Coffee farmers have faced problems due to drought periods, with irrigation being necessary. In this sense, this study aimed to evaluate the responses to different levels and durations of water deficit in arabica coffee genotypes in the Cerrado region. The experiment consisted of three Coffea arabica genotypes and five water regimes: full irrigation (FI 100 and FI 50—full irrigation with 100% and 50% replacement of evapotranspiration, respectively), water deficit (WD 100 and WD 50—water deficit from June to September, with 100% and 50% replacement of evapotranspiration, respectively) and rainfed (without irrigation). The variables evaluated were gas exchange, relative water content (RWC) and productivity. The results showed that during stress, plants under the FI water regime showed higher gas exchange and RWC, differently from what occurred in the WD and rainfed treatments; however, after irrigation, coffee plants under WDs regained their photosynthetic potential. Rainfed and WD 50 plants had more than 50% reduction in RWC compared to FIs. The Iapar 59 cultivar was the most productive genotype and the E237 the lowest. Most importantly, under rainfed conditions, the plants showed lower physiological and productive potential, indicating the importance of irrigation in Coffea arabica in the Brazilian Cerrado.

The advancement of digital agriculture combined with computational tools and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has opened the way to large-scale data collection for the calculation of vegetation indices (VIs). These vegetation indexes (VIs) are useful for agricultural monitoring, as they highlight the inherent characteristics of vegetation and optimize the spatial and temporal evaluation of different crops. The experiment tested three coffee genotypes (Catuaí 62, E237 and Iapar 59) under five water regimes: (1) FI 100 (year-round irrigation with 100% replacement of evapotranspiration), (2) FI 50 (year-round irrigation with 50% evapotranspiration replacement), (3) WD 100 (no irrigation from June to September (dry season) and, thereafter, 100% evapotranspiration replacement), (4) WD 50 (no irrigation from June to September (water stress) and, thereafter, 50% evapotranspiration replacement) and (5) rainfed (no irrigation during the year). The irrigated treatments were watered with irrigation and precipitation. Most indices were highest in response to full irrigation (FI 100). The values of the NDVI ranged from 0.87 to 0.58 and the SAVI from 0.65 to 0.38, and the values of these indices were lowest for genotype E237 in the rainfed areas. The indices NDVI, OSAVI, MCARI, NDRE and GDVI were positively correlated very strongly with photosynthesis (A) and strongly with transpiration (E) of the coffee trees. On the other hand, temperature-based indices, such as canopy temperature and the TCARI index correlated negatively with A, E and stomatal conductance (gs). Under full irrigation, the tested genotypes did not differ between the years of evaluation. Overall, the index values of Iapar 59 exceeded those of the other genotypes. The use of VIs to evaluate coffee tree performance under different water managements proved efficient in discriminating the best genotypes and optimal water conditions for each genotype. Given the economic importance of coffee as a crop and its susceptibility to extreme events such as drought, this study provides insights that facilitate the optimization of productivity and resilience of plantations under variable climatic conditions.

This study aimed to evaluate the impact and duration of water stress on coffee growth, grain yield, and uniformity. The experiment was set up on Apr 2015 with water regimes denominated as follows: year-round irrigation with total water replacement (FI 100) and year-round irrigation with a 50 % reduction in total water replacement (FI 50); irrigation with application of water deficit from Apr to Sept with total water replacement (WD1 100) and irrigation with application of water deficit from Apr to Sept with 50 % of total water replacement (WD1 50); irrigation with application of water deficit from June to Sept with total water replacement (WD2 100), irrigation with application of water deficit from June to Sept with 50 % of total water replacement (WD2 50), and rainfed. A mechanized irrigation mobile Lateral Line sprinkler system was used. Irrigation management criterion was based on the climatological water balance and crop coefficients. Morphological variables, productivity, and fruit uniformity were evaluated. The growth variables had higher responses to water deficit treatment, with the highest reductions being recorded in rainfed treatments. The average productivity of the coffee tree in 2019 ranged from 14 to 120 bags ha^–1. Even under low water availability, Iapar 59 was the most productive genotype, and E237 was the least productive genotype. Long periods of stress and 50 % reduction in water availability reduced plant productivity. Thus, the use of irrigation to complement rainfall is essential to the sustainability of coffee production systems in the Cerrado.

Lentil production has been increasing in Brazil, due to strong national and international demand. Despite the economic importance, few cultivars are available on the Brazilian market. The aim of this study was to evaluate 48 lentil inbred lines and one commercial cultivar (Silvina), based on morpho-agronomic traits and to identify genotypes which can be used in a plant breeding program. Twenty-one morpho-agronomic descriptors (nine qualitative and twelve quantitative) were used. The descriptors showed genetic variability among the genotypes. Clustering techniques using characterization data allowed to identify genetically divergent genotypes as well as identify superior genotypes in relation to agronomic traits: FLIP2010-8L and FLIP2010-12L (similarity group I), FLIP2010-99L, FLIP2010-20L and FLIP2010-106L (group II), FLIP90-25L and 6031 (group III), FLIP2007-16L (group IV) and the commercial cultivar Silvina (group V). We concluded that these genotypes have the potential to be used in lentil breeding programs.

The objective of this work was to evaluate arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) under irrigation regimes in the Brazilian Cerrado Central Plateau regarding productivity, chemical quality of raw grains, and sensory quality of the beverage. The experiment was conducted in 2020/2021, with the regimes consisting of two levels of replacement, 100% and 50% of water requirement: irrigation throughout the year, water deficit from April to September, and water deficit from June to September. The chemical characteristics studied were: soluble solids, sucrose, trigonelline, caffeine, caffeoylquinic and citric acids. Sensory analysis was performed by SCA. The regimes of water replacement 100% with irrigation throughout the year and water deficit from June to September present higher productivity of arabica coffee in 2020 and 2021. In regimes with greater water restriction, the levels of sucrose and trigonelline in raw grains increase. In regimes with greater water replacement, the level of citric acid in the raw grains increases. Both regimes with a water deficit from June to September with 100% and 50% of the crop water requirement produce a beverage of excellent quality due to greater uniformity in grain maturation. With 50% of the crop water requirement, the water deficit from April to September is harmful to the quality of the beverage compared to the water deficit from June to September due to the period of two additional months in water stress.