for 8 h. Then, the primed and unprimed seeds were tested for physiological quality (germination, first germination count, percentage and emergence speed index of seedlings, and seedling dry matter) and determination of the activity of the enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and peroxidase (POX) under three temperatures: 15 °C (sub-optimal), 25 °C (optimal), and 35 °C (supra-optimal). The physiological tests allowed classifying lots 1, 2, and 3 into three different vigor levels, i.e., high, medium, and low, respectively. Osmopriming favored the performance of sunflower seeds in terms of germination and vigor at all the analyzed temperatures. This effect was more pronounced in lots of lower physiological quality at sub-optimal and supra-optimal temperatures. Sub-and supra-optimal temperatures led to a reduction in the physiological performance of seeds, mainly in less vigorous lots. In general, osmopriming favored an increase in the activity of the enzymes SOD, CAT, POX, and APX, mainly in low vigor seeds exposed to sub and supra-optimal temperatures. Osmopriming of sunflower seeds in PEG 6000 at -2.0 MPa for 8 hours is efficient to improve the performance of less vigorous lots under stress due to the sub- and supra-optimal temperatures, favoring an increase in the activity of enzymes of the antioxidative system.
Cationic micronutrients bioavailability depends on the chemical characteristics of soil fractions. Fourteen soils received individual doses of five micronutrients (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, B) arranged in seven treatments set according a Baconian Matrix. The soils incubated with treatments during 15 days had corn cultivated in greenhouse for 30 days, in three consecutive growth cycles. The cationic micronutrients were determined in the corn shoots after each growth cycle. Soil samples collected before the first and after each growth cycle had the available concentrations of Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn determined by single extractions (Mehlich-1 and DTPA-pH 7.3) and by sequential extraction. Correlation analysis was performed for the Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn concentrations determined in the corn shoots, the available concentrations of Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn in the soils (Mehlich-1 and DTPA) and the concentrations of Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn in the soil fractions (sequential extraction). The distribution of available metals forms in fractions reflected their affinity with soil components. Soil available Cu correlated with Cu bound to organic matter. The exchangeable fraction was the main source of soil available Mn and Zn. The Fe availability related mainly to the Mn oxides, Fe oxides, and exchangeable fractions. The plants absorbed Cu mainly from the Mn-oxides and organic matter fractions. Manganese absorbed by plants originated from the exchangeable and Mn-oxides fractions. The Zn absorbed by plants originated mainly from the exchangeable fraction. Correlations of single metal extractions (Mehlich-1 and DTPA) with Cu, Mn and Zn contents in plants were positive.
Resumo A violência contra as mulheres implica custos diretos e indiretos ao indivíduo, à família e à sociedade, atingindo principalmente as classes de baixa renda. Diante dessa realidade, o presente estudo procurou analisar como uma política pública de transferência de renda condicionada - Programa Bolsa Família (PBF) é capaz de influenciar tal fenômeno. Os resultados encontrados apresentam evidências de que o PBF possui efeito de aumentar a violência contra a mulher. Ademais, aquelas domiciliadas no meio rural, com baixa escolaridade e com rendimentos relativamente menores aos do cônjuge são as que merecem maior atenção, uma vez que este grupo possui maior risco de sofrer violência. Como sugestão, as políticas públicas deveriam expandir a condicionalidade da saúde para a mulher por meio de ações educativas, como o acompanhamento da situação intrafamiliar, que é fornecido pela assistência social do Serviço de Proteção e Atendimento Integral à Família - PAIF.
This study proposes to estimate the actual crop evapotranspiration, using the SAFER model, as well as calculate the crop coefficient (Kc) as a function of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and determine the biomass of an irrigated maize crop using images from the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared (TIRS) sensors of the Landsat-8 satellite. Pivots 21 to 26 of a commercial farm located in the municipalities of Bom Jesus da Lapa and Serra do Ramalho, west of Bahia State, Brazil, were selected. Sowing dates for each pivot were arranged as North and South or East and West, with cultivation starting firstly in one of the orientations and subsequently in the other. The relationship between NDVI and the Kc values obtained in the FAO-56 report (KcFAO) revealed a high coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.7921), showing that the variance of KcFAO can be explained by NDVI in the maize crop. Considering the center pivots with different planting dates, the crop evapotranspiration (ETc) pixel values ranged from 0.0 to 6.0 mm d-1 during the phenological cycle. The highest values were found at 199 days of the year (DOY), corresponding to around 100 days after sowing (DAS). The lowest BIO values occur at 135 DOY, at around 20 DAS. There is a relationship between ETc and BIO, where the DOY with the highest BIO are equivalent to the days with the highest ETc values. In addition to this relationship, BIO is strongly influenced by soil water availability.
