The rates of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers used in the cultivation of potatoes are often considered excessive, as they can cause imbalance among the essential elements present in the soil. Using leaf nutrient analysis, this study aimed to evaluate the productivity of potato tubers subjected to different rates of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) to establish the diagnosis and recommendation integrated system indices. Three experiments were conducted, one for each nutrient (N, P, and K), with Agata and Atlantic cultivars in Unaí (Minas Gerais state) and the Agata cultivar in Mucugê (Bahia state). The nutrient rates were 0, 30, 70, 120, and 280 kg ha⁻¹ of N; 0, 150, 300, 600, and 900 kg ha⁻¹ of P₂O₅; and 0, 70, 110, 220, and 450 kg ha⁻¹ of K₂O. Agata and Atlantic had adequate nutritional balance under K application. Agata had a more adequate nutritional balance under P application in Mucugê, whereas K fertilization was more decisive for the nutritional balance in Unaí. The differences in the results can be explained by the different soil textures and nutrients in the soil between the regions. The results show the need to consider the soil conditions and the nutrient uptake/translocation capacity of cultivars before establishing rates to increase production revenue and avoid the waste of fertilizers.

A couve-flor é uma das principais hortaliças cultivadas no Brasil. O conhecimento do crescimento e acúmulo de nutrientes pela cultura poderá ser útil no seu manejo e na adubação. Com o objetivo de determinar o acúmulo e a exportação de nutrientes pela cultura da couve-flor 'Verona', conduziu-se um experimento em solo, no período de 23 de fevereiro a 05 de junho de 2006. O delineamento do experimento foi em blocos casualizados com três repetições. O experimento constou inicialmente de 480 plantas divididas em três blocos. Para cada época de amostragem foram retiradas duas plantas por bloco. Foram realizadas cinco amostragens da parte vegetativa das plantas a cada 14 dias após o transplante e três amostragens das inflorescências a cada quatro dias, após o início de sua formação, sendo avaliado o crescimento da planta e o acúmulo de nutrientes nas inflorescências, no caule, nos limbos foliares e nos pecíolos. As plantas apresentaram crescimento e acúmulo de massa seca contínuos. O período de maior acúmulo de nutrientes foi do início da formação da inflorescência até a colheita. A ordem decrescente dos nutrientes acumulados pela cultura foi: N>K>Ca>S>Mg>P>Fe>Mn>Zn>B>Cu. A exportação de nutrientes (g por planta de macronutrientes e mg por planta para micronutrientes) pelas inflorescências foi de 3,50 de N; 0,296 de K; 0,06 de Ca; 0,290 de S; 0,032 de Mg; 0,249 de P; 2,08 de Fe; 0,375 de Mn; 1,01 de Zn; 1,45 de B e 0,07 de Cu.

Objetivou-se avaliar a produtividade de cinco híbridos de pimentão amarelo em ambiente protegido, utilizando fibra de casca de coco e fertirrigação. Adotou-se o delineamento em blocos casualizados, com cinco cultivares (Zarco, CLXP 1463, Línea, Matador e Eppo), e quatro repetições, sendo cada parcela constituída por onze plantas. O cultivo de pimentão foi feito em sistema aberto em vasos plásticos de 13 L, transplantando-se uma muda por vaso, as quais foram produzidas em bandejas de poliestireno expandido. Adotou-se o espaçamento de 0,8 m entre fileiras simples, 1,10 m entre fileiras duplas e 0,5 m entre plantas. As plantas foram conduzidas com quatro hastes principais e tutoradas individualmente em forma de "V". A colheita dos frutos foi realizada quando estes atingiam o tamanho ideal e, no mínimo, 70% da coloração amarela. Avaliaram-se o comprimento e o diâmetro médio dos frutos, a relação comprimento/diâmetro, a espessura da polpa, o teor de sólidos solúveis totais, o pH, o número de frutos por planta, a massa total de frutos por planta, o peso médio dos frutos, a produtividade total e comercial, e a classificação dos frutos. O híbrido CLXP 1463 produziu frutos de maior comprimento e diâmetro. Este híbrido apresentou menor número de frutos por planta, porém com maior massa. Para as características espessura da polpa, sólidos solúveis totais e pH não se verificou diferença significativa entre os híbridos. Os híbridos CLXP 1463, Eppo e Matador se mostraram promissores, com produtividades comerciais de 107,61; 102,62 e 95,31 t ha-1, respectivamente. Os híbridos CLXP 1463, Eppo, Línea e Matador apresentaram toda a produção classificada como Extra.

This study aimed to detect soft rot caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum in lettuce using images obtained by multispectral sensors mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). A secondary objective was to identify the best sensor and determine the optimal stage after inoculation to detect infected plants. In the field, soft rot lesions and the agronomic traits of lettuce plants inoculated or not with the bacteria were assessed on different days after inoculation (DAI). Classifications were made using the Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Naive Bayes (NB) algorithms to analyze data groups consisting of spectral bands, vegetation indices and a combination of bands and indices obtained from a conventional visible camera and Mapir Survey3W multispectral camera, as well as agronomic parameters. The results confirmed the possibility of pre-symptomatic detection of P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum in lettuce at the canopy level. With respect to identifying healthy and infected lettuce plants by supervised classification, the best results were obtained at 4 and 8 DAI, especially when using the subsets derived from the Mapir Survey3W camera (RGN sensor), for both classifiers. The subsets obtained with the conventional visible sensor (RGB sensor) produced the best results at 20 and 24 DAI.

The agronomic characterization of a genotype set is one of the basic steps to start a breeding program, as action strategies to search for new cultivars are defined through the knowledge of these characteristics. Thus, the aim of this study was to rescue and assess agronomic performance in accessions collected in traditional communities. Sweet potatoes were collected among “quilombos”, indigenous villages, native populations and small farmers from Vale do Ribeira. The study was conducted at UNESP, Registro Campus, from February/2013 to August/2014. The experiment was set in a randomized blocks design with 95 accessions, two commercial cultivars, Brazlândia Branca and Brazlândia Roxa (controls), with three repetitions. Total commercial roots production, percentage of commercial roots production, total roots dry matter production, roots dry matter percentage, fresh branches production, total dry matter production in branches and dry matter percentage in branches were assessed. Accessions VR13-62, VR13-61, VR13-44, VR13-11 and VR13-14 demonstrated characteristics of roots for consumption and VR13-11 and VR13-14 for industry consumption due to the high dry matter percentage obtained per hectare; VR13-35, VR13-87 and VR13-22 are adequate for animal feed purposes. VR13-11, VR13-22 and VR13-58 accessions can be used for human and animal consumption; VR13-48 was suitable for home and industry consumption; and VR13-4 and VR13-31 was suitable for animal feed and industry consumption.

Lettuce is the most consumed leafy vegetable in Brazil. However, its production has faced increasing difficulties mainly due to the infestation of producing areas with Bremia lactucae, the causing agent of downy mildew, the worst disease in lettuce. The aim of this study was to identify B. lactucae races occurring in lettuce producing areas of São Paulo state, during 2008 and 2009. Lettuce leaf samples containing B. lactucae sporangia were collected in the major lettuce producing areas of São Paulo. Each sample was considered an isolate. After the multiplication of sporangia in the susceptible cultivar Solaris, with subsequent inoculation in the differentiating cultivars, the evaluations were performed on the same day of the first sporulation in the susceptible cultivar 'Cobham Green (DM 0)'. In 2008 one new B. lactucae code was identified. SPBl:05 was the denomination proposed to it. In 2009 one another B. lactucae code was identified, that is, 63/63/02/00, whose denomination was proposed to be SPBl:06.