Resumo em Inglês:

The coffee plant does not thrive well under shade in most of the coffee areas of the State of São Paulo, Brazil. It has been shown that water competition from the shade trees during the dry season is the factor responsible for the failure in growing coffee under shade in São Paulo. In all cases where the coffee plants were not thriving well under shade, the soil moisture after two to three months of drought was at the wilting point at the depths most utilised by the root systems of shade trees and coffee plants. In open plantations this was never observed. All commercial coffee plantations of Central America are shaded. Most of them are located in areas with a dry season as long as in São Paulo and some times even longer. A comparative study of the climatological factors, methods of cultivation and most common species of shade trees was made. No one of these factors explained the different behavior of the coffee plant under shade in Central America and in São Paulo. The available soil water was measured in many coffee plantations in Costa Rica and El Salvador after four months without apreeiable rainfall. In all cases it was' found that, the actual moisture percentage was considerably higher than the wilting point. The amount of available water held by soils in São Paulo and Central America does not seem to be significantly different, although this was not carefully determined. It is suggested that a comparative study of the moisture-tension curves of soils of São Paulo and Central America might explain the different behavior of the coffee plant with shade under these two different conditions. It is possible that, as a consequence of a much steeper moisture-tension curve, the plants in São Paulo soils transpire freely until the soil moisture reaches the wilting point. This would result in a rapid soil water consumption. If the Central American soils have a smoother moisture-tension curve, the Avater absorption and transpiration rate by plants may be slower and as a consequence the available water may last longer in the soil. The ratio of the moisture equivalent to the wilting point was found to be around 1.29 for the soils studied in the Meseta Central of Costa Rica, around 1.44 for those in El Salvador and 1.94 for the ashy soils in the vicinity of San Salvador volcano.

Resumo em Inglês:

The present paper discusses the amount of water lost by the soil through the transpiration of coffee plants and shade trees in shaded coffee plantation. All methods and techniques employed in the study of transpiration of the shade tree Inga edulis Mart, were exactly the same as those described in a paper recently published (4). It was determined previously (3) that a shaded coffee plant receiving 55% of full sunlight transpired 80% as much as when in 100% full sunlight. The amount of water transpired by a coffee plant was calculated by taking 80% of the amount transpired in unshaded plantation (4). Comparing the water lost by transpiration of shaded coffee plants and shade trees with the average rainfall in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, it is seen that from April to September the amount of water transpired exceeds the average rainfall. This finding seems to agree with our previous conclusion (1, 2, 5) that water competition between shade trees and coffee plants is the factor that controls the success of growing coffee under shade in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The highest daily rate of transpiration encountered, for Inga edvlis was 36.7 milligrams per square decimeter per minute. The average daily transpiration was found to be 9.90 grams per square decimeter per day. The total amount of water transpired by an Inga tree was calculated to be 71,140 liters per plant per year. Since the plants submited to the experiment did not suffer a water shortage at any time, the present results show the approximate amount of water lost by the Inga tree and shaded coffee plant under optimal soil-water conditions.

Resumo em Inglês:

The experiments here recorded deal with the comparison of longitudinally cut seed tubers with whole ones. The results have confirmed those already obtained on the same subject in prior trials, namely, that whole seed tubers yield better than cut ones: a) When whole or cut seed tubers were mois tened before planting, a small, though not statistically significant increase in harvest was observed, possibly, due to fewer failures of germination. b) The cutting of seed tubers on the day of planting gave the lowest production, c) Whole tubers with weight equal to that of the cut halves produced the highest yields and are recommended for use in our conditions.

Resumo em Inglês:

Samples of three commercial varieties of cassava starch (Manihot utilissima Pohl) have been prepared in laboratory in order to find out it they differed in relation to viscosity. These varieties were Branca de Santa Catarina, Brava de Itu and Cafelha, considered to be very promising in relation to root yield. Viscosity measurements were made in Brabender Amylograph Viseograph and the data obtained were submited to statistical analysis. The results indicated that these cassava varieties differ substaneially in their starch viscosity.

Resumo em Português:

Apesar de pouco difundida em São Paulo a cultura do girassol, resolveu-se executar um programa de ensaios regionais de variedades a fim de se determinar o seu comportamento em algumas regiões do Estado. Assim foram realizados oito ensaios, agrupados em três séries, nas estações experimentais de Ribeirão Prêto, Pindorama e Mococa, durante os anos de 1947 a 1949. A análise dos resultados indicou como mais produtivas as variedades Riscado, La Estanzuela n.° 53, Línea-16, Línea-30 e Sei. Fischer-100, esta última incluída apenas nos ensaios da terceira série.

Resumo em Inglês:

Three series comprising eight regional trials were undertaken in order to find out the behaviour and production of some recently imported strains of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) in three localities of the State of São Paulo during the years 1947-1949. These trials indicated that the following are the most promising strains : Riscado, La Estanzuela n.° 53, Línea-16, Línea-30, Gigante da Rússia n.° 64, and Sel. Fischer-100.

Resumo em Inglês:

In the State of São Paulo, coffee cherries, after harvesting, are usually put to dry, in the open or are artificially dried until reaching a percentage of about 18% of water. With this humidity, the coffee husks can easily be broken by rubbing the dried cherries in the hand. This operation is done before the coffee is stored. In this paper, are presented some preliminary data about the feasibility of storage-of coffee with more than 18% of water. The results of the experiments have indicated: a) in the Campinas enrivonment, coffee can be stored with about 24% of water-without loosing color and cup-quality; b) the storage with 24% of water reduces by 20-30% the drying operation and permits better condition for more uniforme coffee drying inside the hopper (tulha). Attention has also been called for the difficulty of establishing a practical method for determination of the point when the coffee cherries attain this higher percentage of water.