Rising temperature affects agricultural production, causing food insecurity. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate how increased temperature influences pollen viability, photosynthetic and enzymatic responses, and their consequences on the final yield of cowpea cultivars. The cultivars BRS Acauã, BRS Guariba, BRS Gurguéia, and BRS Pajeú were used, kept in growth chambers under two temperature regimes: 24.8–30.8–37.8 °C and 20–26–33 °C. The cultivars BRS Acauã, BRS Guariba, and BRS Pajeú showed prolonged flowering and greater flower abortion, at 23.58%, 34.71%, and 25.55%, respectively, under an increase of 4.8 °C in temperature. This increase also reduced the viability of BRS Acauã and BRS Pajeú pollen by 34 and 7%, respectively. Heating increased stomatal opening and transpiration but reduced chlorophyll content. The enzymatic response varied according to cultivars and temperature. Changes in photosynthetic and enzymatic activities contribute to reducing pollen viability and productivity. BRS Acauã was the most affected, with an 82% reduction in the number of seeds and a 70% reduction in production. BRS Gurguéia maintained its production, even with an increase of 4.8 °C, and can be selected as a cultivar with the potential to tolerate high temperatures as it maintained pollen viability, with less flower abortion, with the synchrony of physiological and biochemical responses and, consequently, greater production.

Global projections indicate that the demand for fresh water, energy, and food will increase significantly in the coming decades under the pressure of population growth, economic development, climate change, and other factors. Faced with this, technologies that promote sustainable development through the use of clean energy will be imperative. That way, this study aimed at evaluating the productive performance of biomass sorghum and cowpea cultivars in different cropping systems and planting seasons. The experiment was conducted at the Caatinga Experimental Field at Embrapa Semiarid, Petrolina—PE. Four cowpea (BRS Itaim, BRS Gurguéia, BRS Guariba, and BRS Carijó) and two biomass sorghum cultivars (BRS 716 and AGRI-002E) were used in intercropping and monoculture systems. The cultivars were sown during two different seasons: June (season 1—winter) and December (season 2—summer) of 2021. The biometric and productive parameters and land equivalent ratios (LERs) of sorghum and cowpea were evaluated. The data were subjected to multivariate analysis. The productive performance of biomass sorghum cultivars Agri-002E and BRS 716 was higher when planted in December, with an increase of 37% due to the planting season. Cowpea productivity was not influenced by sowing seasons or the cultivation system. Based on the calculation of efficient land use, the intercropping between biomass sorghum cultivar BRS 716 and cowpea cultivars BRS Gurguéia, BRS Guariba, and BRS Carijó was advantageous when compared to monocultures planted in the hottest season. This study showed the importance of cultivar selection, the planting time, and land use efficiency in intercropping systems.

Plant yield is directly affected by the increase in air temperature and the water availability in the soil. Therefore, the objective with this study was to evaluate the physiological and productive performance of sorghum cultivars as a function of soil water availability and temperature at the cultivation time. The research was carried out at Embrapa Semi-Arid, municipality of Petrolina, Pernambuco state, Northeast region, Brazil, with planting in June 2021 and January 2022. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with a 2 × 6 × 4 factorial arrangement, with two growing seasons (season 1: planting in June; season 2: planting in January), six sorghum cultivars (AGRI002E, BRS 716, BRS 506, SF 15, IAC Santa Elisa and BRS Ponta Negra) and four water availability levels (25, 50, 75, and 100%), with four replications. The following variables were evaluated: total dry mass, water use efficiency, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration and leaf temperature. The SF 15 and BRS Ponta Negra cultivars produced the highest amount of total dry mass when planted in June, with maximum temperatures ranging from 26 to 34 ºC and 100% water availability. The AGRI002E cultivar showed higher dry mass production, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and leaf transpiration rates among the other cultivars in season 2, with 100% of soil water retention capacity, demonstrating adaptation to the increase in temperature. O rendimento das plantas é afetado diretamente pelo aumento da temperatura do ar e pela disponibilidade de água no solo. Diante disso, objetivou-se avaliar o desempenho fisiológico e produtivo de cultivares de sorgo em função da disponibilidade de água no solo e da temperatura da época de cultivo. A pesquisa foi realizada na Embrapa Semiárido, localizada no município de Petrolina, Pernambuco, região Nordeste, Brasil, com plantio em junho de 2021 e janeiro de 2022. O experimento foi conduzido com delineamento experimental em blocos casualizados, em arranjo fatorial 2 × 6 × 4, sendo duas épocas de cultivo (Época 1: plantio em junho; Época 2: plantio em janeiro), seis cultivares de sorgo (AGRI002E, BRS 716, BRS 506, SF 15, IAC Santa Elisa e BRS Ponta Negra) e quatro níveis de disponibilidade hídrica (25, 50, 75 e 100 %), com quatro repetições. Foram avaliadas: a massa seca total, a eficiência no uso da água, a fotossíntese, a condutância estomática, a transpiração e a temperatura foliar. As cultivares SF 15 e BRS Ponta Negra produziram maior quantidade de massa seca quando plantadas em junho, com temperaturas máximas variando de 26 a 34 ºC e 100 % de disponibilidade hídrica. A cultivar AGRI002E apresentou maior produção de massa seca, taxa de fotossíntese, condutância estomática e transpiração foliar na época com as temperaturas mais altas, com 100% da capacidade de retenção de água do solo, demonstrando adaptação ao aumento da temperatura.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of irrigation systems and water depths on physiological, biochemical and production processes of pear trees grown in the Brazilian semi-arid region. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with 2 × 4 factorial scheme, corresponding to two irrigation systems (drip and microsprinkler) and four irrigation depths (60, 80, 100 and 120% of the crop evapotranspiration - ETc), with four replicates. Water deficit and excess applied to plants are harmful to gas exchange as well as to biosynthesis and accumulation of carbohydrates, amino acids and proteins in leaves, compromising the cultivation cycle of pear plants grown in the Sub-Middle São Francisco region. The irrigation depth of 91.8% ETc promotes the highest production of pear (18.49 kg plant-1) under drip and microsprinkler irrigation systems, under the edaphoclimatic conditions of the Sub-Middle São Francisco region.

Facing the fruit market’s search for more efficient production systems, this research aimed to identify an arrangement of efficient irrigation systems for the productive and postharvest characteristics of ‘Kent’ mango fruits, under the conditions of the Brazilian semiarid. The research was performed in an agricultural property in the municipality of Petrolina-PE, with the soil classified in Quartzarenic Neosol. Four irrigation system arrangements were tested: a micro sprinkler below the canopy; a micro sprinkler between plants; two lateral dripper lines per row of plant; and a ring-shaped drip strip around the plant in a randomized block design with five repetitions. The productive characteristics were evaluated, such as number and average weight of fruits and productivity; and qualitative parameters (evaluated by plant quadrant): volume, density, firmness, soluble solids content and titratable acidity. A micro sprinkler between plants provided a greater number of fruits and productivity, as well as greater firmness and titratable acidity for mangoes of the South and West quadrants; these characteristics associated with the lowest soluble solids content of the pulp, at the time of harvest, was also obtained with a micro sprinkler between plants and induce a longer post harvest time to the fruits.

Salinity is one of the factors that most limit agricultural yield in the Brazilian semi-arid region. In this context, the present study aimed to evaluate the leaf gas exchange and biometric characteristics of accessions of the Saccharum complex subjected to salt stress. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse, installed at Embrapa Semiárido, in Petrolina, PE, Brazil. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, with the treatments represented by 19 accessions belonging to different genera/species, being 10 accessions of Saccharum officinarum (BGCN 6, BGCN 91, BGCN 104, BGCN 127, BCGN 90, BGCN 101, BGCN 102, BGCN 118, BGCN 125 and BGCN 122), two accessions of Saccharum spp. (BGCN 87 and BGCN 89), one accession of Saccharum hybridum (BGCN 88), one accession of Saccharum robustum (BGCN 94), four accessions of Erianthus arundinaceus (BGCN 117, BGCN 119, BGCN 120 and BGCN 123) and one accession of Miscanthus spp., with three repetitions. Biometric characteristics, chlorophyll index and leaf gas exchange of the accessions were evaluated when they were subjected to irrigation with salinized water (6.0 dS m-1). E. arundinaceus accessions (BGCN 120 and BGCN 123) showed the highest photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, plant height and leaf length, indicating greater adaptability to salt stress and could be promising in breeding programs.