Submitted by Bruna Rodrigues (bruna92rodrigues@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-10-13T13:52:59Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissLHS.pdf: 5329246 bytes, checksum: bf67aefa7ab3954057f79b20b3f10988 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-21T13:47:37Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissLHS.pdf: 5329246 bytes, checksum: bf67aefa7ab3954057f79b20b3f10988 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-10-21T13:47:43Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissLHS.pdf: 5329246 bytes, checksum: bf67aefa7ab3954057f79b20b3f10988 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-21T13:47:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissLHS.pdf: 5329246 bytes, checksum: bf67aefa7ab3954057f79b20b3f10988 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-06-30 / Não recebi financiamento / Currently, there has been a search for economically viable and sustainable products in various market segments. Lighter materials that can be recycled have become a strategic issue for many industries. In this sense, the utilization of lignocellulosic fibers in polymeric composites, are becoming increasingly viable as substitutes for inorganic minerals reinforcements, mainly glass fibers. In this study, polypropylene (PP) natural composites reinforced with coir fiber (CF), compatibilized with maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PPMAH) and stabilized with a hindered amine (Tinuvin® 791) and UV absorber (Hostavin® ARO 8), were prepared via extrusion. The effect of the additives and their interactions and the influence of 1000 hours exposure in two types of accelerated weathering (Ultraviolet B and xenon arc) in the PP/CF composites were analyzed by mechanical properties (tensile properties), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and colorimetry. The results indicate that the incorporation of coir fiber, in the presence of the compatibilizer, significantly increases tensile strength, but in the absence of the compatibilizer, the coir fiber act as stress concentrators, allowing a lower tensile strength to the sample.The joint presence of Tinuvin® and the compatibilizer has a negative effect on tensile strength and on the compatibility of the natural fiber with the matrix. UV absorber did not affect the compatibility of the PP/CF composites. Post-weathering results indicate that UVB caused more intense degradation than xenon arc. However, decreasing Tinuvin® efficiency evidence were not possible to be confirmed. Through electron micrographs, DSC analysys and tensile tests, it is noted the additive system based on (Tinuvin®+ Hostavin®) as the most effective protection system against the artificial weathering. / Atualmente, tem-se observado a busca por produtos viáveis economicamente e sustentáveis em vários segmentos do mercado. Materiais mais leves e que possam ser reciclados se tornaram uma questão estratégica para muitas indústrias. Neste contexto, a utilização de fibras lignocelulósicas em compósitos poliméricos, estão se tornando cada vez mais viáveis como substitutas de reforços minerais inorgânicos, como a fibra de vidro. Neste trabalho, compósitos naturais de polipropileno reforçados com fibra de coco (FCo), compatibilizados com polipropileno enxertado com anidrido maleico (PPMAH) e estabilizados com uma amina estericamente impedida (Tinuvin® 791) e um absorvedor de UV (Hostavin® ARO 8), foram preparados via extrusão. Os efeitos dos aditivos e de suas interações e a influência de 1000 horas de exposição em duas fontes de intemperismo acelerado (ultravioleta B e arco xenônio) dos compósitos de PP/FCo, foram analisados através das propriedades mecânicas, em tração, microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV), calorimetria exploratória diferencial (DSC) e colorimetria. Os resultados obtidos mostram que a incorporação da fibra de coco, na presença do agente compatibilizante, confere aumentos significativos de resistência à tração, mas que na ausência deste, as fibras de coco se comportam como concentradores de tensões conferindo menor resistência à tração. A presença conjunta de Tinuvin® e agente compatibilizante gera um efeito negativo na resistência à tração e na compatibilidade da fibra natural com a matriz. O absorvedor UV não afetou a compatibilidade dos compósitos PP/FCo. A análise dos resultados pós-intemperismo revelou que a fonte UVB gerou degradação mais intensa que a fonte de arco xenônio. Porém, evidências da diminuição da eficiência do Tinuvin® não foram possíveis de serem confirmadas. Através das micrografias eletrônicas, DSC e ensaios de tração, constata-se o sistema de aditivação composto por Tinuvin®+ Hostavin® como o mais eficaz frente ao intemperismo artificial.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-02-24T19:29:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 GuilhermoVC.pdf: 1472633 bytes, checksum: 869c5418d8aa3a6746ad46d624ee2011 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-01-24 / In this work the use of coconut fiber (coir) and bamboo shafts as reinforcement of soil-cement was studied, in order to obtain an alternative material to make stakes for fences in rural properties. The main objective was to study the effect of the addition of reinforcement to the soil-cement matrix. The effect of humidity on the mechanical properties was also analyzed. The soil-cement mortar was composed by a mixture, in equal parts, of soil and river sand, 14% in weight of cement and 10 % in weight of water. As reinforcement, different combinations of (a) coconut fiber with 15 mm mean length (0,3 %, 0,6 % and 1,2 % in weight) and (b) bamboo shafts, also in crescent quantities (2, 4 and 8 shafts per specimen) were used. For each combination 6 specimens were made and these were submitted to three point flexural test after 28 days of cure. In order to evaluate the effect of humidity, 1 specimen from each of the coconut fiber reinforced combination was immersed in water 24 hours prior to flexural test. The results of the tests carried out indicated that the addition of the reinforcement affected negatively the mechanical resistance and, on the other hand, increased the tenacity and the ductility of the material. / Neste trabalho foi estudada a utiliza??o de fibra de coco e de hastes de bambu como refor?o de solo-cimento, para obten??o de um material alternativo para a confec??o de estacas para cercas em propriedades agr?colas. O objetivo principal foi estudar o efeito da adi??o de solo-cimento e, tamb?m, avaliar o efeito da umidade sobre a resist?ncia mec?nica. A argamassa de solo-cimento foi composta por uma mistura em partes iguais de solo e areia de rio (solo corrigido), 14 % em peso de cimento e 10 % em peso de ?gua. Com o refor?o foram utilizadas diferentes combina??es de (a) fibra de coco com comprimento m?dio de 15 mm (teores de 0,3 %, 0,6 % e 1,2 % em peso) e (b) hastes de bambu, tamb?m em quantidades crescentes (2, 4 e 8 hastes por corpo-de-prova). Foram confeccionados 6 corpos-de-prova para cada tratamento e esses foram submetidos a ensaios de reflex?o de tr?s pontos aos 28 dias de cura. Para avalia??o do efeito da umidade, 1 corpo de prova de cada tratamento refor?ado com fibra de coco foi imerso em ?gua pro 24 horas um dia antes da realiza??o do ensaio de flex?o. Os resultados mostraram que a inclus?o do refor?o no solo-cimento influencia negativamente a resist?ncia mec?nica e, em contrapartida, resulta no aumento da tenacidade e ductilidade do material

Cyclamens are deemed an essential cold season crop for supplementing the income of commercial growers during winter. However, cyclamens have the reputation of being a demanding commercial crop mainly due to difficulty in successful crop cultivation, lengthy production time and production costs. The economic and environmental landscape in South Africa dictates that careful consideration be given to reducing production time and costs, but still improving the quality of the commercial crop for market readiness. Growth medium are considered an important factor contributing significantly to the quality of commercially grown container cyclamens in a controlled environment. The focus of this study was on establishing the most suitable growth medium for commercially grown cyclamens in a South African environment in order to improve the quality of the commercial crop. Only one F1 variety of cyclamen was used as the sample population with a sample size of five plants per growth medium mixture planted according to a randomised block design in a specified area within a greenhouse. Seven commercially available growth medium mixtures, five locally available and two imported, were subjected to a typical production cycle of commercial cyclamens in a controlled greenhouse. The growth medium mixtures for comparison were Cyclamen Mix; 45 Mix; 50% Cyclamen Mix - 50% 45 Mix; 49 Mix; 7 Mix; coarse coir; Klasmann base 4 Substrate mix . The measuring instrument used in the study was adapted from existing instruments used in the comparison of cyclamens and growth medium. It included various measurements and observations: Plant height, plant diameter, plant weight, number of leaves, leaf width, foliage fresh weight, number of flowers, diameter of tuber and root fresh weight. The results obtained in the comparison determine the most suitable growth medium for container cyclamens for South African circumstances. The physical properties of peat retain water for a longer time which is beneficial for the production of container cyclamen. The results of this study therefore indicate that growth mediums containing peat performed better than mediums containing no peat. / Agriculture and  Animal Health / M.Sc. (Ornamental Horticulture)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / O abacaxizeiro ornamental à uma espÃcie rÃstica e exÃtica que produz âfloresâ de grande beleza, apreciadas por consumidores do mundo inteiro. Atualmente, em decorrÃncia da alta demanda do mercado consumidor, a cultura està sendo produzida em escala comercial por meio da micropropagaÃÃo, uma tÃcnica da cultura de tecidos que apresenta cinco etapas igualmente importantes. Uma delas, a aclimatizaÃÃo, à uma fase muito crÃtica, pois costuma responder pelos altos Ãndices de mortalidade e baixas taxas de crescimento das plantas. Essa situaÃÃo ocorre porque as poucas informaÃÃes sobre o manejo da cultura nessa fase sÃo, na maioria das vezes, baseadas no empirismo. Assim, as plantas aclimatizadas acabam nÃo sendo atendidas em todas as suas necessidades, o que leva a perdas considerÃveis e/ou a obtenÃÃo de mudas de qualidade variÃvel. Para minimizar esse problema e preencher a lacuna existente com informaÃÃes tÃcnicas e cientÃficas sobre o adequado manejo da cultura, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar os efeitos de distintas lÃminas e freqÃÃncias de irrigaÃÃo e de diferentes tipos e volumes de substrato na aclimatizaÃÃo de mudas micropropagadas de abacaxizeiro ornamental (Ananas comosus var. erectifolius). A pesquisa, que constou de quatro experimentos, foi conduzida em um viveiro pertencente a Embrapa AgroindÃstria Tropical, situada no municÃpio de Fortaleza-CE (3Â44â S e 38Â33â W). No primeiro experimento foram analisadas quatro lÃminas de irrigaÃÃo: 1, 2, 3 e 4 mm de Ãgua. As plantas contidas em tubetes de 180 cm3 e cultivadas no substrato pÃ-de-coco verde com hÃmus de minhoca (3:1) receberam as diferentes lÃminas dâÃgua em duas irrigaÃÃes diÃrias. No segundo experimento foram estudadas quatro freqÃÃncias de rega: 1, 2, 3 e 4 irrigaÃÃes ao dia. As plantas cultivadas em tubetes de 180 cm3, contendo o substrato pÃ-de-coco verde com hÃmus de minhoca (3:1), foram irrigadas com uma lÃmina de 3 mm de Ãgua. No terceiro experimento foram testadas quatro distintas combinaÃÃes de substratos na proporÃÃo 3:1: pÃ-de-coco seco com VitasoloÂ; pÃ-de-coco seco com hÃmus de minhoca; pÃ-de-coco verde com Vitasolo e pÃ-de-coco verde com hÃmus de minhoca. As plantas contidas em tubetes de 180 cm3 e cultivadas nos diferentes substratos foram irrigadas com uma lÃmina dâÃgua de 3 mm, aplicada duas vezes ao dia. No quarto experimento foram avaliados quatro tipos de recipiente: tubete de 300 cm3; tubete de 180 cm3; bandeja de 40 cm3âcÃlula−1 e bandeja de 30 cm3âcÃlula−1. As mudas contidas nos recipientes foram cultivadas no substrato pÃ-de-coco verde com hÃmus de minhoca (3:1) e irrigadas com uma lÃmina dâÃgua de 3 mm, aplicada duas vezes ao dia. As variÃveis agronÃmicas, avaliadas aos 52 e aos 83 DAT, foram o nÃmero de folhas, a maior largura da 3 folha e o maior diÃmetro da roseta. Entre os 93 e 97 DAT, analisaram-se os pesos fresco e seco das partes aÃrea e radicular. O delineamento experimental foi de blocos ao acaso, com 4 tratamentos e 5 repetiÃÃes para as variÃveis relacionadas com o desenvolvimento foliar, e 4 tratamentos e 4 repetiÃÃes para as variÃveis relacionadas com o peso da planta. Os resultados dos experimentos evidenciaram o melhor desenvolvimento das mudas micropropagadas de abacaxizeiro ornamental quando: irrigadas com as lÃminas de 1 mm atà os 52 DAT e de 2 mm atà os 83 DAT; submetidas à freqÃÃncia de duas aplicaÃÃes diÃrias da lÃmina dâÃgua durante todo o experimento; o substrato utilizado foi formado pela combinaÃÃo pÃ-de-coco seco com hÃmus de minhoca e cultivadas em tubetes de 180 cm3. / The ornamental pineapple is a rustic and exotic spe cies that it produces "flowers" of great beauty, appreciated by consumers of the whole world . In the present time, due to the high demand of the consumer market, the culture is being produced in commercial scale through the micropropagation, a tissue culture technique th at presents five important stages. One of them, the acclimatization, is a very critic phase b ecause it answers for the high death rates and low growth rates of the plants. This happens becaus e the little information about the culture management in this phase is based on the empiricism most of the time. Therefore, the needs of acclimatized plants are not meet, what takes to considerable losses and/or acquisition of seedlings of variable quality. To minimize this pro blem and to fill out the existent gap with technical and scientific information about the appr opriate culture management, the objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of differe nt irrigation levels and frequencies and different types and volumes of substrate in the acc limatization of micropropagated seedlings of ornamental pineapple (Ananas comosusvar.erectifolius ). The research was carried out in a greenhouse of the Embrapa Tropical Agroindustry, located at Fortaleza-CE (3Â44' S and 38Â33' W) and it consisted of four experiments. Four irrigation levels were analyzed in the first experiment: 1, 2, 3 and 4 mm. The plants, cultivated in the green coir dust substrate with wormcompost (3:1) in 180 cm 3 plastic containers, were irrigated twice a day. Four watering frequencies were studied in the second experiment: 1, 2, 3 and 4 irrigations by the day. The plants were cultivated in 180 cm 3 plastic containers that contained green coir dust substrate with wormcompost (3:1) and they were irrigated with a 3 mm water level. Four different combinations of substrate were tested in the third experiment 3:1: dry coir dust with Vitasolo Â; dry coir dust with wormcompost; green coir dust substrate with Vitasolo and green coir dust substrate with wormcompost. The plants, cultivated in the different substrates in 180 cm3 plastic containers, were irrigated with a 3 mm water level twice a day. Four plastic container types were evaluated in the fourth experi ment: 300 cm 3 plastic container; 180 cm 3 plastic container; tray of 40 cm 3Âcell −1 and tray of 30 cm 3 Âcell −1 . The seedlings were cultivated in the green coir dust substrate with wormcompost (3:1) and they were irrigated with a 3 mm water level twice a day. At 52 and 83 days after the transplant, number of leaves, largest width of the 3rd leaf and largest diameter of the r osette were evaluated. Between 93 and 97 days, root and shoot fresh/dry weight were analyzed . The experimental design was a randomized block with 4 treatments and 5 repetition s for the variables related to foliar development, and with 4 treatments and 4 repetition s for the variables related to plant weight. Results evidenced the best development of the micro propagated ornamental pineapple seedlings when: were irrigated with a 1 mm water level at 52 DAT and with a 2 mm at 83 DAT; were irrigated twice a day during whole experiment; were cultivated in 180 cm 3 plastic containers and when the substrate used was composed by dry coir dust and wormcompost.

BOMFIM, Guilherme Vieira do. Efeitos de lâminas e frequências de irrigação e de tipos e volumes de substrato na aclimatização de mudas micropropagadas de abacaxizeira ornamental. 2006. 166 f. : Dissertação (mestrado) - Departamento de Engenharia Agrícola, Curso de Pós-Graduação em Agronomia, Fortaleza-CE, 2006. / Submitted by demia Maia (demiamlm@gmail.com) on 2016-07-04T17:08:40Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2006_dis_gvbomfim.pdf: 8979352 bytes, checksum: 3e441bb11817f8fbe83119b8bc7cbe61 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by demia Maia (demiamlm@gmail.com) on 2016-07-04T17:09:05Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2006_dis_gvbomfim.pdf: 8979352 bytes, checksum: 3e441bb11817f8fbe83119b8bc7cbe61 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-04T17:09:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2006_dis_gvbomfim.pdf: 8979352 bytes, checksum: 3e441bb11817f8fbe83119b8bc7cbe61 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / The ornamental pineapple is a rustic and exotic spe cies that it produces "flowers" of great beauty, appreciated by consumers of the whole world . In the present time, due to the high demand of the consumer market, the culture is being produced in commercial scale through the micropropagation, a tissue culture technique th at presents five important stages. One of them, the acclimatization, is a very critic phase b ecause it answers for the high death rates and low growth rates of the plants. This happens becaus e the little information about the culture management in this phase is based on the empiricism most of the time. Therefore, the needs of acclimatized plants are not meet, what takes to considerable losses and/or acquisition of seedlings of variable quality. To minimize this pro blem and to fill out the existent gap with technical and scientific information about the appr opriate culture management, the objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of differe nt irrigation levels and frequencies and different types and volumes of substrate in the acc limatization of micropropagated seedlings of ornamental pineapple (Ananas comosusvar.erectifolius ). The research was carried out in a greenhouse of the Embrapa Tropical Agroindustry, located at Fortaleza-CE (3º44' S and 38º33' W) and it consisted of four experiments. Four irrigation levels were analyzed in the first experiment: 1, 2, 3 and 4 mm. The plants, cultivated in the green coir dust substrate with wormcompost (3:1) in 180 cm 3 plastic containers, were irrigated twice a day. Four watering frequencies were studied in the second experiment: 1, 2, 3 and 4 irrigations by the day. The plants were cultivated in 180 cm 3 plastic containers that contained green coir dust substrate with wormcompost (3:1) and they were irrigated with a 3 mm water level. Four different combinations of substrate were tested in the third experiment 3:1: dry coir dust with Vitasolo ®; dry coir dust with wormcompost; green coir dust substrate with Vitasolo® and green coir dust substrate with wormcompost. The plants, cultivated in the different substrates in 180 cm3 plastic containers, were irrigated with a 3 mm water level twice a day. Four plastic container types were evaluated in the fourth experi ment: 300 cm 3 plastic container; 180 cm 3 plastic container; tray of 40 cm 3·cell −1 and tray of 30 cm 3 ·cell −1 . The seedlings were cultivated in the green coir dust substrate with wormcompost (3:1) and they were irrigated with a 3 mm water level twice a day. At 52 and 83 days after the transplant, number of leaves, largest width of the 3rd leaf and largest diameter of the r osette were evaluated. Between 93 and 97 days, root and shoot fresh/dry weight were analyzed . The experimental design was a randomized block with 4 treatments and 5 repetition s for the variables related to foliar development, and with 4 treatments and 4 repetition s for the variables related to plant weight. Results evidenced the best development of the micro propagated ornamental pineapple seedlings when: were irrigated with a 1 mm water level at 52 DAT and with a 2 mm at 83 DAT; were irrigated twice a day during whole experiment; were cultivated in 180 cm 3 plastic containers and when the substrate used was composed by dry coir dust and wormcompost. / O abacaxizeiro ornamental é uma espécie rústica e exótica que produz “flores” de grande beleza, apreciadas por consumidores do mundo inteiro. Atualmente, em decorrência da alta demanda do mercado consumidor, a cultura está sendo produzida em escala comercial por meio da micropropagação, uma técnica da cultura de tecidos que apresenta cinco etapas igualmente importantes. Uma delas, a aclimatização, é uma fase muito crítica, pois costuma responder pelos altos índices de mortalidade e baixas taxas de crescimento das plantas. Essa situação ocorre porque as poucas informações sobre o manejo da cultura nessa fase são, na maioria das vezes, baseadas no empirismo. Assim, as plantas aclimatizadas acabam não sendo atendidas em todas as suas necessidades, o que leva a perdas consideráveis e/ou a obtenção de mudas de qualidade variável. Para minimizar esse problema e preencher a lacuna existente com informações técnicas e científicas sobre o adequado manejo da cultura, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar os efeitos de distintas lâminas e freqüências de irrigação e de diferentes tipos e volumes de substrato na aclimatização de mudas micropropagadas de abacaxizeiro ornamental (Ananas comosus var. erectifolius). A pesquisa, que constou de quatro experimentos, foi conduzida em um viveiro pertencente a Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical, situada no município de Fortaleza-CE (3º44’ S e 38º33’ W). No primeiro experimento foram analisadas quatro lâminas de irrigação: 1, 2, 3 e 4 mm de água. As plantas contidas em tubetes de 180 cm3 e cultivadas no substrato pó-de-coco verde com húmus de minhoca (3:1) receberam as diferentes lâminas d’água em duas irrigações diárias. No segundo experimento foram estudadas quatro freqüências de rega: 1, 2, 3 e 4 irrigações ao dia. As plantas cultivadas em tubetes de 180 cm3, contendo o substrato pó-de-coco verde com húmus de minhoca (3:1), foram irrigadas com uma lâmina de 3 mm de água. No terceiro experimento foram testadas quatro distintas combinações de substratos na proporção 3:1: pó-de-coco seco com Vitasolo®; pó-de-coco seco com húmus de minhoca; pó-de-coco verde com Vitasolo® e pó-de-coco verde com húmus de minhoca. As plantas contidas em tubetes de 180 cm3 e cultivadas nos diferentes substratos foram irrigadas com uma lâmina d’água de 3 mm, aplicada duas vezes ao dia. No quarto experimento foram avaliados quatro tipos de recipiente: tubete de 300 cm3; tubete de 180 cm3; bandeja de 40 cm3•célula−1 e bandeja de 30 cm3•célula−1. As mudas contidas nos recipientes foram cultivadas no substrato pó-de-coco verde com húmus de minhoca (3:1) e irrigadas com uma lâmina d’água de 3 mm, aplicada duas vezes ao dia. As variáveis agronômicas, avaliadas aos 52 e aos 83 DAT, foram o número de folhas, a maior largura da 3ª folha e o maior diâmetro da roseta. Entre os 93 e 97 DAT, analisaram-se os pesos fresco e seco das partes aérea e radicular. O delineamento experimental foi de blocos ao acaso, com 4 tratamentos e 5 repetições para as variáveis relacionadas com o desenvolvimento foliar, e 4 tratamentos e 4 repetições para as variáveis relacionadas com o peso da planta. Os resultados dos experimentos evidenciaram o melhor desenvolvimento das mudas micropropagadas de abacaxizeiro ornamental quando: irrigadas com as lâminas de 1 mm até os 52 DAT e de 2 mm até os 83 DAT; submetidas à freqüência de duas aplicações diárias da lâmina d’água durante todo o experimento; o substrato utilizado foi formado pela combinação pó-de-coco seco com húmus de minhoca e cultivadas em tubetes de 180 cm3.

No description available.

Freshwater is a finite resource that is rapidly becoming more scrutinized in agricultural consumption. Specialty crop producers, especially ornamental crop producers, must continually improve production sustainability, with regards to water resource management, in order to continue to stay economically viable. Soilless substrates were initially developed to have increased porosity and relatively low water holding capacity to ensure container crops would not remain overhydrated after irrigations or rain events. As a result, substrates were selected that are now considered to be in efficient in regards to water resource management. Therefore, to provide growers with additional means to improve production sustainability, soilless substrate hydrology needs be innovated to provide increased water availability while continuing to provide ample air filled porosity to ensure productive and efficient water interactions. Historically, soilless substrates have been characterized using "static" physical properties (i.e. maximum water holding capacity and minimum air-filled porosity). The research herein involves integrating dynamic soilless substrate hydraulic properties to understand how substrate hydrology can be manipulated to design sustainable substrates. This task involved adapting new technologies to analyze hydrological properties of peat and pine bark substrates by employing evaporative moisture characteristic measurements, which were originally designed for mineral soils, for soilless substrate analyses. Utilizing these evaporative measurements provide more accurate measures of substrate water potentials between -10 and -800 hPa than traditional pressure plate measurements. Soilless substrates were engineered, utilizing only three common substrate components [stabilized pine bark (Pinus taedea L.), Sphagnum peatmoss, and coconut coir fiber], via particle fractionation and fibrous additions. The engineering process yielded substrates with increased unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, pore connectivity, and more uniform pore size distributions. These substrates were tested in a greenhouse with irrigation systems designed to hold substrates at (-100 to -300 hPa) or approaching (-50 to -100 hPa) water potentials associated with drought stress. Substrate-water dynamics were monitored, as were plant morphology and drought stress indicators. It was determined that increased substrate unsaturated hydraulic conductivity within the production water potentials, allowed for increased crop growth, reduction in drought stress indicators, while producing marketable plants. Furthermore, individual plants were produced using as low as 5.3 L per plant. Increased production range substrate hydraulic conductivity was able to maintain necessary levels of air-filled porosity due to reduced irrigation volumes, while providing water for plants when needed. The substrates were able to conduct water from throughout the container volume to the plant roots for uptake when roots reduced substrate water potential. Furthermore, increased substrate hydraulic conductivity allowed plants within the substrate to continue absorbing water at much lower water potentials than those in unaltered (control) pine bark. Finally, HYDRUS models were utilized to simulate water flux through containerized substrates. These models allowed for better understanding of how individual hydraulic properties influence substrate water flux, and provided insight towards proportions of inaccessible pores, which do not maintain sufficient levels of available water. With the models, researchers will be able to simulate new substrates, and utilize model predictions to provide insight toward new substrates prior to implementing production tests. It has been determined, that increasing substrate hydraulic conductivity, which can be done with just commonly used components, water requirements for production can be reduced, to produce crops with minimal wasted water resources. Concluding, that re-engineering substrate hydrology can ameliorate production sustainability and decrease environmental impact. / Ph. D. / The world is rapidly approaching a time when water will become a limited resource, not only for agriculture, but all daily uses. As a result specialty crop production must continue to increase sustainability in order to continue to thrive. One area where growers and researchers believe environmental stewardship can be increased is through designing more resource efficient soilless substrates. Soilless substrates (potting media) are utilized world-wide by container crop producers as a rooting medium for specialty crops. These substrates were developed to be very forgiving for growers. By that, growers could apply excess water through irrigation or precipitations and these substrates were designed to readily drain excess water. This provides an opportunity to create more water efficient substrates to help reduce water consumption by container nurseries. The processes involving water-air-substrate interactions within the container are not well understood. As a result, my research involves measuring, manipulating, maintaining, and modeling substrate hydrology in an effort to design substrates that will conserve water in container production. I incorporated new technology used in Soil Science to measure hydraulic properties of soilless substrates through the evaporative method. I then understood how growers and allied suppliers can easily modify these substrate hydraulic properties. Next, I researched how these manipulated hydraulic properties would influence plant growth and vitality, by maintaining drought level irrigation levels over multiple crops. Finally, I modeled substrate hydraulic properties to better understand water movement through a container. Through the research herein, I was able to determine that substrate hydrology can be easily modified to provide container crops with more easily accessed water, while still keeping sufficient air-space for plant growth. Increasing unsaturated hydraulic conductivity in soilless substrates, allows ornamental crops to be held at lower water regimes moisture levels traditionally considered to be drought levels. Utilizing the HYDRUS model, I was able to determine how to develop future substrate models that will accurately simulate real-world outcomes, providing researchers with another tool to quickly predict impacts of newly developed (or still in development) soilless substrates on water status in container production.

No presente trabalho, tanino (macromolécula de origem natural) foi utilizado como substituinte de fenol na formulação de matriz fenólica usada na preparação de compósitos, o que é possível devido à presença de anéis fenólicos sua estrutura. Os compósitos de matriz taninofenólica (50% em massa de tanino) apresentaram propriedades mecânicas superiores aquelas dos compósitos de matriz fenólica, quando reforçados pelo mesmo tipo de fibra, mostrando que a substituição de material obtido em larga escala a partir de fonte fóssil (fenol) é viável e pode ser feita por material obtido de fonte renovável (tanino) sem comprometimento de propriedades. Ainda, avaliou-se para propriedades de compósitos com diferentes tipos de reforços (fibras e cargas) através de caracterizações via análise térmica (TG e DSC), análise dinâmico-mecânica, espectroscopia na região do infravermelho, resistência ao impacto, absorção de água e microscopia eletrônica de varredura. Os ensaios de resistência ao impacto indicaram uma melhora de propriedades mecânicas quando da incorporação de fibras vegetais (juta e coco) nos termorrígidos fenólico e taninofenólico, além de mostrar que as fibras de juta reforçam as matrizes taninofenólicas mais eficientemente que as fibras de coco. As cascas da árvore de Acácia Negra, ricas em taninos, também foram utilizadas como agentes de reforço em compósitos na forma de fibras e cargas, obtidos através de desfibramento e pulverização, respectivamente. A utilização destes reforços, em diferentes proporções de massa, em compósitos de matriz taninofenólica (50% de tanino) levou a diferenças nas propriedades do compósito, com destaque para baixa absorção de água. Provavelmente, a presença de taninos no reforço e na matriz levou a intensas interações na interface fibra/matriz, diminuindo o número de vazios que podem alojar moléculas de água. As fibras de coco foram tratadas por ultra-som, a fim de avaliar a influência deste tratamento nas propriedades da fibra e dos compósitos reforçados por elas. As fibras de coco tratadas e não-tratadas foram caracterizadas quanto à composição química, índice de cristalinidade, ensaio de tração e microscopia eletrônica de varredura. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que o ultra-som é um tratamento promissor, pois modifica a morfologia da superfície das fibras sem levar à degradação química, sendo que a separação dos feixes de fibra que ocorre permite melhor interação fibra/matriz na interface, obtendo-se assim compósitos mais resistentes à água. Outros tratamentos utilizados em trabalhos anteriores a este, como mercerização, diminuem absorção de água dos compósitos por ela reforçados, ao custo de parcial degradação das fibras lignocelulósicas. No presente trabalho, materiais preparados a partir de matéria-prima oriunda de fontes renováveis foram processados, o que vem de encontro aos anseios atuais. Os compósitos obtidos têm potencial para aplicações não estruturais, por exemplo, em partes internas de veículos automotivos. / In the present work, tannin (macromolecule obtained from natural source) was used as substitute of phenol in the formulation of phenolic matrix composites, due to the presence of phenolic rings in its structure. The tanninphenolic matrix composites (50% w/w of tannin) presented mechanical properties better than those of phenolic matrix composites showing that substitution of material obtained in large scale from non-renewable source (phenol) can be done by material obtained from natural source (tannin) without compromising the properties of the composite. The tanninphenolic matrix composites reinforced by different reinforcing agents (fibers and particules) were characterized by different techniques: Izod impact strength, thermogravimetry (TG), differential scanning calorymetry (DSC), infrared spectroscopy (IV), dynamic-mechanical analysis (DMA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The Izod impact strength showed an improvement of mechanical properties due to the incorporation of natural fibres (jute and coir) in the phenolic and tanninphenolic matrices and also the better reinforcement of these matrices by jute fibres, when compared to coir fibres. The barks of Acacia Mimosa (high content of tannin) were also used as reinforcing agents of the tanninphenolic matrices in the forms of fibres and particules. The presence of these reinforcing agents in the matrix led to differences in the properties of the composites, highlighted by its lower water uptake. The presence of tannins in both reinforcing agents and matrix enhanced the fiber/matrix interactions, lowering the voids that increase water uptake. The coir fibres were treated by ultrasound, in order to evaluate the influence of this treatment in the properties of the fibres and, therefore, the composites reinforced with them. Besides chemical composition, all the fibres were characterized by the following techniques: X-ray diffraction, tensile strengh, infrared spectroscopy (IV), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results revealed that the ultrasound is a promising treatment of fibres for the processing of composites, because it modifies the morphology of the surface of fibres without leading them to chemical degradation. The separation of fiber beams allows enhancement of the fiber/matrix interactions, leading to composites with lower water absorption capacity. Other treatments, such as mercerization, for example, improved the impregnation of the fibres by the pre-polymer, leading to composites with better properties, at expenses of partial degradation of lignocellullosic fibres. In the present work, composites were prepared using material obtained from renewable source, according to the purpose of this work. The obtained composites presents potential for non-structural applications, such as, internal panels of cars, for example.

No presente trabalho, tanino (macromolécula de origem natural) foi utilizado como substituinte de fenol na formulação de matriz fenólica usada na preparação de compósitos, o que é possível devido à presença de anéis fenólicos sua estrutura. Os compósitos de matriz taninofenólica (50% em massa de tanino) apresentaram propriedades mecânicas superiores aquelas dos compósitos de matriz fenólica, quando reforçados pelo mesmo tipo de fibra, mostrando que a substituição de material obtido em larga escala a partir de fonte fóssil (fenol) é viável e pode ser feita por material obtido de fonte renovável (tanino) sem comprometimento de propriedades. Ainda, avaliou-se para propriedades de compósitos com diferentes tipos de reforços (fibras e cargas) através de caracterizações via análise térmica (TG e DSC), análise dinâmico-mecânica, espectroscopia na região do infravermelho, resistência ao impacto, absorção de água e microscopia eletrônica de varredura. Os ensaios de resistência ao impacto indicaram uma melhora de propriedades mecânicas quando da incorporação de fibras vegetais (juta e coco) nos termorrígidos fenólico e taninofenólico, além de mostrar que as fibras de juta reforçam as matrizes taninofenólicas mais eficientemente que as fibras de coco. As cascas da árvore de Acácia Negra, ricas em taninos, também foram utilizadas como agentes de reforço em compósitos na forma de fibras e cargas, obtidos através de desfibramento e pulverização, respectivamente. A utilização destes reforços, em diferentes proporções de massa, em compósitos de matriz taninofenólica (50% de tanino) levou a diferenças nas propriedades do compósito, com destaque para baixa absorção de água. Provavelmente, a presença de taninos no reforço e na matriz levou a intensas interações na interface fibra/matriz, diminuindo o número de vazios que podem alojar moléculas de água. As fibras de coco foram tratadas por ultra-som, a fim de avaliar a influência deste tratamento nas propriedades da fibra e dos compósitos reforçados por elas. As fibras de coco tratadas e não-tratadas foram caracterizadas quanto à composição química, índice de cristalinidade, ensaio de tração e microscopia eletrônica de varredura. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que o ultra-som é um tratamento promissor, pois modifica a morfologia da superfície das fibras sem levar à degradação química, sendo que a separação dos feixes de fibra que ocorre permite melhor interação fibra/matriz na interface, obtendo-se assim compósitos mais resistentes à água. Outros tratamentos utilizados em trabalhos anteriores a este, como mercerização, diminuem absorção de água dos compósitos por ela reforçados, ao custo de parcial degradação das fibras lignocelulósicas. No presente trabalho, materiais preparados a partir de matéria-prima oriunda de fontes renováveis foram processados, o que vem de encontro aos anseios atuais. Os compósitos obtidos têm potencial para aplicações não estruturais, por exemplo, em partes internas de veículos automotivos. / In the present work, tannin (macromolecule obtained from natural source) was used as substitute of phenol in the formulation of phenolic matrix composites, due to the presence of phenolic rings in its structure. The tanninphenolic matrix composites (50% w/w of tannin) presented mechanical properties better than those of phenolic matrix composites showing that substitution of material obtained in large scale from non-renewable source (phenol) can be done by material obtained from natural source (tannin) without compromising the properties of the composite. The tanninphenolic matrix composites reinforced by different reinforcing agents (fibers and particules) were characterized by different techniques: Izod impact strength, thermogravimetry (TG), differential scanning calorymetry (DSC), infrared spectroscopy (IV), dynamic-mechanical analysis (DMA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The Izod impact strength showed an improvement of mechanical properties due to the incorporation of natural fibres (jute and coir) in the phenolic and tanninphenolic matrices and also the better reinforcement of these matrices by jute fibres, when compared to coir fibres. The barks of Acacia Mimosa (high content of tannin) were also used as reinforcing agents of the tanninphenolic matrices in the forms of fibres and particules. The presence of these reinforcing agents in the matrix led to differences in the properties of the composites, highlighted by its lower water uptake. The presence of tannins in both reinforcing agents and matrix enhanced the fiber/matrix interactions, lowering the voids that increase water uptake. The coir fibres were treated by ultrasound, in order to evaluate the influence of this treatment in the properties of the fibres and, therefore, the composites reinforced with them. Besides chemical composition, all the fibres were characterized by the following techniques: X-ray diffraction, tensile strengh, infrared spectroscopy (IV), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results revealed that the ultrasound is a promising treatment of fibres for the processing of composites, because it modifies the morphology of the surface of fibres without leading them to chemical degradation. The separation of fiber beams allows enhancement of the fiber/matrix interactions, leading to composites with lower water absorption capacity. Other treatments, such as mercerization, for example, improved the impregnation of the fibres by the pre-polymer, leading to composites with better properties, at expenses of partial degradation of lignocellullosic fibres. In the present work, composites were prepared using material obtained from renewable source, according to the purpose of this work. The obtained composites presents potential for non-structural applications, such as, internal panels of cars, for example.