Quality of pre-sprouted sugarcane seedlings grown on substrates with decomposed babassu palm stem

ABSTRACT The use of pre-sprouted seedlings in the implantation of sugarcane crops not only reduces the establishment period and production costs, but also has other advantages, such as a lesser requirement of propagules (stems) and greater phytosanitary control of the seedlings, when compared to conventional planting. Commercial substrates are also expensive and their use increases the cost of seedlings. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of sugarcane pre-sprouted seedlings grown on substrates with different proportions of decomposed babassu palm stem (DBPS), as well as to recommend the substrate formulation that provides the most favorable environment for the growth and development of sugarcane pre-sprouted seedlings. For preparation of the substrate (S), DBPS and soil were used in the following proportions: S1: 0 % of DBPS + 100 % of soil; S2: 20 % of DBPS + 80 % of soil; S3: 40 % of DBPS + 60 % of soil; S4: 60 % of DBPS + 40 % of soil; S5: 80 % of DBPS + 20 % of soil; S6: 100 % of DBPS + 0 % of soil. The use of S2 and S3 considerably improved the seedling quality parameters, such as sprout diameter and length, number of leaves and total, shoot and root dry mass. However, from an economic point of view, S2 is recommended for use.

Alteration of babassu biodiesel properties through camphor and biodiesel of tung

Babassu oil is extracted from the babassu palm, one of the most important plants in the north and northeast Brazilian regions, and like many biofuels, it does not have adequate properties to be used as pure fuel, especially under low-temperature conditions. Therefore, researches to improve the physical-chemical properties of these biofuels are needed, one of the most common methods is using additives, usually synthetic ones, which are not environmentally friendly. A good alternative would be to try to found natural compounds with this potential. This paper describes the effects of the addition of two natural compounds, tung biodiesel, and camphor, in the physical properties of babassu biodiesel. These additives were select because of their physical-chemical properties, which can potentially improve the babassu biodiesel ones. They were tested separately, the camphor at the 3, 4, 5, 6 % proportions, and the tung biodiesel at 3, 5, 9, 12 %. The results were compared to biodiesel standards, limited by the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Biofuels (ANP), and for both additives, the 3 % proportion showed the best suited to the quality standards established at the Brazilian normative. Thus, was observed that the camphor and the tung biodiesel has the potential to be efficient additives in babassu biodiesel

Litter decomposition and nutrient release dynamics of leaves and roots of the babassu palm in eastern Amazonia

ABSTRACT The ruderal babassu palm (Attalea speciosa) is expanding on large areas of degraded Amazon landscapes. Decomposition of leaves and roots is in the center of plant:soil interactions. We evaluated decomposition and nutrient concentrations of leaves and fine roots of babassu in comparison with two exotic reference species, Acacia mangium (slow degradability) and Leucaena leucocephala (fast degradability), in a 138-day litterbag assay carried out in secondary forest stands of different age and babassu abundance. We chose 4-mm over 2-mm mesh litterbags based on a pilot study. Babassu leaves degraded slower than leaves of A. mangium and L. leucocephala, and also had lower nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium concentrations in all stages of decomposition. By contrast, potassium concentrations in babassu leaves were higher than in both reference species at 0 and 50 days. Roots of all three species decomposed slower than leaves. Compared to the leaves, both biomass loss and nutrient concentrations differed less between babassu and reference-species roots, except for lower nitrogen concentration in babassu roots. Leaf-litter decomposition of all three species was significantly faster in old than in young secondary forest, suggesting an acceleration of decomposition along succession. Babassu leaves decomposed faster in old babassu-dominated than non-dominated secondary forest, pointing to the existence of specialized decomposer communities in babassu-dominated stands.

Income Generation of Non-wood Forest Products in an Innovative Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forestry System

The wide extension area occupied by babassu palm (Atallea speciosa Mart. Ex Spreng) is usually considered as an important obstacle for agricultural activities, such as crop production and pasture maintenance in Brazil. This study aimed to evaluate the non-wood forest product use and income generated in an Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forestry (ICLF) system using babassu palm as the main forestry component in a rural area of Pindaré-Mirim, a municipality of Maranhão state, in the Amazon Eastern Region, Brazil. In order to rise a well-balanced agroforestry system in numerous rural areas of the country, three main questions were addressed in this study: 1) What is the production of babassu fruits in the system? 2) Is the babassu extractivism income economically suitable for traditional communities of women babassu breakers? 3) Which commercialization scenario of NWFP could generate more income? Data on phenology and fruit production, processing of all fruit components, and commercialization of babassu products were collected in two 12-month seasons of palm production (2017/2018 and 2018/2019). The mean fruit production reached 2,345.49 kg ha-1 season-1, resulting in an estimate of income generation ranging from R$ 8,206.96 ha-1 season-1 to R$ 36,628.54 ha-1 season-1, depending on the commercialization scenario. These numbers were compared to the statewide monthly income per household of R$ 605.00 and to the per capita monthly income of 54% of the municipality of less than R$ 499.00. The real field data and the estimates for two seasons of using babassu palm, as the innovative forestry component in ICLF system, demonstrated that babassu NWFP could generate substantial income for the surrounding user communities. Such innovative agricultural system may contribute to change people understanding, diversifying agrarian production, improving the socioeconomic household welfare, and reducing the long-term conflicts between livestock activities and babassu palm existence in Brazil.

Dynamics and stability of Marandu grass tillers in monocrop systems and babassu palm silvopastoral systems

This study aimed to evaluate the dynamics, population density of tillers and stability index of Urochloa brizantha in silvopastoral systems composed of babassu palm trees in the Pre-Amazon region. Four systems consisting of different densities of palm trees (80, 131, and 160 palms ha-1) and a monocrop were evaluated. The rates at which the basal tillers appeared in systems with 131 and 160 palms ha-1 were similar to each other and were slower compared to the monocrop pasture and the system with 80 palms ha-1. Despite the variations, the stability index was always higher than 1.0, which infers a compensatory mechanism between tiller appearance and mortality rate, since monocrop pastures and systems with 80 palms ha-1 have a higher rate of tissue turnover with high rates of tiller appearance and mortality; in contrast, the system with 160 palms ha-1 presents high tiller survival rates. Both the 160 and 131 palms ha-1 systems indicate impaired canopy renewal, as seen in the low appearance rate of basal tillers due to shading. As such, the tillering dynamics of the systems vary according to the density of palm trees, and the smaller tree densities favor the tiller turnover in the first generations evaluated.

Ecological weed control in rice and maize using Orbygnia phalerata with focus on the weed seedbank in the soil

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of mulching with dry leaves of babassu palm (Orbygnia phalerata Mart.) on germination of weed seed bank on rice tiller number and on grain yield of rice and maize in Maranhão state, northeastern Brazil. In the field the experimental design was a split plot in a randomized complete block with 15 replications. Rice, maize and rice intercropped with maize were allocated to the main plots and mulching treatments with unprocessed whole dried palm leaves (0 and 23 t ha-1) to the subplots. Germination of the weed seed bank was assessed after crop harvest in the greenhouse by means of a collection of three soil samples per subplot (n = 270) with an open metal device of 25 cm in length x 16 cm in width x 3 cm in height as sampling unit. Soil samples were placed in aluminum trays in the greenhouse and irrigated daily. The germinated weed species were identified and counted every fifteen days. The results showed that mulching can reduce germination in the weed seed bank up to 55% and promoted a significant increase in rice tiller number from 63 to 95 m-2, grain yield of rice from 1,077 to 2,251 kg ha-1 and grain yield of maize from 1,137 to 2,293 kg ha-1. Therefore, mulching can be recommended for weed control in smallholder farming of rice and maize crops.