Fig tree (Ficus carica L.) stands out due to its range of cultivation and easy adaptation to diverse edaphoclimatic conditions. In addition to its adaptability, fruits have nutraceutical characteristics and are used in industry and for fresh consumption, widely appreciated by the world cuisine. Due to lack of manpower and phytosanitary problems, the area planted in Brazil has decreased recently. To overcome these obstacles, the production of quality seedlings is the first step to obtaining productive and healthy orchards. Therefore, the aim of the present literature review was to gather data referring to advances in research related to the fig tree propagation. Currently, the methods found for fig tree propagation consist of seedling production, where entomophilic or vegetative pollination occurs. Commercially, the propagation method by cutting is still the most used for this crop; however, other methods can also be used, such as the use of burrs or plunging and grafting techniques and tissue culture. Although there is a diversity of propagation methods and new technologies being developed, cuttings remain the most feasible method. In addition, obtaining healthy and quality seedlings is one of the main problems currently found in ficiculture, since, in addition to the scarcity of studies related to propagation, the use of resistant cultivars and pathogen-free substrates should be prioritized due to susceptibility of fig trees to nematodes. Thus, further studies should be carried out in order to seek new information on the cultivars most adapted to each locality, as well as improvements in propagation and cultivation techniques.

With increased interest in cultivation, the study of white-fleshed pitahaya (Selenicereus undatus (Haw.) D.R. Hunt, Cactaceae family) seedling production is of fundamental importance in the search for novel techniques to increase cultivation and guarantee homogeneous and productive orchards. The present study investigated the influence of various gibberellic acid (GA3) concentrations and fruit maturation stages on seed germination and vigor of white-fleshed pitahaya seedlings, considering the physiological quality of seedlings produced to support genetic breeding and conservation programs of the species. White-fleshed pitahaya seeds at two maturation stages (physiologically ripe and maintained at 10 °C in Biochemical Oxygen Demand incubators for three months) were treated with varying GA3 concentrations of 0, 50, 100, and 500 mg/L. We observed the influence of fruit storage on seedling germination, emergence, and growth as a function of GA3 concentration. According to the results, seeds extracted from ripe white-fleshed pitahaya fruits grown under the conditions tested here required GA3 application to increase seedling emergence and vigor, with optimal doses in the 150–300-mg/L range. In the case of pitahaya fruits intended for storage for future seed removal and maintained under the same sowing conditions, the application of higher doses of GA3 was necessary when compared to the previous condition, with a minimum dose of 500 mg/L GA3. The present study shows that the maturation stage of white-fleshed pitahaya fruits intended for seed removal influences the quality of seedlings; therefore, the use of seeds extracted from ripe pitahaya fruits without fermentation is more appropriate for the purpose.

Fig tree (Ficus carica L.) is a fruit of great importance worldwide, being able to be implanted as new source of agricultural variability. The aim of the present work was to characterize the active germplasm bank of fig trees by means of morphological descriptors of 45 fig accessions at the Faculty of Agrarian and Technological Sciences, Campus of Dracena, FCAT / UNESP aiming at the recognition of the quality and genetic variability potential of the species. Thus, their biometric characteristics were evaluated by qualitative and quantitative descriptors of leaves and fruits. Fig tree accessions were characterized by means of the morphological characteristics of leaves and fruits, identifying AGB with high phenotypic variability and well adapted to the region and, by the analysis of the qualitative and quantitative characteristics, it was concluded that the most divergent accessions presented characteristics of agronomic interest, allowing the selection of features in order to subsidize conservation works, genetic improvement and crop production.

The determination of the plot size is a practical matter pertinent to the experimental planning, and its optimal characterization allows to obtain higher precision and better quality in the results. Therefore, in this study, the main goal was to determine the plot size in experiments of passion fruit in two uniformity tests with Passiflora setacea and Passiflora alata. The experiment was constituted of a substrate at planting with 3 thirds of soil and 1 of barnyard manure. The soil was fertilizer with 3 kg of simple superphosphate and 0.5 kg of KCl by 1m³. Each species of Passiflora was considered a uniformity test with 40 basic units (BU). The evaluations of the experiments were done on 60 days after the transplant, noticing the tree’s height, stem’s diameter, number of leaves, number of buds, number of meristems and chlorophyll. Several plot sizes were simulated, in which each plant was first considered as a basic unit up to 40 plants per unit basic. For the estimation of optimum plot size, the maximum modified curvature method was used. The plot sizes varied with the specie, founding values as three to seven BU for Passiflora setacea and four BU to five for Passiflora alata.

Fruit growing has become an important alternative economic strategy for the social reproduction of small rural producers. Fig (Ficus carica L.) is a fruit of great world importance, and can be used as a new source of agricultural variability, adding advantages, both economically and socially. In addition, the characterization of active germplasm banks of the genus Ficus becomes an important research line for culture improvement, and it is necessary to gather information, mainly in relation to its genetic variability, so that adequate propagation and management projects are carried out. Therefore, the aim of this work was to establish and characterize an active germplasm bank of fig tree by means of the morphophysiological descriptors of 45 fig accessions, with a randomized complete block design at the Faculty of Agrarian and Technological Sciences, Campus of Dracena, FCAT / UNESP. To do so, the biometric features of re-growth, relative growth rate, plant height and morphophysiological characteristics of the best performance accessions during their vegetative development were evaluated. It could be concluded that most accessions presented good adaptation to the implantation region, especially accessions 18; 28; 29; 30 and 31, which were more promising.

Cutting is a propagation method with the advantages of early production and uniform cultivation. Some factors influence propagation and rooting, such as the cutting size and the time of year the collection is performed. Thus, the present work aimed to evaluate the ideal size of white-fleshed red pitahaya cladodes and the time of their collection for crop propagation by cutting in view of the physiological quality of the produced clonal plants to enable more appropriate cultural management and increase the cultivation area. The experiment was conducted at the Faculty of Engineering (UNESP) using three cladode sizes (cuttings) with lengths of 10, 20 and 40 cm collected in two seasons (summer and winter). The experimental design used was completely randomized in a split-time scheme, with no dependence on the factors and 20 replicates. Evaluations of the biometric factors related to sprouts and cladode rooting were carried out 60 days after cutting. According to the results, there were significant differences among treatments, with a significant interaction of the number of sprouts. It can be concluded that, regarding the size of the cladodes, it is recommended, when possible, to use cladodes 40 cm in length; regarding the time of collection, it is recommended that collection be conducted in the winter period to favor the development of better-quality clonal plants.