Main Agricultural Crops Research Articles

Indigenous maize seed storage using buffalo dung ash practiced by smallholder farmers in Kisar Island

Kisar island is a small island located on the tip of Timor island. Corn is the main agricultural crop, and livestock husbandry also plays an important role in the livelihood of the farmers as a source of income, provide mainly manure for maintaining soil fertility. and in the local culture as a 'bride price' and for the exchange of goods. Considering periodical seasonal hazards, during eight months dry season people suffer from a serious shortage of water. Failure of the harvest is not an unusual phenomenon on the small, dry, eroded coral island. Seasonal pest invasion on maize cultivation threaten their seed security and food security. The objective of this review is to describe the validity of farmers’ indigenous knowledge (IK) of using buffalo dung as a preservative agent in maize storage and its relevancy in the contemporary living of farmers in the island. A phenomenological study was held in June to August 2018. The results showed that applying buffalo dung ash makes the maize dry faster, cleans and kills maize weevil and preserves the grain, It was concluded that the knowledge and practice is scientifically valid and benefited community in the past but has less relevancy to the contemporary living of the farmers in the island.

PROSPECTS OF BIOLFUELS PRODUCTION IN THE CONDITIONS OF LAND RELATIONS REFORM

The article examines the normative monetary valuation of agricultural land in the regions of Ukraine. The dynamics of change of sown areas of the main agricultural crops is analyzed. The directions of the development of agricultural production in the short term are determined. The main components of biomass energy potential in Ukraine are studied – agricultural residues (straw of cereals and rapeseed, by-products of corn and sunflower production) and energy crops (willow, poplar, miscanthus for solid biofuels and corn silage for production). It is determined that in the structure of energy production from biomass in Ukraine, agricultural residues and energy crops occupy the last places, as their potential is used by 0.1-3.0% depending on the type of biomass. The necessity of creating of energy cooperatives in rural areas focused on the production of solid biofuels from crop waste has been proved. The prospects for the development of bioenergy outlined in the «Roadmap for the development of bioenergy until 2050 and the Аction plan until 2025» are studied and the forecast of the development of the energy potential of biomass is made. It is determined that despite a significant number of existing regulations related to the development of biofuels, measures to support biofuel producers include only two instruments: a «green» tariff for electricity produced from renewable energy sources (including biomass / biogas), and stimulating tariff for thermal energy, produced from alternative energy sources (including biomass / biogas). Barriers to the development of biofuels production and possible ways to overcome them have been studied. The need to create bioenergy clusters to stimulate the production of biofuels has been identified. Measures to improve state regulation and support the production of biofuels are summarized. It is proved that at the state level it is necessary to constantly motivate agricultural producers to produce different types of biofuels. The main directions of the strategy of biofuel production development in the conditions of land relations reform are substantiated.

Analysis of the production of major agricultural crops in the Orenburg region

A detailed analysis of the production of the main agricultural crops in the Orenburg region for a long-term period, taking into account of their sown areas, gross yields and yields in farms of all categories has been provided in the article. The purpose of the research was to analyze the production of the main agricultural crops in the Orenburg region. Based on the conducted research, transformational changes and trends in the regional production of grain, potatoes and vegetable crops have been identified. During the study period, a gradual reduction in the acreage of grain and leguminous crops in the region was revealed with stabilization at the level of 2,7 million hectares with a wide range of variations in gross yields and productivity depending on the weather and climatic conditions of cultivation. The gross harvest of grain and leguminous crops in farms of all categories during the study period varied in a very wide range of 739,6–4207,2 thousand tons. The biggest gross harvests of grain and leguminous crops were observed in 2000, 2016 and 2017, respectively, 3141,7, 3138,6 and 4207,2 thousand tons in association with the most favorable natural and climatic conditions of their cultivation. There was the reduction in the area, the decrease in gross yields and the tendency to increase the yield of potatoes and vegetable crops in farms of all categories. Based on the analysis, measures are proposed to optimize the acreage, increase the gross yield and productivity of the main agricultural crops in the agricultural sector of the regional agro-industrial complex, as well as a set of measures for sustainable development and effective functioning of regional agricultural production with the possibility of applied use in other regions of the Russian Federation.

Examining the carbon emissions and climate impacts on main agricultural crops production and land use: updated evidence from Pakistan.

One of the major challenges to the survival of life on earth is the increasingly evolving climate change. The key source of environmental pollution is global warming. With the combustion of fossil fuels, greenhouse gas (GHG), which is generated in the external environment, is increased and air pollutant as well. The present analysis key intention was to examine the CO2 emission and climatic effects on major agricultural crop production and land use in Pakistan. The study used time span annual data varies from 1970 to 2019, and data stationarity was rectify by utilizing the unit root tests. A generalized method of moments with two-stage least squares technique was applied to expose the variables' association with CO2 emission. The study consequences uncover that the wheat, maize, sugarcane, cotton, bajra, gram, sesamum crops, and land use have constructive association with CO2 emission having positive coefficients with probability values (0.3762), (0.0435), (0.2287), (0.2303), (0.2272), (0.0192), (0.4535), and (0.0017) correspondingly, while rainfall, temperature, rice, jowar, and barley uncovered an adversative linkage to CO2 emission in Pakistan. As Pakistan is an emerging country, potential constructive measures must be introduced in directive to reduce CO2 emissions to improve the agricultural productivity.

Analysis of production of main crops in Orenburg region

The article analyzes the regional production of major agricultural crops for 2000–2018, taking into account the areas of their crops and planting, gross harvest and yield in farms of all categories and agricultural organizations. During the study period, a gradual reduction in the acreage of grain and leguminous crops in the region was revealed, with stabilization at the level of 2.7 million hectares, with a wide range of variations in gross yields and yields depending on the weather and climatic conditions of cultivation. There was a reduction in the area, a decrease in gross collections and a tendency to increase the yield of potatoes and vegetable crops in farms of all categories. Measures are proposed to optimize the acreage, increase the gross yield and productivity of the main agricultural crops in the agricultural sector of the regional agroindustrial complex.

АГРОКЛИМАТИЧЕСКИЕ РАЙОНЫ И УРОЖАЙНОСТЬ СЕЛЬСКОХОЗЯЙСТВЕННЫХ КУЛЬТУР В ИЗМЕНЯЮЩИХСЯ УСЛОВИЯХ РЕГИОНАЛЬНОГО КЛИМАТА

Today there is enough scientific research to prove the impact of climate change on agriculture. However, there is no conclusive conclusion as to what is in store for agriculture, its potential will increase or decrease. Significant consequences of the impact of climate change are likely to manifest themselves at the regional level, and this requires additional research for further adaptation of agriculture in the corresponding territory. The aim of the study is to assess changes in agro-climatic indicators at the regional level. The subject is the Komi Republic, located in the extreme northeast of the European part of the country. The chosen research methodology based on statistical processing of agro-climatic indicators for ten meteorological stations in the region for 1960-2018 and economic indicators of productivity and gross harvest of agricultural crops for 1913-2018 due to the large amount of data. Paired regression analysis used accurately interpret the results. The obtained mathematical models evaluated according to the Pearson coefficient, Student’s t-criterion, determination coefficient, F – Fisher’s criterion, so that the results of the study were reliable. For some regions, the consequences of climate change may turn out to be negative in the form of a decrease in food supply, for others - positive, due to an increase in the duration of the growing season and, accordingly, an increase in the potential productivity of agricultural crops. The relevance of the study is because these positive consequences will be especially characteristic for the northern territories. As a result, it revealed that in four agro-climatic regions of the Komi Republic, there were insignificant climatic changes for agriculture over a sixty-year period. An analysis of the yield of vegetables in open ground showed that it increased from 36 to 314 tons per hectare, and the gross yield of the main agricultural crop - potatoes - decreased almost 3 times, but the main reason is the reduction in acreage, and not climate change. However, the trend line for potato yields in the region as a whole shows an upward trend over a 100-year period. The performed paired regression analysis between the selected agro-climatic indicators and the yield of agricultural crops of the republic revealed an average direct relationship only between the yield of vegetables and the duration of the growing season, and the sum of average daily temperatures. Consequently, it is currently impossible to assert that the ongoing climatic changes have a significant impact on agriculture in the Komi Republic

ДИНАМИКА ПЛОДОРОДИЯ ПАХОТНЫХ ЧЕРНОЗЕМОВ ЛЕСОСТЕПНОЙ ЗОНЫ ЦЕНТРАЛЬНО-ЧЕРНОЗЕМНЫХ ОБЛАСТЕЙ РОССИИ

The research was carried out to study the dynamics of fertility of arable soils in the southwestern part of the forest-steppe zone of the Central Chernozem region. The work was carried out according to the results of an agrochemical soil survey on the territory of Yakovlevsky district of Belgorod region. The soil cover was represented mainly by typical chernozems (57.7%) and leached (28.2%). Under these conditions, an increase in the average dose of organic fertilizers in the region from 6.5 t/ha in 2010–2014 up to 14.6 t/ha in 2015-2018 while maintaining the use of mineral fertilizers at the level of 82.9 kg a.i./ha, it became one of the main factors in the growth of the weighted average content of mobile forms of phosphorus in the soil from 101 to 167 mg/kg, potassium - from 120 to 183, sulfur - from 2.5 to 4.7, manganese - from 11.0 to 13.1, zinc - from 0.4 to 0.7 mg/kg. Bringing liming volumes in the region for 2015–2018 to 32.7 thousand hectares contributed to a decrease in the share of acidic soils from 84.7 in 2009 to 52.9% in 2018.Along with the improvement of the agrochemical parameters of arable soils, there was a significant increase in the yield of the main agricultural crops: winter wheat - from 3.38 to 4.55 t/ha, corn for grain - from 4.84 to 7.60 t/ha, sugar beet - from 36.8 to 
 56.4 t/ha

Minerais e amido resistente em farinhas de banana vermelha ‘São Domingos’ triploide (AAA)

A banana é uma das principais culturas agrícolas do mundo, de grande importância socioeconômica para os países em via de desenvolvimento e com características importantes para a fabricação de farinhas. Dente as variedades de bananas, existem aquelas de cascas vermelhas, as quais se destacam pelos altos teores de compostos bioativos, como, por exemplo, precursores da vitamina A. Contudo, ainda existem lacunas no conhecimento em relação ao amido resistente e minerais presentes nessas variedades. Assim, o estudo teve como objetivo caracterizar os teores de minerais e amido resistente presentes nas farinhas de casca e de polpa da banana de casca vermelha ‘São Domingos’ (AAA). As farinhas, casca e polpa, foram produzidas a partir de frutos obtidos em uma propriedade rural, sanitizados, fatiados, descascados, secos em estufa com circulação de ar forçada a 55 ºC e moídos em moinho rolo-facas. Dessa forma, foram submetidas às análises de umidade, cinzas, minerais (potássio, fósforo, cálcio, magnésio, enxofre, cobre, manganês, zinco, ferro e sódio) e amido resistente. As farinhas não diferiram no teor de umidade. A farinha de casca apresentou maiores teores de cinzas, potássio, magnésio, fósforo, zinco e sódio. Potássio e manganês foram os, macro e micromineral, presentes em maiores quantidades em ambas as farinhas. Ambas as farinhas apresentaram umidade dentro do limite estabelecido pela legislação. A farinha de casca possui maior teor de minerais; enquanto a farinha de polpa possui quase o dobro de amido resistente. As farinhas de banana de casca vermelha ‘São Domingos’ possuem características semelhantes às de outras triploides AAA.

Розвиток галузі біопалив як детермінанта cталого розвитку України

The purpose of the article is to form scenarios for the development of the biofuel market in Ukraine and to substantiate the ways of their implementation. Research methods. In the course of the research, dialectical methods of cognition of processes and phenomena, analysis and synthesis were used to study the modern biofuel market in Ukraine and compare it with world trends; empirical – for a comprehensive assessment of the current state of biofuel production in Ukraine; scenario analysis – to determine possible ways for the development of the biofuel market in Ukraine and the related state policy for the development of its production; SWOT analysis – to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the internal environment, as well as the opportunities and threats of the external environment in the field of biofuel production in Ukraine; scientific abstraction – to summarize the results, the formation of conclusions and the own development of the biofuel production industry in Ukraine. Research results. The assessment of biofuel production in the world has been carried out and the main types of raw materials for its production have been identified. Scenarios for the development of the biofuel production industry in Ukraine have been substantiated. The volume of areas to achieve the goals of Ukraine in the consumption of biofuel in accordance with the scenarios has been calculated. Comparison of the production and export of corn and wheat by major producers in the world have been conducted. The calculation of the volume of biofuel production from lands that are not split in Ukraine has been carried out. The yields of the main agricultural crops for biofuel production in the main producing countries or exporters of agricultural products have been analyzed, as a result of which it has been determined that Ukraine is not in the leading positions in one of the crops grown. As a result of the SWOT analysis, the key needs of Ukraine in the development of the biofuel industry have been identified. Scientific novelty. The ways of developing the biofuel industry without reducing the export potential of Ukraine are proposed. They consist in using the potential of unused agricultural land and in increasing the efficiency of agricultural production, in particular, increasing yields. Practical significance. The applied significance of the results is considered as the basis for the formation of a strategy for the development of the biofuel industry in Ukraine. Tabl.: 8. Figs.: 1. Refs.: 22.

Mapping areas at risk of contamination by pesticides: a case study in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Pesticides are substances known to be necessary for the maintenance of contemporary agricultural practices, aimed to ensuring food security for the growing world population. However, there are several negative impacts linked to the disordered use of such substances. Thus, technologies capable of assisting the planning and the risk management related to pesticides are necessary, facilitating decision making and resource allocation. In this sense, the objective of the present study was to indicate the main agricultural crops and map the municipalities at risk of environmental contamination by pesticides in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Data from the IBGE Automatic Recovery System and the 2017 Agricultural Census of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics were used. The applied methodology involved the definition of indicators and the overlapping of information plans in the Geographic Information System. Sugarcane, bananas, and cassava stood out as the most significant crops in the state's agricultural scenario. Municipalities with the risk of contamination were found in the mountain, south, metropolitan, north, and northwest regions of the state. The banana is the crop with the most risk municipalities. The method employed proved to be effective in identifying the most representative cultures and in mapping the risky municipalities in the state. The results can be used as a subsidy for more efficient risk management associated with the use of pesticides in the territory.

Economic efficiency of oilseed production in Ukraine

The paper studies the dynamics of the relative production efficiency of the main agricultural crops in Ukrainian enterprises for 2017 – 2019 years, in particular sunflower. It has been established that price instability restrains the intensification at which oilseed yield increases, but the degree of risk increases due to the simultaneous trend of convergence of price indicators and production costs. It is concluded that the capacity building of the oil and fat industry should have scientifically sound limits. The work is innovative in terms of its approaches and recommendations, as well as in a new perspective of researching topics. The issues and provisions given in it may be used to analyze existing theoretical positions. In addition, the theoretical significance of the paper is it can become a motif and a major base for further studies in the given direction. The practical implementation of the conclusions, recommendations and suggestions obtained from the research will contribute to the stability of oilseed production after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Разработка технологий выращивания сельскохозяйственных культур, приемлемых в органическом земледелии в Северо-Западном регионе России

The paper deals with the issues of growing the main agricultural crops (cereals, vegetables, potatoes) using organic crop production technologies. The effectiveness of preparations used to control pests and plant diseases is given. A method for calculating the sales price of organic products is proposed.

ТЕНДЕНЦИИ И ПРОГНОЗНЫЕ ПАРАМЕТРЫ РАЗВИТИЯ ПРОИЗВОДСТВА, ПОТРЕБЛЕНИЯ И ЭКСПОРТА ЗЕРНА В РОССИИ

The article examines the current state of the grain market at the level of federal districts and in the Russian Federation as a whole, it is noted that, despite severe weather conditions, the gross harvest of 2020 became the second largest in the history of Russia. The leaders in grain production in 2020 were the Central, Volga and Southern, in terms of the area of crops – the Volga, Southern, Siberian and Central Federal districts. The yield of grain and leguminous crops for the analyzed period 1990–2020 increased by 46.7% and averaged 28.6 c/ha in the country. The analysis of the Federal Scientific and Technical Program for the development of Agriculture for 2017–2025 and its subprograms, the Long-term strategy for the development of the grain complex of the Russian Federation until 2035, an assessment of the new indicator «provision of seeds of the main agricultural crops of domestic selection», presented in the Doctrine of Food Security 2020, is given. It is noted that in the world grain market over the past 30 years, Russia’s export potential has grown 24.3 times and reached 48.7 million tons, which corresponds to the third place in the world in grain exports (12% of the market volume) and the first place in wheat exports (20% of the market volume). Quantitative and qualitative characteristics of grain imports, investments for the development of both the grain industry and processing, and market infrastructure, including grain storage and warehousing systems, are given. Grain balance, export dynamics, including for individual grain crops, changes in export sales prices are considered. The main directions of development and improvement of the grain market for the future are presented: attracting investments in the grain industry; increasing the production of grain complex products and improving their quality by increasing the acreage by introducing unused land into circulation; increasing domestic grain consumption for feed purposes due to the development of the livestock industry and industrial grain processing; improving infrastructure and logistics of the grain industry; improving the scientific and technical base of the grain industry; improvement of measures of state regulation of grain production; increase of domestic grain consumption and development of export potential.

Сравнение процесса дыхания у донорных растений озимой пшеницы сорта Иркутская и каллусов, полученных из данного сорта в культуре изолированных пыльников

Winter wheat is one of the main agricultural crops in the world. The constantly growing needs for food, as well as changing climatic conditions require modern breeding of new, more productive varieties with a high degree of cold, frost, drought and salt resistance,and resistance to pathogens and pests. Experimental haploidy can significantly reduce the time required for obtaining pure lines and new varieties. It is known that the physiological state of donor plants is very important for the effectiveness of androgenesis in vitro. In this work, we studied the features of flowers respiration in donor winter wheat plants used to isolate anthers and calli obtained in this culture. Winter wheat of Irkutskaya variety was used in the work. The plants were grown at the artificial climate station of Siberian Institute of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry SB RAS and in the field conditions of the Zalarinsky agroecological station. The plant material was selected at the booting stage. The initial medium was modified N6 containing sucrose (90 g/L), glycine (2 mg/L), 2,4-D (1 mg/L), and NAA (1 mg/L). The medium for regeneration was 190-2Cu with the addition of growth regulators 2,4-D (0.5 mg/L) and kinetin (0.5 mg/L). The oxygen uptake rate was measured at 26 ° C using an Oxyterm system (Han-satech Instruments, Great Britain). To determine the contribution of the main cytochrome and alternative cyanide-resistant pathways to respiration, an inhibitory assay was used. It was shown that opening of the flag leaf, as well as the procedure of anther isolation, led to an increase in the respiratory activity of winter wheat flowers, mainly due to the activation of the cytochrome pathway. At the same time, long-term low-temperature exposure contributed to the stabilization of respiration at the control level and did not cause changes in the activity of the alternative cyanide-resistant oxidase. The maximum respiratory activity was recorded in rhizogenic calli, while the respiratory activity of gemmorhizogenic calli was similar in respiration rate and contribution of the cytochrome and alternative pathways to the respiration of anther donor flowers.

Особенности минерального питания сельскохозяйственных культур

Purpose: to analyze the experience of applying mineral and organic fertilizers on dry and irrigated lands for the main agricultural crops. The overview of scientific research results, literature sources on applying a fertilizer system in agriculture, in which nutrients necessary for agricultural crops are introduced into the soil during the most critical periods of growth and development are presented. This paper considers the use of fertilizers, taking into account the utilization rates of available forms of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other elements necessary for plants from fertilizers and the root layer of the soil, clarifies the need to compensate for the removal of nutrients by the vegetative and generative parts of the crop, the rate of consumption of mineral nutrition elements by agrocenoses. The timing and methods of using organic and mineral fertilizers depend on the granulometric composition of the soil, the predecessor, the level of groundwater occurrence, the agrochemical properties of soils, the efficiency of the drainage network, weather and climatic conditions, the growth and development phase of the cultivated crop. Conclusion. The study of the works of domestic and foreign scientists on the timing, norms, types and methods of applying mineral and organic fertilizers for various agricultural crops cultivated on dry and irrigated lands, and the analysis of the studies allow us to conclude that in the conditions of digitalization of agricultural production, there is no consensus about the systems the use of mineral and organic fertilizers in the conditions of precision (precision) farming. Research in this area is promising at the present time and in the near future, especially when using modern means of diagnosing deficiencies in plant nutrients.

Satellite-based system of area estimation for main agricultural crops of Ukraine

The article studies one of the most important issues of agricultural production maintenance – development of a system of crops area estimation in Ukraine. The objective of this paper is to describe the similar system that uses high resolution satellite data and operational agrometeorological data from the network of the Hydrometeorological Centre of Ukraine as input information. The system is based on step-by-step solving of the following tasks: obtaining geoinformation data for individual agricultural crops; development of methods for multispectral satellite images classification; development of software applications to automate the process of these images classification with subsequent classification of crop areas. The research uses the following algorithms (or classifiers) to classify the agricultural land: SVM (support vector machine), RF ("random forest") and NN (neural networks). The choice of the most accurate of them formed the basis of the general method of classification. The values of spectral characteristics of red and infrared channels of a complete set of cloudless satellite images during the growing period were used as input data (features). As a result, in 2018 some test calculations were conducted to estimate the area of agricultural crops in Kyiv Region. The results of evaluation of accuracy of the satellite-based agricultural crops area estimation using the statistical data showed that the lowest accuracy is typical for winter wheat and corn. The accuracy of soybeans and spring barley classification is quite low for most of the tested fields. Sunflower and rapeseed crops showed the highest accuracy. In order to improve the accuracy of classification, it is necessary to introduce more classification features (in a temporary aspect) by processing more satellite images during the growing period, and to increase the number of test samples through systematic sampling of ground data across the regions in Ukraine. We suggest using the scheme of main agricultural crops area estimation satellite-based system by the Hydrometeorological Centre of Ukraine.

THE INFLUENCE OF SOIL RESOURCES ON AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN PRAHOVA COUNTY

The research aimed to identify the soil resources of Prahova County and the limiting factorsof the soil, such as: soil acidity and alkalinity, phosphorus supply, humus reserve, surface erosion and deep erosion, landslides and soil pollution withoil residues or dumpsand quarries.The main agricultural crops, the cultivated areas and the obtained productions were analyzed for the 2016-2020 period.The quality of the soils and the lands affected by various limiting factors in Prahova County directly influences the annual productions and their continuous monitoring helps to propose measures regarding their control and soil improvement.

GIS-BASED MULTI-CRITERIA ANALYSIS OF THE SUITABILITY OF WESTERN SIBERIAN FOREST-STEPPE LANDS

ABSTRACT The main purpose of this work is to assess the suitability of land for cultivation of the main agricultural crop of Western Siberia, namely spring wheat. The algorithm of land suitability assessment was developed on the territory of the test plot of land-use of CJSC Mirny, Kochenevsky District, Novosibirsk Region. For assessment of land suitability on the basis of expert knowledge, criteria related to relief and soil, not only known but also specific, inherent in the area under consideration, have been identified. In the absence of information on the topography and relief of the territory under consideration, the spatial database of geodata was created based on the results of high-resolution digital aerial photography from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Elementary surfaces (ESs) at the micro-relief level have been determined with the help of GIS tools. Two most popular methods of obtaining criterion weights have been analysed: Analytic Hierarchy Process and the direct ranking method, and under certain conditions, a connection between these methods have been established. To assess the land suitability, the land suitability indices of selected ESs were calculated using GIS-MCDA (Multiple-Criteria Decision Analysis) method Weighted linear combination. Based on the value of land suitability index for all ESs, belonging to a certain suitability class according to FAO classification has been established. A map of land suitability with an assessment of spring wheat sowing expediency was obtained.

Correlation between productivity and centesimal composition of soybean cultivars

Soy soybean Glycine max (L) Merril is one of the main agricultural crops in Brazil. Thanks to the advances made by the breeding programs in recent years, the crop has achieved increasingly satisfactory results, especially with regard to the productivity of cultivated materials. One of the effects of the productive potential for the significant increase of the area planted throughout the national territory. Unfortunately one of the consequences of this genetic advance in the soybean materials produced was in relation to the chemical composition of the grains. In the last decades the centesimal composition of the soybean, especially protein, has suffered a significant discount. This is reflected in the overwhelming industries that find it increasingly difficult to produce bran with protein within the commercialized specifications, having to resort to a little profitable practice, the removal of the tegument from the grain to increase the protein in the bran produced. As the market operates through buying and selling by quantity and not grain quality, the sector begins to express concern due to uncertainties in the raw material. Thus, the present work has the objective of evaluating the existence of a correlation between productivity and the chemical composition of soybean cultivars. The cultivars were selected according to their productivity and divided into three classifications, high productivity, average productivity and low productivity, based on the work of the Rio Verde Foundation, totaling nine samples. The samples were evaluated through physicochemical analyzes to determine the percentage of coarse and fine moisture of the grains, percentage of acidity of the oil and percentage of protein and oil of the grains. All analyzes were done in triplicates and the results were submitted to analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by a Tukey average comparison test at 5 %. The percentage of coarse moisture of cultivar 5 was the highest among all cultivars evaluated, with 10.43 %. In relation to the fine moisture, again the variety 5 obtained greater percentage among all the materials, with 9,17 %. Regarding the percentage of acidity, cultivars 4, 2 and 3 obtained the highest results with values between 0.51 % and 0.46 %. The percentage of oil of cultivar 3 obtained the highest percentage, with 21.96 %. Regarding the percentage of protein, cultivar 5 presented the highest percentage of protein among all, with 35.78 %. All results are presented within acceptable industry standards. Through the analyzes can see a tendency to low negative correlation between productivity and protein content. There is also a low negative correlation between oil and protein dyes. Positive highlight for the performance of cultivar 5 by good correlation between productivity and protein contents.Â

The effect of the addition of castor oil to residual soybean oil to obtain biodiesel in Brazil: Energy matrix diversification

The Brazilian as well as the global energy matrix is still mostly supported by non-renewable energy sources such as oil. However, the national energy scenario has a much higher renewable share, and this behavior is largely due to the fact that the country has abundant renewable resources. The immediate availability of renewable grease in Brazil fell on soybeans, the main Brazilian agricultural crop. However, reliance on a single source, whose oil yield per planted area is low (approximately 500 kg/ha), led to the need for alternative sources with higher energy density. Thus, this work sought to obtain biodiesel through frying oil mixed with castor oil in order to obtain biofuel with adequate physicochemical properties and reducing dependence on soybean oil. The physicochemical analyzes, as well as statistical tests revealed that among the obtained indexes, the acidity and the viscosity were above the value established by the National Petroleum Agency (ANP), while for the iodine index a positive effect of the addition of castor oil was registered, indicating effectiveness regarding the strategy used. The value of the acidity index with the addition of castor oil to the frying oil was 0.49 mg KOHg−1 and the viscosity value was equal to 7,02 mm2/s which was within the norms established by ANP, EU and ASTM. The value of the iodine index was 108.3 g/100 g of iodine, remaining within the EU standard, while without the addition of castor oil these two indices were not within the mentioned standards.