Occurrence of Raoiella indica Hirst (Acari, Tenuipalpidae) in the Southeast region of the state of Pará, Brazil.

The red palm mite Raoiella indica Hirst attacks coconut, banana and açai trees. In 2007, the mite was recorded for the first time in South America. In the State of Pará, R. indica was recorded in the municipalities of the northwest, a region that is closer to the State of Amazonas, called 'Low Amazons'. Between October and November 2019, it was observed, by chance, that coconut and banana plants infested by R. indica, in residential backyards in municipalities from Marabá and Parauapebas, Southest of Pará, Brazilian Amazon. Three species from the Araceae family, two from Arecaceae, one Heliconiaceae and one Zingiberaceae, in addition to the banana Musaceae and açaí plantations, were examined. All stages of development of R. indica were found on coconut, banana trees and imperial palms, and few individuals were found on areca palm and red ginger leaves. This is the first record of the occurrence of the pest mite in the Southeast Pará sub-region.

The effect of aluminum treatment on metabolism in oil palm seedlings

Due to rainfall and high temperatures, the Amazonian soil undergoes changes in its source material and leaching of base cations. This results in deep, infertile, and acidic soil. Aluminum present in acidic soil impairs plant growth and development by inhibiting root formation, enzymatic reactions, absorption, transport, and nutrient utilization. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of aluminum dosage on the metabolism of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis Jacq. The study was conducted in a greenhouse at the Federal Rural University of Amazonia. The experimental design was randomized, with five replications, in which dosages of 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 mg L-1 aluminum chloride (AlCl3.6H2O) were administered. Electrolyte leakage, nitrate, nitrate reductase, free ammonium, soluble amino acids, proline content, and soluble proteins were analyzed in the leaves and roots of the oil palm. The highest concentration of aluminum was found in the roots. AlCl3 treatment at 40 mg L-1 increased electrolyte leakage, nitrate, ammonium, and proline concentrations in the roots, and amino acid concentrations in both the leaves and roots. Furthermore, a decrease in nitrate reductase enzyme activity was observed in the roots. This study demonstrates that the oil palm has mechanisms of tolerance to aluminum toxicity.

Nitrogen and carbon metabolism evaluation in paricá plants subjected to different cadmium concentrations

The development of anthropogenic activities such as industry, mining, agriculture, urban waste discard has been, the main actions that result in increased contamination by heavy metals in soil, water and air. One of the most harmful metals made available by these activities is cadmium, and even at low concentrations it is very toxic mainly in plant structures. The objective of this work was to verify the biochemical behavior of nitrogen and carbon metabolism in young plants of paricá when submitted to increasing cadmium application. For this, a completely randomized experiment was carried out with five treatments (control, CdCl2 178 µM, CdCl2 356 µM, CdCl2 534 µM, CdCl2 712 µM), with seven replicates, totaling 35 experimental units. The sensitivity of this vegetable to the increasing concentrations of cadmium was evident. The root system it presents'' saw where the most toxic element accumulated, solutes such as carbohydrates, sucrose were affected in their concentrations, mainly in the leaves. The root system saw in its concentrations of glycine betaine a possibility of osmoprotection, but this did not reflect an increase in the concentration of nitrate in both leaf and roots. In the other hand, this fact not observed by the concentration of ammonium that increased in the root system. The results showed that the cadmium was transported to aerial part, however, concentrated mainly in the root system characterizing as a phytoextractor species.

Caracterização de farinhas de tapioca produzidas no estado do Pará / Characterization of tapioca flour obtained in Pará state, Brazil

A farinha de tapioca é um alimento produzido artesanalmente a partir da fécula de mandioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz), amplamente consumida na Região Amazônica. O objetivo deste trabalho foi caracterizar duas farinhas de tapioca produzidas no estado do Pará: uma no Baixo Amazonas e outra na Zona Bragantina. As duas farinhas apresentaram perfis granulométricos distintos e diferença significativa (P 0,05) para a maioria dos parâmetros físico-químicos e tecnológicos analisados. A farinha de tapioca proveniente do Baixo Amazonas apresentou maior umidade (10,7%), em função da maior capacidade de adsorver água, devido a sua maior área específica (menor granulometria). A microscopia óptica com luz polarizada, juntamente com as características dos dois produtos indicou a inexistência de um processo padrão utilizado na produção da farinha de tapioca.

Tapioca flour is a typical food produced from cassava starch (Manihot esculenta Crantz), widely consumed in the Amazon Region. The aim of this study was to characterize two tapioca flours produced in Pará State, Brazil one in the West Region and other in Bragantina Area. Both tapioca flour presented distinct particle-size distribution and significant difference (P 0.05) for majority of the physico-chemical and technological parameters. Flour from West Region presented high moisture (10.7%), this due the greater capacity of water adsorption, attributed at its high specific area (smaller particle-size). The optical microscopy with polarized light and the technologic properties of the products did not showed a standard process for the production of tapioca flour.

Caracterização tecnológica de extrusados de terceira geração à base de farinhas de mandioca e pupunha / Technological chracterization of third generation extruded from cassava (Manihot esculenta crantz) and pupunha (Bactris gasipaes kunth.) flour

Conduziu-se este trabalho,com o objetivo de estudar as propriedades funcionais tecnológicas de extrusados de terceira geração obtidos de misturas de farinhas de pupunha (Bactris gasipaes Kunth.) e mandioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz), por meio das análises de densidade aparente, índice de absorção de água, índice de solubilidade em água e viscosidade de pasta (RVA). Os extrusados foram formulados, adicionando-se 15, 20 e 25 por cento de farinha de pupunha à farinha de mandioca, sendo processados em extrusora monorosca, escala piloto. Os parâmetros de extrusão foram fixos, utilizando-se cinco zonas de extrusão com temperaturas de 30ºC, 40ºC, 60ºC, 65ºC e 70ºC; velocidade do parafuso 177rpm; taxa de alimentação 292g/min e matriz laminar de 1mm. Os extrusados de terceira geração obtidos apresentaram valores relativamente baixos ou intermediários de IAA e ISA, variando de 5,01 a 6,48g/g e 5,37 a 7,34 por cento para IAA e ISA, respectivamente. Após o processo de fritura dos extrusados, observou-se expansão e, consequentemente, redução na densidade aparente dos mesmos. O desenvolvimento ou aplicação de tecnologias como a extrusão, que permitam o aproveitamento de matérias-primas regionais, entre elas a mandioca e a pupunha, é uma forma de agregação de valor às riquezas existentes e, ao mesmo tempo, possibilita a diversificação de novos produtos alimentícios prontos para o consumo.

The objective of this work was to study the technological functional properties of third generation extruded products obtained from cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and pupunha (Bactris gasipaes Kunth.) flour mixtures, in terms of apparent density, water absorption index (WAI), water solubility index (WSI) and paste viscosity. The extruded products were formulated by adding 15 percent, 20 percent or 25 percent pupunha flour to cassava flour, and processing the mixtures in a pilot scale single screw extruder. The extrusion parameters were fixed by using five extrusion zones (at 30ºC, 40ºC, 60ºC, 65ºC, and 70ºC); screw speed, 177 rpm; feed rate, 292g/min; laminar matrix with 1 mm. The formed third generation extruded presented relatively low or intermediate values of WAI and WSI. After being fried, the extruded elements were expanded and thus their apparent density were reduced. Development or application of technologies such as extrusion, which allow utilization of regional raw food materials such as cassava and pupunha, is a way of aggregating value to the natural resources, at the same time allowing development of new food products ready for consumption.