Climate change has emerged as a challenge for soybean cultivation around the world, stimulating the development of technological alternatives that aim to mitigate the damage caused by water deficit. From this perspective, algae extract-based biostimulants have been tested to reduce water stress in several crops, but little is known about their effects on soybean. Thus, we hypothesize that a commercial biostimulant based on Ascophyllum nodosum can improve the physiological performance and water relations of Glycine max plants subjected to water deficit. To test this hypothesis, we set up an experiment in controlled conditions in a greenhouse, considering five treatments (control; application of biostimulant; water deficit (WD); WD + application of biostimulant; and WD + split application of biostimulant). The experiment was designed in completely randomized blocks with four replications per treatment and conducted in polyethylene pots containing 10 L of soil and three plants per pot. The irrigation was carried out daily; the water deficit was 50% soil moisture at field capacity, starting at the R₁ stage (beginning of flowering, where there is at least one flower open at any node on the plant) and maintained for ten days. The biostimulant was applied concurrently with the onset of water deficit. We confirmed the hypothesis that foliar application of 1.0 L ha⁻¹ of the biostimulant reduces the deleterious effects of the common water deficit at the beginning of the reproductive stage of soybean through the reduction of damage from oxidative stress (reduction of malondialdehyde synthesis by 31.2% in relation to the WD plants), maintenance of water potential and cellular homeostasis (10.2% increase in relative water content when compared with WD plants), and conservation of the contents of chlorophyll in leaves and stimulation of photosynthesis and carboxylation (68% increase in net photosynthetic rate and 49.3% increase in carboxylation efficiency in relation to WD plants). However, when applied in installments, the biostimulant was not efficient in reducing soybean water stress. Therefore, we conclude that the application of a biostimulant based on A. nodosum can help reduce the harmful effects of water deficit on soybean plants, opening up perspectives for the mass use of this extract in agricultural crops produced on a large scale.

Forages of the genus Brachiaria stand out among those used in integrated systems. Little is known about the potential value of new species and cultivars when intercropped with sorghum and planted in the second crop season. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance (agronomic characteristics) of grain sorghum and the production and nutritional characteristics of forage plants of the genus Brachiaria in an integrated agricultural production system in the second season. The experiment had a randomized block design with four replicates. The treatments consisted of the intercropping of sorghum with forage plants of the genus Brachiaria (Ruziziensis grass, Marandu, Xaraes, Piata, Paiaguas palisadegrass and Ipypora grass), in addition to an extra treatment with sorghum in monoculture. The results showed that sorghum intercropping with Ruziziensis grass, Paiaguas palisadegrass, Piata, and Ipypora grass did not cause a reduction in grain yield. The Xaraes, Piata, and Paiaguas palisadegrass showed higher forage production. However, the Paiaguas, Piata palisadegrass, and Ipypora grass showed better nutritional value. The sorghum intercropping with forage plants of the genus Brachiaria were promising alternatives for grain and forage production in the off-season. The right forage grass combined with sorghum in an integrated system can intensify agricultural production, optimizing the use of the area and increasing sustainability.

The sorghum is a kind of prominence before the cultures used in succession in the Brazil. However, little information concerning the effects of residual activity of herbicides on the crop in this region are known. The objective of this study was to evaluate the residual activity of herbicides used in weed management in soybeans as well as check their effects on grain sorghum grown in succession. For the field experiment, we used a randomized block design with four replications. Eight herbicide treatments were evaluated: imazaquin (0,161 kg ha-1), diclosulam (0,035 kg ha-1), sulfentrazone (0,600 kg ha-1) and flumioxazin (0,05 kg ha-1) in applications made before emergency and chlorimuron-ethyl (0,015 kg ha-1), imazethapyr (0,060 kg ha-1), imazethapyr (0,100 kg ha-1) and fomesafen (0,250 kg ha-1) applied post-emergence soybean (V3 stadium, 18 DAE), and a control without herbicide application. The grain sorghum (cv. AG-1040) was sown after the harvest of soybeans. The residual activity of these herbicides was determined by bioassay, using the same sorghum cultivars evaluated in the field during the period from 0 to 200days after application the treatments. The sorghum crop showed high sensitivity to residual activity of the herbicide sulfentrazone, diclosulam and imazethapyr dose of 0,100 kg ha-1, even when grown after soybean harvest. Furthermore, the residual activity of sulfentrazone exceeded the range of assessment of bioassay, and more than 200 days.

As produções de feijão-caupi, atualmente, no Brasil, são baixas em função, especialmente, do uso de materiais de baixa capacidade produtiva, associado à utilização de sementes de baixa qualidade. Assim, objetivou-se com este trabalho avaliar as características agronômicas e qualidade fisiológica de sementes de diferentes cultivares de caupi nas condições edafoclimáticas do cerrado goiano. Empregou-se o delineamento de blocos casualizados com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos foram constituídos por oito cultivares de caupi (BRS Guariba, BRS 17 Gurguéia, BRS Rouxinol, BRS Marataoã, Patativa, BRS Tracuateua, BRS Milênio e CE 315), recomendados para as regiões Norte e Nordeste do Brasil. O efeito dos tratamentos foram significativos para todos os caracteres avaliados. As cultivares BRS Guariba, BRS 17 Gurguéia e BRS Marataoã apresentaram menores problemas com oídio. Os genótipos de caupi mais produtivos foram BRS Guariba e BRS Gurguéia, com 2.211 e 2.196 kg ha-1 de grãos, respectivamente. A qualidade fisiológica de sementes de caupi foi influenciada pelas cultivares testadas. As cultivares de tegumento colorido caupi CE 315, BRS Gurguéia, BRS Rouxinol, BRS Marataoã e Patativa produziram sementes de melhor qualidade fisiológica, comparativamente, com as cultivares de tegumento branco BRS Tracuateua, BRS Milênio e BRS Guariba. The productivities of cowpea are low, depending on the use of low productivity capacity cultivar planted, associated with the use of low-quality seeds. The objective of this work was to evaluate the agronomic characteristics and physiological quality in seed lots of different cultivar of cowpea in the "Cerrado", Goiás State, Brazil. The experimental design was a complete block with four replicates. The treatments were eight cultivar of cowpea (BRS Guariba, BRS 17 Gurguéia, BRS Rouxinol, BRS Marataoã, Patativa, BRS Tracuateua, BRS Milênio e CE 315), recommended for the North and Northeast regions of Brazil. The effects of the treatments were considerable for all the characteristics assessed. The cultivar BRS Guariba, BRS 17 Gurguéia and BRS Marataoã, presented less intense powdery mildew symptoms. The cultivar presenting higher yield were BRS Guariba and BRS Gurguéia, with 2,211 and 2,196 kg ha-1 of grain, respectively. The results showed that physiological seed quality influenced productivity of the cultivar. The cultivar BRS CE 315, BRS Gurguéia, BRS Rouxinol, BRS Marataoã and Patativa, with colored hull, produced seeds of better physiological quality compared, to the cultivar of white hull BRS Tracuateua, BRS Milênio and BRS Guariba

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a atividade residual de herbicidas utilizados no manejo de plantas daninhas em pré-emergência da cultura da soja, bem como verificar seus efeitos sobre o milheto cultivado em sucessão. Utilizaram-se parcelas de 80 m², em delineamento de blocos casualizados, com quatro repetições, em esquema de parcelas subdivididas 5 x 4, correspondendo à aplicação dos herbicidas imazaquin (0,160 kg ha-1), diclosulam (0,035 kg ha-1), sulfentrazone (0,600 kg ha-1) e flumioxazin (0,050 kg ha-1) e uma testemunha, aplicados logo após a semeadura do cultivar de soja Msoy-6101. Nas subparcelas, realizou-se a semeadura do milheto, cultivar ADR-7010, em quatro períodos, correspondendo a 0, 40, 80 e 120 dias após a aplicação dos herbicidas (DAA). Durante a condução do ensaio, foram determinados os níveis de intoxicação, estande, altura e massa seca da parte aérea das plantas de milheto. No final do ciclo foi avaliado o rendimento de grãos da cultura. O híbrido de milheto ADR-7010 apresentou elevada sensibilidade com relação à atividade residual dos herbicidas sulfentrazone, diclosulam e imazaquin quando cultivado logo após a aplicação destes. A bioatividade dos herbicidas imazaquin, diclosulam e flumioxazin não foi suficiente para alterar o rendimento de grãos do milheto cultivado em sucessão à soja (120 DAA), mostrando que esse intervalo de tempo é suficiente para dissipação desses herbicidas. Dos herbicidas pré-emergentes avaliados, o sulfentrazone apresentou maior atividade residual, influenciado negativamente o rendimento da cultura durante o intervalo de tempo estudado.