Agriculture in semiarid regions commonly face problems because of salt and availability of irrigation water. Considering this, studies on cultures resistant to salt and water stresses involving sweet sorghum are required. Therefore, the aim was to evaluate the growth and other mechanisms of tolerance to salinity and water deficit in BRS 506 sweet sorghum. The experimental design was conducted in Upanema-RN, Brazil, in randomized blocks, where the isolated and interactive effect of 3 salinity levels, expressed as the electrical conductivity of irrigation water (1.5, 3.8, and 6.0 dS m⁻¹), and 3 irrigation depths (55, 83, and 110% of crop evapotranspiration) were evaluated. During the cycle, sorghum adapted to the salinity and deficit irrigation depth, since stem height reduced only −5.5% with increasing salinity and −11.95% with decreasing irrigation depth, and aerial dry mass was affected by interaction only at the end of the cycle. Proline, total amino acids, and total soluble sugars were not differenced by stresses. Additionally, around 68.71% of total Na⁺ was at roots at the end of the cycle. In summary, sorghum BRS 506 was more tolerant to salt than water stress and used Na⁺ compartmentalization in root cells as the main tolerance mechanism.

Alternative techniques for cultivation without soil are widespread; however, studies comparing hydroponic systems still need to be studied, mainly in semi-arid regions. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of hydroponic systems on the yield and quality of lettuce cultivars subjected to different electrical conductivities of the nutrient solution. The research was conducted in a greenhouse, adopting a completely randomized design in a 2 × 2 × 3 factorial scheme, being two lettuce cultivars (Cinderela and Rubinela), two electrical conductivities (2.90 and 1.6 dS m^-1), and three hydroponics systems (NFT, semi-hydroponic, and floating), with three replications. The number of leaves, leaf succulence, specific leaf area, leaf fresh mass, total dry mass, leaf area, titratable acidity, vitamin C, and soluble solids were evaluated. Cinderela cultivar showed the highest average leaf fresh mass, total dry mass, leaf area, and vitamin C values. The NFT and floating systems provided the highest leaf yield and quality, especially in the solution of 1.60 dS m^-1. The semi-hydroponic system provided greater development of the plants with a more concentrated nutrient solution (2.90 dS m^-1).

The increase in water demand in regions with limited good-quality water resources makes it necessary to study the effect of low-quality water on plant metabolism. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of water and salt stress on the levels of mineral elements and accumulation of toxic elements Na⁺ and Cl⁻ in the leaves and their consequences on the production variables of the sorghum cultivar IPA SF-15. The design adopted was randomized blocks in a factorial scheme (4 × 4), with four salt concentrations (1.5; 3.0; 4.5, and 6.0 dS m⁻¹) and four irrigation depths (51.3; 70.6; 90.0, and 118.4% of crop evapotranspiration ETc) in three repetitions. To obtain nutrient, sodium, and chlorine contents in the leaf, we collected the diagnosis leaf from six plants per plot. For production data, we performed two harvests at 76 and 95 days after planting (silage point and for sucrose extraction). We evaluated the dry mass, fresh mass yield, and total dry mass for the two cutting periods and applied the F-test at the 5% significance level. There was an effect of water stress but not saline, making it possible to use saline water for sorghum irrigation. As for the toxicity of ions, the plant showed tolerance behavior to Na⁺ and Cl⁻ ions. The grain filling phase was more sensitive than the final phase of the crop cycle.

The treatment with low temperatures, for a certain period, stimulates the accumulation of phytohormones in garlic seed cloves, which influence the growth and development of the plants. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the effects of garlic seed cloves under negative temperatures for different periods on the development and productivity of noble garlic cultivated in the Brazilian semi-arid region. Two experiments were carried out and analyzed separately in the municipalities of Mossoró and São Miguel, RN, Brazil, in which three temperature ranges (−5 to −3 °C, −2 to 0 °C and 1 to 3 °C) and three periods (50, 55, and 60 days) were tested. Low-temperature conditioning of the garlic seed cloves was carried out in a temperature-controlled freezer. Relative humidity during treatment ranged from 60 to 70%. Seed cloves submitted to temperatures below zero provided the differentiation of cloves, even in unfavorable edaphoclimatic conditions for cultivating noble garlic. Seed cloves conditioned with negative temperatures increased the productivity of garlic grown in Mossoró, but with a lower average yield than garlic produced in São Miguel. Garlic seed cloves treated at negative temperatures in São Miguel provided garlic productivity equivalent to the yield of garlic grown in the states of the southern region. In addition, it produced class 6 and 7 bulbs, which have greater commercial value and acceptance by consumers. The results demonstrated the potential of garlic seed cloves treated with temperatures below zero to increase the production of noble garlic in the semi-arid region of the country.

O manejo inadequado do solo modifica seus atributos, culminando na perda de sua qualidade produtiva. Diante do exposto, o objetivo com o presente trabalho foi avaliar os atributos de um Cambissolo em agroecossistemas, no Projeto de Assentamento Terra de Esperança, município de Governador Dix-Sept Rosado, no Rio Grande do Norte, por meio da técnica de estatística multivariada. Realizou-se a coleta de amostras de solo com estrutura deformada e indeformada, para realização de análises físicas e químicas, sendo as coletas feitas nas camadas de 0-5 e 5-10 cm, em três repetições. Os atributos físicos avaliados foram: granulometria, densidade de partículas e densidade do solo, resistência do solo à penetração realizada a campo com penetrômetro, e porosidade total do solo. Os atributos químicos foram: condutividade elétrica, potencial hidrogeniônico em água, carbono orgânico total e macronutrientes: cálcio, magnésio, fósforo, potássio e o sódio, sendo posteriormente calculada a capacidade de troca de cátions, soma de bases e saturação por bases, e a percentagem de sódio trocável. As áreas de mata nativa e área agroecológica apresentaram similaridade entre si, sendo que os atributos estruturais resistência do solo à penetração e densidade do solo e os químicos carbono orgânico total, sódio, potássio, percentagem de sódio trocável e condutividade elétrica foram os mais sensíveis na distinção dos ambientes, em relação á área de plantio convencional de cultivos consorciados, indicando que os sistemas de usos do solo alteram seus atributos e que práticas agroecológicas propiciam melhorias e/ou manutenção destes.