Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is a leguminous species widely cultivated in northern and northeastern Brazil. In the state of Pará, this crop still has low productivity due to several factors, such as low soil fertility and climatic adversity, especially the water deficiency. Therefore, the present study aimed at evaluating the physiological parameters and the productivity of cowpea plants under different water depths. The experiment was conducted in Castanhal/Pará between 2015 and 2016. A randomized block design was applied with six replications and four treatments, represented by the replacement of 100%, 50%, 25% and 0% of the water lost during crop evapotranspiration (ETc), starting from the reproductive stage. The rates of net photosynthesis (A), stomatal conductance (gs), leaf transpiration (E_leaf), substomatal CO₂ concentration (Ci), leaf temperature (T_leaf) and leaf water potential (Ψ_w) were determined in four measurements at the R5, R7, R8 and R9 phenological stages. Cowpea was sensitive to the water availability in the soil, showing a significant difference between treatments for physiological variables and productivity. Upon reaching a Ψ_w equal to −0.88 MPa, the studied variables showed important changes, which allows establishing this value as a threshold for the crop regarding water stress under such experimental conditions. The different water levels in the soil directly influenced productivity for both years, indicating that the proper water supply leads to better crop growth and development, increasing productivity.

O extrativismo de produtos florestais não madeireiros na Amazônia é uma atividade que expõe o trabalhador a riscos ambientais que podem afetar sua saúde e sua segurança no trabalho. O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar os riscos ambientais e os impactos psicofisiológicos e físicos da coleta do fruto do açaizeiro no trabalhador da Amazônia Oriental. O Estudo foi realizado pela aplicação de questionários semiabertos e entrevistas estruturadas baseadas a partir de protocolos do software Ergolândia versão 6.0 a 33 coletores na Ilha do Combú, Belém/PA. Os riscos físicos identificados foram: radiação ultravioleta (12 h de sol), umidade relativa média anual de 71,9% e calor com IBUTG de 24,4ºC. O medo da queda do açaizeiro, animais peçonhentos, altura e o alto esforço físico requerido para escalar a palmeira foram as principais dificuldades apontadas pelos extrativistas. Foram identificados os riscos de acidentes: cobra, maribondo, escorpião, aranha, queda do açaizeiro, cortes, arranhões e torção muscular. A carga de 30 quilos, transportada pelos coletores, atende ao estabelecido pela legislação vigente. As partes do corpo que os extrativistas sentem dores com frequência durante e após a atividade foram: a parte inferior das costas, pés e dedos, mãos e dedos, membros superiores, ombro, punho, trapézio, cabeça e peito, pescoço, antebraço, cotovelo, panturrilha, tornozelo e joelho. O protocolo de Moore e Garg classificou a atividade como de alto risco para o desenvolvimento de doenças ocupacionais com Strain Index de 13,5 e 10,12 na safra e entressafra, respectivamente, e o protocolo de Lehmann como um trabalho fatigante. A OWAS indicou a categoria de ação 4 com adoção de correções imediatas na postura da coluna, membros superiores e pernas dos extrativistas.

Water availability is a crucial factor in the final productivity of cowpea. The objective of this work was to evaluate the production and productivity components of cowpea under different irrigation depths in Amazonian conditions. The experiment was carried out at the School Farm of the Federal Rural University of Amazonia, in the municipality of Castanhal-PA, using the cultivar BR3 Tracuateua, from September to November 2014, 2015, and 2016. The experimental design was conducted on six blocks and four treatments, where the four irrigation depths of 0, 25, 50, and 100% of crop evapotranspiration were tested. The productivity analysis was performed when 90% of the plants were in the phenological stage R9. The evaluated production components were pod length, number of pods per plant, number of grains per pod, mass of one hundred grains, and harvest index. There was a statistical difference among all treatments for the components of production and among productivities. An average reduction of 827 kg ha⁻¹ in cowpea productivity was observed during the three years of study, when the treatment without irrigation was compared with the treatment irrigated with 100% of the crop’s water demand. It was found in this research that the simple fulfillment of the nutritional and phytosanitary demands of the crop, associated with an adequate planning of when to plant in the region, would already help in the improvement of local production when choosing times where the water deficit in the reproductive phase is less than 33 mm.

Due to the sensitivity of the cowpea to water deficit during the dry season in the Amazonian environment, there is a need for studies related to water management and the optimization of annual yield. Thus, the objective was to estimate the crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and the actual evapotranspiration (ETr), whilst also evaluating the effect of different irrigation depths on the yield response factor (Ky) and dry biomass (Kss) of the cowpea cultivar BR3-Tracuateua under edaphoclimatic conditions in the Amazon region. The experiment was carried out in randomized blocks, with six replicates and four treatments: T1 (100% ETc), T2 (50% ETc), T3 (25% ETc), and T4 (0% ETc), commencing in the reproductive phase with a drip irrigation system. The total evapotranspiration recorded for the cowpea cultivar BR3-Tracuateua across the four treatments was 337.5, 284.35, 258.62, and 219.82 mm with an average consumption of 4.6, 3.90, 3.54, and 3.01 mm d-1 for T1, T2, T3, and T4, respectively. The emergence phase showed evaporation rate of 5.19 mm d-1 and the reproductive, vegetative, and senescence ETc phases showed evaporation of 4.87, 4.84, and 3.32 mm d-1, respectively. The flowering stage had the greatest water demand (5.88 mm d-1). There was a significant difference in the crop yield among all treatments, with decreases of 18.91, 33.12 and 57.17% for T2, T3 and T4 in the grain yield, with a Ky of 1.48, and Kss of 2.03, 1.08, and 0.87 for the flowering, grain filling, and physiological maturation stages, respectively.

It is crucial to understand soil water evaporation, especially in coconut plantations, where soil cover directly influences this process. This study aimed to characterize and quantify the evaporation of water from the soil in a green dwarf coconut plantation under irrigated and non-irrigated conditions, occurring in the planting row and between the rows under the climatic conditions of the Eastern Amazon. The study was developed in a green dwarf coconut plantation in Santa Izabel do Pará, Brazil. Soil water evaporation was measured using microlysimeters. The experimental design was entirely randomized, with a split-plot scheme. The results were divided and analyzed into rainy and less rainy periods, and as the ANOVA assumptions were not met, the Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests were performed (p ≤ 0.05). Soil water evaporation in the non-irrigated area was higher in both the row and the interrow compared to the irrigated area. Among the locations, soil water evaporation is greater in the row than interrows in both treatments, regardless of seasonality. The differences in soil water evaporation under the conditions analyzed can be attributed to the uncovered soil and its water dynamics, in addition to the shading caused by plant leaves, which interferes with the interception of solar radiation.