Thesis(M.Sc)--University of Limpopo, 2010. / Bush tea (Athrixia phylicoides DC.) has received interest as another indigenous South African herbal tea with potential for commercialization. The success of commercialization of bush tea hinges on maintenance or enhancement of quality of bush tea as a herbal beverage. Herbal tea quality is one of the critical factors in commercialization that would determine the price of tea for local sale and export. A research was conducted to determine chemical profiles of bush tea at different phenological stages and as influenced by pruning and application of growth regulators. A trial to determine the quality of tea harvested at various phenological stages (namely new growth, older growth and whole plants) from wild and cultivated bush tea was conducted. This was to help determine the best phenological stage to harvest bush tea of best quality. In cultivated bush tea, harvested new growth or as whole plants proved to be of higher quality owing to their higher polyphenol and tannin attributes respectively. In wild bush tea, both new and older growth proved to be of good quality owing to the higher total polyphenol content and higher total antioxidants, respectively. A trial to determine the effect of pruning at different heights on growth and quality of bush tea was also conducted. Pruning of bush tea largely led to yield reduction. Unpruned tea plants remained the tallest plants, with higher number of branches, bigger leaf area and a larger biomass than apically, middle and base pruned bush tea plants. Pruning at different heights also proved to have little or no effect on quality of bush tea. While only total polyphenols remained higher in unpruned tea plants, no significant differences were observed in tannin and total antioxidant content in unpruned, apically, middle and base pruned tea plants. A third trial was conducted to investigate the effects of gibberellins on sprouting and quality of bush tea. The trial results showed that gibberellin application had a iv favourable effect on growth of bush tea, with application of 3% and 4% yielding the highest growth. The results also indicated a declining total polyphenol and antioxidant content with increasing gibberellin application rate, while tannins peaked at 2% application rate.

Shifts in species’ phenologies and phenological asynchronies between the interacting organisms have received a lot of attention in the context of climate change. Changes in temporal overlap between species, caused by phenological asynchrony, make species depending on one another become so separated in time that they can no longer interact. This may have important consequences both for single species, like fluctuations in abundances, and for the functioning of whole communities by creating mismatches between trophic levels and rearrangements of community structure. This thesis focuses on the impact of temperatures on spring timing and phenological synchrony in a herbivorous insect – host plant system, consisting of the orange tipbutterfly Anthocharis cardamines and five of its Brassicaceae host plant species. Paper I demonstrates that diapause duration and winter thermal conditions can determine the timing of spring emergence in the herbivore, and these traits may differ between species with different feeding strategies. In paper II we show that thermal reaction norms of post-winterdevelopment of A. cardamines display cogradient latitudinal variation.Paper III shows that temperature-mediated phenological plasticity of A. cardamines butterflies and a majority of the most used host plant species is similar within populations originating from different latitudes. Thus, the species’ timing appeared well conserved in response to thermal variation. In paper IV we explored the importance of the butterfly’s adult emergence and thermal conditions on the succeeding part of the butterfly’s life-cycle – larval development. The outcome from the interaction was examined for both the insect and the plant side. The degree in phenological overlap between the female butterflies and host plants as well as temperatures during larval development were found to influence larval development but had no effect on plant reproductive fitness. The four papers of the presented thesis demonstrate that developmental preadaptations, evolvedin a herbivore to maintain phenological synchrony with host plants across yearly variation of spring conditions, can prevent disruption of the interaction under a wide range of temperatures. This indicates that temporary constrained interactions are not always vulnerable to decoupling, particularly if they involve generalist strategy. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Submitted.</p> / Ekoklim

A cultura do porongo ou cabaça [Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standl] é importante para a agricultura familiar em várias regiões do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, porque sua rentabilidade, que viabiliza a pequena propriedade, e propicia empregos no campo, no processamento e na comercialização da cuia e artesanatos derivados. A pesquisa foi realizada com a finalidade de estudar a morfologia, fenologia e biologia floral do porongueiro, como base para outras pesquisas, e, também, para subsidiar o manejo da cultura. No experimento sobre densidade de plantas (6.666, 3.333, 2.222 e 1.666 plantas ha-1) avaliou-se a produtividade e a qualidade da cuia, assim como realizou os estudos sobre a fenologia e morfologia. A biologia floral foi estudada em casa de vegetação. Identificou as fases fenológicas e a duração das mesmas em graus-dia acumulados. A relação área foliar por fruto foi muito alta, e a taxa de fecundação baixa; e a cor pardo-escura do pedicelo do fruto serviu como indicador do ponto de colheita. A polinização das flores dependeu de agente biótico. A produtividade aumentou com a densidade de plantas, sem, no entanto, ficar estabelecido a população máxima. Os atributos morfológicos de qualidade da cuia não variaram com a densidade de plantas, no intervalo da pesquisa. / The cultivation of the bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standl] is an important crop for the familiar farming of several regions of Rio Grande does Sul, states Brazil. Due to profitability enables the small property, and also provides jobs in the field, in the processing and marketing of the gourd and derivative handicrafts. The research was conducted in order to study the morphology, phenology and floral biology of the bottle gourd plant, as a basis for further researches, and also to subsidize the crop management. The experiment of the plants density (6.666, 3.333, 2.222 and 1.666 plants ha-1), in which was evaluated productivity and the quality of the gourd, as well as studies conducted on the phenology and morphology. The floral biology was studied in a greenhouse. Identified phenological phases and the duration of the same in degree-days. The relative leaf area per fruit was very high, and low fertilization rate, and the dark-brown color of the fruit pedicel served as an indicator of harvest time. The pollination of flowers depended on biotic agent. The productivity of the gourd increased with the density of the plants, without establishing the maximum population. The morphological attributes of quality of the gourd did not varied with the plants density, in the interval of the research.

A cultura do porongo ou cabaça [Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standl] é importante para a agricultura familiar em várias regiões do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, porque sua rentabilidade, que viabiliza a pequena propriedade, e propicia empregos no campo, no processamento e na comercialização da cuia e artesanatos derivados. A pesquisa foi realizada com a finalidade de estudar a morfologia, fenologia e biologia floral do porongueiro, como base para outras pesquisas, e, também, para subsidiar o manejo da cultura. No experimento sobre densidade de plantas (6.666, 3.333, 2.222 e 1.666 plantas ha-1) avaliou-se a produtividade e a qualidade da cuia, assim como realizou os estudos sobre a fenologia e morfologia. A biologia floral foi estudada em casa de vegetação. Identificou as fases fenológicas e a duração das mesmas em graus-dia acumulados. A relação área foliar por fruto foi muito alta, e a taxa de fecundação baixa; e a cor pardo-escura do pedicelo do fruto serviu como indicador do ponto de colheita. A polinização das flores dependeu de agente biótico. A produtividade aumentou com a densidade de plantas, sem, no entanto, ficar estabelecido a população máxima. Os atributos morfológicos de qualidade da cuia não variaram com a densidade de plantas, no intervalo da pesquisa. / The cultivation of the bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standl] is an important crop for the familiar farming of several regions of Rio Grande does Sul, states Brazil. Due to profitability enables the small property, and also provides jobs in the field, in the processing and marketing of the gourd and derivative handicrafts. The research was conducted in order to study the morphology, phenology and floral biology of the bottle gourd plant, as a basis for further researches, and also to subsidize the crop management. The experiment of the plants density (6.666, 3.333, 2.222 and 1.666 plants ha-1), in which was evaluated productivity and the quality of the gourd, as well as studies conducted on the phenology and morphology. The floral biology was studied in a greenhouse. Identified phenological phases and the duration of the same in degree-days. The relative leaf area per fruit was very high, and low fertilization rate, and the dark-brown color of the fruit pedicel served as an indicator of harvest time. The pollination of flowers depended on biotic agent. The productivity of the gourd increased with the density of the plants, without establishing the maximum population. The morphological attributes of quality of the gourd did not varied with the plants density, in the interval of the research.

MSc., Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011 / The behaviour and physiology of every insect, during all developmental stages, is largely determined by temperature. Metabolic rate, flight activity, nutrition, growth rate, oviposition and longevity can all be correlated to temperature. Consequently, insect development occurs within a definite temperature range which can be experimentally determined. This serves as a basis from which models that estimate insect growth, development and reproduction can be formulated. Such studies on temperature-dependent development are therefore important for understanding predator-prey relationships and insect population dynamics relevant in epidemiology, pest management and biological control of weeds and insect pests. The biological control of water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes (Pontederiaceae), in South Africa currently relies on six established agents. However, the results of this programme do not compare well with the achievements made elsewhere. This has been attributed to a number of constraining factors, chief among which is a wide variety of climatic regions, low minimum temperatures and a high incidence of frosting which slows the build-up of natural enemy populations. This research verified and augmented the thermal tolerance data available for three of South Africa’s more efficacious agents used against water hyacinth, namely Neochetina eichhorniae, N. bruchi (Curculionidae) and Eccritotarsus catarinensis (Miridae). Using these data, plant productivity and insect activity was modelled against fine-scale temperature data incorporating three distinct microclimates from 14 field sites distributed throughout South Africa’s climatic regions. Water hyacinth and its natural enemies were found to be negatively affected by low average temperatures. However, the relative consequences for each species at a population level were quite different. Similar thresholds for development, close to 10°C, meant that periods available for growth in areas where temperature is limiting were roughly the same for both plant and insects. Nevertheless, although plant growth largely ceased each winter and aerial parts were often extensively damaged from frost, low temperatures rarely led to significant plant mortality. By contrast, reduced insect recruitment coupled with a high susceptibility to cold- and frost-induced mortality of all life-history stages, pushed insect populations into winter bottlenecks and even caused local extinctions. The ability to overwinter effectively appears to the primary cause for limited control in colder regions. Surviving post-winter insect populations were therefore small, inflicted minimal damage due to reduced feeding rates, and were generally asynchronous with the recovery of water hyacinth. This asynchronous development translated into a lag period of roughly 42 days between the onset of water hyacinth growth and the time at which the plant was subjected to meaningful herbivory. Free from early season herbivory, coupled with the fact that vegetative reproduction continued through winter, water hyacinth populations were able to quickly recover and outpaced the detrimental affects caused by insect feeding well into the growth season. The implications for supplementary management strategies are also discussed in light of these outcomes.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T17:37:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Salvador_Antonio_Sarto.PDF: 1146081 bytes, checksum: 282f325407e777428763559c076c899c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The aim of this work was to evaluate the best phenological stage of soybeans to make fungicide application for the control of Asian rust, based with or without uredospores the collector of spores. The experimental design used for the experiments was conducted in randomized blocks with four replications. The treatments were as follows: in the first experiment with the collector uredospore indicating the time of application in R1 (T - 1), R2 (T - 2), R3 (T - 3), R4 (T - 4), R5 ( T - 5), R6 (T - 6), T - 7 (no control) and T - 8 (full control) in the second experiment was applied fungicide at the same times of experiment 1, but without considering the collector as an indicator of the time of application of this product in soybeans. The fungicide was applied azoxystrobin + cyproconazole in a dose of 0.3 ha-1 in 200 L ha-1 spray volume, with the aid of pressurized with CO2 spray and equipped with tips of the fan type LD 110.02, the performance of the combined analysis indicated that for the agronomic characteristics, number of plants per area, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod and 100-grain mass was no significant difference (P <0.05) in function of use or non-collector as well as in relation to different application times of azoxystrobin + cyproconazole. However, in relation to productivity of grains observed that when the fungicide has been applied in the phenological stage R6 increased by approximately 22% compared to the applied R5, but not significantly different stages of R2 and R4. For incidence and severity of disease using collector indicated the time of fungicide application at phenological stage R5, providing less area under the curve of progress of the disease / O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar qual o melhor estádio fenológico na cultura da soja para realizar aplicação de fungicida, visando o controle da ferrugem asiática, tendo por base a presença ou não de uredósporos no coletor de esporos. O delineamento experimental utilizado para os experimentos conduzidos foi em blocos casualizados com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos foram os seguintes: no primeiro experimento com o coletor de uredósporos indicando o momento da aplicação em R1 (T - 1), R2 (T - 2), R3 (T - 3), R4 (T - 4), R5 (T - 5), R6 (T - 6), T - 7 (sem controle) e T - 8 (com controle total); no segundo experimento foi aplicado fungicida nas mesmas épocas do experimento 1, porém sem considerar o coletor como indicador do momento de aplicação desse produto na soja. O fungicida aplicado foi o azoxystrobina + cyproconazole na dose de 0,3 L ha-1 em 200 L ha-1 de volume de calda, com o auxílio de pulverizador pressurizado com CO2 e equipado com pontas do tipo leque 110.02 LD. A realização da análise conjunta indicou que para as características agronômicas, número de plantas por área, número de vagens por planta, número de sementes por vagem e massa de 100 grãos não houve diferença significativa (P<0,05) em função da utilização ou não do coletor, bem como em relação às diferentes épocas de aplicação de azoxystrobina + cyproconazole. No entanto, com relação à produtividade de grãos observou-se que quando foi aplicado o fungicida no estádio fenológico R6 houve aumento de aproximadamente de 22% em relação à aplicação em R5, mas não diferiu estatisticamente dos estádios R2 e R4. Para incidência e severidade da doença o uso de coletor indicou o melhor momento da aplicação de fungicida no estádio fenológico R5, proporcionando menor área abaixo da curva do progresso da doença

Submitted by Edineia Teixeira (edineia.teixeira@unioeste.br) on 2017-08-31T19:33:36Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Willyan_Becker2017.pdf: 12083877 bytes, checksum: 7a9e90225376028c123e5c6e1c568603 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-31T19:33:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Willyan_Becker2017.pdf: 12083877 bytes, checksum: 7a9e90225376028c123e5c6e1c568603 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-10 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / Orbital remote sensing techniques have proved to be a valuable tool, since they enable the agricultural monitoring of the vigor and the type of vegetation coverage in a regional scale, bringing results with greater anticipation and precision, and lower operational cost when compared to traditional techniques. Automatic identification of cultivated areas is one of the most important steps in the crop forecasting process. The improvement in the estimate of area cultivated with each crop directly influences the result of the forecast of each crop year, since the agricultural production is a function of the cultivated area. The general objective of this research was to create an automatic methodology for the separation of agricultural crops from soybean and maize by means of data mining (Article 1) and a methodology for forecasting the harvest date from the date of maximum vegetative development (Article 2). The methods used corresponded to the application of the seasonal trends analysis and data mining for soybean and corn agricultural areas in the state of Paraná, with images of the EVI vegetation index of MODIS sensors, TERRA and AQUA satellites. The results obtained in Article 1 show that, through the decision tree, one of the techniques of data mining, it was verified that, among eleven variables that characterize the spectral-temporal pattern of the EVI of each culture, five were enough to perform the separation of soybean and maize crops, in the year 2014/2015, with an accuracy of 96.3% and a kappa index of 0.92, being the maximum value of EVI, the date of sowing (DS), the Date of maximum vegetative development (DMDV), Cycle, and Major Integral. In Article 2 the DS, DMDV and Harvest Date (DC) of the EVI temporal profile were estimated for each mapped soybean and maize pixel in the crop years 2011/2012 to 2013/2014. Then, for each crop and crop year, the variables Delta1 (DMDV minus DS) and Delta2 (DC minus DMDV) were created. The results of the differences (DCDifference) between DC estimated by EVI (DCEVI) and predicted by mean time (DCDelta2) show that, for soybeans, it is possible to use only the mean value of the interval between DMDV and DC in the three harvested years studied, with 55 days for soybeans. For corn, the mean interval between DMDV and DC was 60 days, but it is verified that there is a large difference between the results obtained with DCEVI and DCDelta2. For corn DCDelta2 there were large variations among the mesoregions. Differences in DC (DCDifference), when using the means by mesoregions, presented better results than for Paraná as a whole. / Técnicas de sensoriamento remoto orbital têm se mostrado uma ferramenta valiosa, pois possibilitam o monitoramento agrícola do vigor e do tipo de cobertura vegetal em escala regional, trazendo resultados com maior antecedência e precisão e menor custo operacional em relação às técnicas tradicionais. A identificação automática de áreas cultivadas constitui uma das etapas mais importantes no processo de previsão de safras. A melhoria na estimativa de área cultivada com cada cultura influencia diretamente o resultado da previsão de cada ano-safra, uma vez que a produção agrícola é função da área cultivada. O objetivo geral desta pesquisa foi criar uma metodologia automática para separação das culturas agrícolas de soja e milho, por meio da mineração de dados (Artigo 1) e uma metodologia de previsão da data de colheita das culturas a partir da data de máximo desenvolvimento vegetativo (Artigo 2). Os métodos utilizados corresponderam à aplicação da análise de padrões sazonais e mineração de dados para áreas agrícolas de soja e milho no estado do Paraná, com imagens do índice de vegetação EVI dos sensores MODIS, satélites TERRA e AQUA. Os resultados obtidos no Artigo 1 mostram que, por meio da árvore de decisão, uma das técnicas de mineração de dados, constatou-se que, dentre onze variáveis que caracterizam o padrão espectro-temporal do EVI de cada cultura, cinco foram suficientes para realizar a separação das culturas de soja e milho, ano-safra 2014/2015, com uma exatidão de 96,3% e um índice kappa de 0,92, sendo elas o valor máximo de EVI, a data de semeadura (DS), a data de máximo desenvolvimento vegetativo (DMDV), o ciclo e a integral maior. No Artigo 2 foram estimadas as DS, DMDV e Data de Colheita (DC) do perfil temporal EVI para cada pixel mapeado de soja e milho nos anos-safra 2011/2012 a 2013/2014. Posteriormente criaram-se, para cada cultura e ano-safra, as variáveis Delta1 (DMDV menos a DS) e o Delta2 (DC menos a DMDV). Os resultados das diferenças (DCDiferença) entre a DC estimada pelo EVI (DCEVI) e a prevista por média temporal (DCDelta2) apontam que, para a soja, há a possibilidade de utilizar-se apenas do valor médio do intervalo entre a DMDV e a DC nos três anos-safra estudados, sendo 55 dias para a soja. Para a cultura do milho, o intervalo médio entre a DMDV e a DC foi de 60 dias, porém verifica-se que existe grande diferença entre os resultados obtidos com a DCEVI e a DCDelta2. Para a DCDelta2 do milho houve grandes variações entre as mesorregiões. As diferenças nas DC (DCDiferença), quando utilizadas as médias por mesorregiões, apresentam melhores resultados que para o Paraná como um todo.

Sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L. (sin. Cerasus vulgaris Mill., Prunus vulgaris Schur)) is widely grown stonefruit tree in Lithuania. Productivity of sour cherry orchard depends on many tightly related factors. It's know that negative temperature and spring frosts are important factors determinating plant productivity. These factors must be considered in plant breeding. Risks of extreme temperatures, humidity deficiency and spring frosts increases due to climate change. Plant reaction to climate change depends on plant species, cultivar and on biotic or abiotic factors. Spring starts earlier and suddenly during past years, thus vegetation of cherries starts earlier. However, probability of plant damage to spring frosts increases due to earlier vegetation, because plants are susceptible to negative temperatures due to loss of the predictive and consequential (secondary) dormancy. The aim of the research was to evaluate DNA polymorphism of sour cherry cultivars with different resistance to spring frosts, to characterize nature of phenological phase changes, to evaluate biochemical characteristics of sour cherry resistance to spring frosts formation by analysis of changes in carbohydrate amount and composition in generative organs and fruit ovaries at different phenological phases, and to evaluate changes in gene expression levels of galactinol synthase and raffinose synthase during flower development. It was established, that specific rhythm of phenological development is... [to full text] / Paprastoji vyšnia (Prunus cerasus L. (sin. Cerasus vulgaris Mill., Prunus vulgaris Schur)) yra plačiai auginamas kaulavaisinis augalas Lietuvoje. Vyšnių sodo produktyvumas priklauso nuo daugelio tarpusavyje susijusių veiksnių. Oro temperatūra yra vienas svarbiausių vyšnių paplitimą ir jų derlių lemiantis veiksnys. Žinoma, kad neigiamos temperatūros ir pavasario šalnos yra svarbus veiksnys, į kurį reikia atsižvelgti vykdant augalų selekciją. Keičiantis klimatui, didėja ekstremalių temperatūrų ir drėgmės deficito pavojus bei pavasario šalnų rizika (Augspurger, 2013). Augalų reakcija į klimato kaitos pokyčius priklauso nuo augalo rūšies ir veislės bei abiotinių ir biotinių veiksnių. Pastaraisiais metais pavasaris ateina greičiau ir staigiai. Tai paveikia vyšnias – jų vegetacija prasideda anksčiau. Anksti pradėjus vegetuoti išauga tikimybė, kad augalus pažeis pavasario šalnos. Lietuvoje nuostolių padaro vėlyvos pavasario šalnos, kurių metu pažeidžiami žiedai ir vaisių užuomazgos. Tuo metu augalai jau būna išėję iš būtinosios ir priverstinės ramybės ir jautrūs neigiamoms temperatūroms. Tyrimų tikslas buvo įvertinti skirtingo atsparumo šalnoms vyšnios veislių DNR polimorfizmą, fenologinių tarpsnių kaitos pobūdį, atskleisti paprastosios vyšnios atsparumo pavasario šalnoms formavimosi biochemines ypatybes ištiriant bendro angliavandenių kiekio ir jų sudėties kitimą skirtinguose fenologiniuose tarpsniuose esančių augalų generatyviniuose organuose ir vaisių užuomazgose, nustatyti... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Thesis (MScAgric)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Southern highbush (SHB) blueberries are relatively new to the blueberry industry and are adapted to grow in areas with low winter chilling and therefore can be grown in the Mediterranean-type climate of South Africa. The blueberry industry in South Africa is still relatively young, but it is quickly expanding and therefore appropriate cultivation practises are becoming more important. This study mainly focuses on the appropriate fertilization practises for SHB cultivars Snowchaser and Emerald grown in an ever-greening system. Plants were cultivated in plant containers in a netted tunnel in the Paarl district of South Africa. All plants received continuous fertigation with a standard commercial nutrient solution containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium and all micro-elements. Carbohydrate patterns were determined on newly established tissue culture plants at two-weekly intervals from April 2013 to June 2014 and macro nutrient patterns were determined at four-weekly intervals from May 2013 to June 2014. The phenology of these plants was also visually assessed during the sampling period. Macro nutrient content was determined for two-year old „Snowchaser‟ and „Emerald‟ plants at five phenological stages during the 2013/2014 season and nutrient losses due to harvest and pruning was recorded. The phenology of evergreen „Snowchaser‟ and „Emerald‟ SHB blueberries were very different from deciduous blueberries, to such an extent that fruit could be harvested at the end of winter to early spring. Carbohydrate patterns differed between the first and the second season. Reserve carbohydrates were accumulated in the first season, but not in the second season possibly due to the difference in photosynthate production between the seasons. Plants were significantly bigger, with higher total leaf area, in the second season and it could be that carbohydrates from current photosynthesis were enough to supply new growth, thus making reserves less important. Carbohydrates could also have been used to increase flower bud development instead of being stored as reserves in the second season. Nutrient patterns also differed between the two seasons, but nutrient accumulation was apparent in the second season and not in the first. Nutrient uptake was highest when plants were growing rapidly, emphasizing the importance of fertilizer during periods of rapid growth. Huge fluctuations in the nutrient concentration patterns in the root, shoot and leaf tissues were observed over the sampling period and could have been a result of irregular fertigation and therefore it is uncertain whether flushes in nutrient uptake was a result of higher nutrient demand by the plant. Nutrients are lost due to harvest and pruning and need to be replaced by applying the right amount of fertilizer. Nutrient uptake differs throughout the season as the demand for nutrients fluctuates and therefore fertilizers should be applied at different rates during the season. In the two-year old plants, the most nutrients were accumulated after summer pruning and before growth cessation and therefore most of the fertilization would occur during this stage. Recommendations for correcting nutrient losses due to harvest and pruning are made, together with recommendations for rate and timing of fertilizer application throughout the season. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: „Southern highbush‟ (SHB) bloubessies is ‟n relatiewe nuwe ontwikkeling in die bloubessie-industrie en is aangepas om in minder koue areas aangeplant te word en daarom kan hulle in die Meditereënse-tipe klimaat van Suid-Afrika aangeplant word. Die bloubessie-industrie in Suid-Afrika is nog relatief jonk, maar dit is vinnig besig om uit te brei en daarom raak geskikte verbouingspraktyke al hoe belangriker. Hierdie studie fokus hoofsaaklik op die geskikte bemestingspraktyke vir SHB kultivars Snowchaser en Emerald wat in ‟n immergroen sisteem verbou word. Plante is in houers in ‟n tonnel, wat met net bedek is, in die Paarl distrik van Suid-Afrika, aangeplant. Alle plante het dieselfde standaard kommersiële verreikte wateroplossing, teen ‟n konstante vloei, ontvang. Die oplossing het stikstof, fosfor, kalium, magnesium, kalsium en al die mikro-elemente bevat. Koolhidraatpatrone is in twee-weeklikse intervalle, vanaf April 2013 tot Junie 2014, vir nuut gevestigde weefselkultuurplante bepaal en makro-element patrone is in vier-weeklikse intervalle, vanaf Mei 2013 tot Junie 2014, bepaal. Die fenologie van dié plante is visueel waargeneem tydens die monsternemingsperiode. Makro-elementinhoud is vir tweejarige „Snowchaser‟ en „Emerald‟ plante by vyf fenologiese stadiums tydens die 2013/2014 seisoen bepaal en die voedingstofverliese as gevolg van oes en snoei is bepaal. Die fenologie van immergroen „Snowchaser‟ en „Emerald‟ SHB bloubessies het opmerklik verskil van bladwisselende bloubessies, tot so ‟n mate dat vrugte al teen einde winter na vroeë lente geoes kon word. Koolhidraatpatrone van die eerste en tweede seisoen het verskil deurdat reserwe koolhidrate in die eerste seisoen opgebou het, maar nie in die tweede seisoen nie, moontlik as gevolg van die verskil in fotosintaatproduksie tussen die twee seisoene. Plante was opmerklik groter, met groter blaaroppervlak, in die tweede seisoen en dit kon wees dat koolhidrate van huidige fotosintese genoeg was om die groei te onderhou en sodoende die afhanklikheid van reserwes te verminder. Koolhidrate kon ook vir verhoogde blomknopontwikkeling gebruik geword het, in plaas van om as reserwes vir die tweede seisoen gestoor te word. Voedingstofpatrone het ook tussen seisoene verskil, maar voedingstofakkumulasie was duidelik in die tweede seisoen en nie in die eerste nie. Voedingstofopname was die hoogste wanneer plante vinnig gegroei het en daarom is bemesting tydens periodes van vinnige groei uiters belangrik. Groot wisselinge in die voedingstofkonsentrasiepatrone van die wortels, lote en blare is tydens die monsternemingsperiode waargeneem en onreëlmatige verrykte watertoediening kon dit veroorsaak het. Daarom is dit onseker of fluktuasies in voedingstofopname ‟n gevolg was van hoër voedingstofaanvraag deur die plant. Voedingstowwe gaan verlore deur oes en snoei en moet deur die toediening van korrekte bemesting vervang word. Voedingstofopname verskil oor die verloop van die seisoen soos die aanvraag vir voedingstowwe deur die plant verander en daarom moet bemestingstowwe teen verskillende hoeveelhede deur die seisoen toegedien word. In die tweejarige plante is meeste van die voedingstowwe ná somersnoei en voor groeistaking opgeneem en daarom moet meeste van die bemesting tydens hierdie stadium toegedien word. Aanbevelings vir die korrigering van voedingstofverliese as gevolg van oes en snoei, tesame met aanbevelings vir die hoeveelheid en tyd van bemestingstoediening deur die seisoen, word gemaak.

Nitrogen (N) in maize is a major nutrient that influences grain yield, because it participates on numerous metabolic pathways. It is present in the soil organic matter (OM) and it is necessary that it passes through a mineralization process to be available to plants. It is absorbed in the nitrate form (NO3-N) and ammonia (NH4+-N). The most commonly used nitrogen sources are urea [CO (NH2)2] and ammonium sulphate [(NH4) 2SO4]. Due to changes of the soil, N is regarded as a dynamic element with complex reactions, which generate controversy and discussions regarding its source and form of application on corn. Currently the recommendation of nitrogen fertilization to Rio Grande do Sul in maize is 20-30 kg N on the basis of seeding, and the remainders on coverage between phenological stages V4 to V6. The literature states results which conflict seasons of nitrogen management on corn, so the hypothesis that the parcelling and the source can bring loss or benefits related to the number of applications and greater efficiency, there may be differences between sources and hybrid. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of splitting nitrogen in some plant parameters and on the final yield of two maize hybrids using urea and ammonium sulphate. This study was conducted in the municipality of Tenente Portela in Rio Grande do Sul. The randomized block design was used, arranged in a factorial scheme (2 x 2 x 11 x 2) on three replications, with two agricultural seasons, two hybrids, eleven periods of application and two sources. Evaluations were plant height, ear insertion height, prolificacy, ear diameter, number of rows per ear, number of kernels per row, ear mass, cob diameter, mass of grains, weight of thousand seeds and grain yields. Nitrogen application at different stages influencing plant height and ear height, number of rows per ear and yield. There was no response in grain yield of maize with the use of different sources of nitrogen, however, was superior when applied in the early growth stages. / O nitrogênio (N) na cultura do milho é um dos principais nutrientes que influencia na produtividade de grãos, pois, participa de inúmeras rotas metabólicas. No solo está presente na matéria orgânica (MO), necessitando de transformações para estar disponível às plantas, sendo, absorvido na forma nítrica (N-NO3-) e amoniacal (N-NH4+). Nos sistemas de produção as fontes nitrogenadas mais utilizadas são a ureia [CO(NH2)2] e sulfato de amônio [(NH4)2SO4]. Devido às transformações no solo, o N é considerado um elemento dinâmico e com reações complexas, que geram controvérsias e discussões com relação à sua fonte e modo de aplicação no milho. Atualmente a recomendação da adubação nitrogenada na cultura do milho para o Rio Grande do Sul é de 20 a 30 kg de N na semeadura, e o restante em cobertura entre os estádios fenológicos V4 a V6. A literatura expressa resultados que conflitam épocas para o manejo de nitrogênio em milho. Por isso, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito do parcelamento de nitrogênio, em alguns parâmetros da planta e na produtividade final de dois híbridos de milho utilizando ureia e sulfato de amônio. O presente estudo foi realizado no município de Tenente Portela, no estado do Rio Grande do Sul. O delineamento experimental foi de blocos ao acaso organizado em esquema fatorial (2 x 2 x 11 x 2) com três repetições, sendo duas safras agrícolas, dois híbridos, onze períodos de aplicação e duas fontes. As avaliações realizadas foram altura de planta, altura de inserção de espiga, prolificidade, diâmetro de espiga, número de fileiras por espiga, número de grãos por fileira, massa de espiga, diâmetro do sabugo, massa de grãos da espiga, massa de mil sementes e produtividades de grãos. A aplicação de N em diferentes estádios influencia a altura de planta e da espiga, o número de fileiras por espiga e o rendimento. Não houve resposta no rendimento de grãos de milho com a utilização de diferentes fontes de nitrogênio, porém, houve superioridade quando aplicado nos estádios fenológicos iniciais.