Wood properties of Carapa guianensis from floodplain and upland forests in Eastern Amazonia, Brazil.

The variable environmental conditions of the Amazon forest can affect the wood properties of the tree species distributed across its diverse phytophysiognomies. Carapa guianensis (Andiroba) occurs in upland and floodplain forests, and the wood and oil of its seeds have multiple uses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the wood properties of C. guianensis trees in upland and estuarine floodplain forests of the Amazon River. Eight trees were selected, with four being from the upland and four from the floodplain forests. The fiber length, fiber wall thickness, vessel diameter and frequency, microfibril angle, specific gravity and wood shrinkage were evaluated. The juvenile and mature wood zones were determined according to these variables. The fiber length, fiber wall thickness and specific gravity increased, and microfibril angle decreased, in the pith to bark direction. Only the fiber length variable was efficient for delimiting juvenile, transition and mature wood. The fiber length, wall thickness and specific gravity of wood were higher in upland forest trees. However, the environment did not alter the beginning of the formation and proportion of C. guianensis mature wood. This information is important for the log fit in cutting diagrams, aiming toward improving the production, classification and processing of pieces with specific quality indexes in order to direct them to appropriate wood uses.

Qualidade das sementes de diferentes genótipos de grão-de-bico produzidas no norte de Minas Gerais / Quality of the seeds of different genotypes of chickpea produced in the north of Minas Gerais

A expansão das áreas para o cultivo de grão-de-bico depende da produção de sementes detentoras de qualidade superior. Neste trabalho, foram avaliadas as principais características físicas, fisiológicas e sanitárias em sementes de seis genótipos de grão-de-bico produzidas em Montes Claros, Norte de Minas Gerias. As variáveis analisadas foram o grau de umidade, a pureza física, a massa de mil sementes, a uniformidade, a porcentagem de germinação, a primeira contagem do teste de germinação, o índice de velocidade de germinação e de emergência, a massa seca da parte aérea das plântulas e a ocorrência de microrganismos e de pragas de armazenamento nas sementes. A qualidade física, fisiológica e sanitária das sementes foi afetada pelos diferentes genótipos de grão-de-bico analisados. As variações quanto à qualidade física das sementes entre os genótipos de grão-de-bico não estão relacionadas à qualidade fisiológica e sanitária destas. De maneira geral, as sementes do genótipo CNPH 08-04 apresentaram qualidade física, fisiológica e sanitária superior à qualidade das sementes dos demais genótipos.

The expansion of the areas for chickpea culture depends on the production of seeds of superior quality. In this study, it was evaluated the main physical, physiological and sanitary characteristics in seeds of six genotypes of chickpea produced in Montes Claros, North of Minas Gerais. The analyzed variables were the moisture content, the physical purity, the mass of a thousand seeds, the uniformity, the percentage of germination, the first count of the test germination, the rate of speed germination and emergency, the dry mass of the aerial part of the seedling and the occurrence of microorganisms and plagues in seed storage. The physical, physiological and sanitary quality of the seeds was affected by different genotypes of the chickpea analyzed. The variations in relation to the physical quality of the seeds between the genotypes of chickpea are not related to sanitary and physiological quality of them. In general, the seeds of genotype CNPH 08-04 showed physical, physiological and sanitary superior quality in relation to the seeds of other genotypes.