ABSTRACT Water erosion is one of the main factors driving soil degradation, which has large economic and environmental impacts. Agricultural production systems that are able to provide soil and water conservation are of crucial importance in achieving more sustainable use of natural resources, such as soil and water. The aim of this study was to evaluate soil and water losses in different integrated production systems under natural rainfall. Experimental plots under six different land use and cover systems were established in an experimental field of Embrapa Agrossilvipastoril in Sinop, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, in a Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo Distrófico (Udox) with clayey texture. The treatments consisted of perennial pasture (PAS), crop-forest integration (CFI), eucalyptus plantation (EUC), soybean and corn crop succession (CRP), no ground cover (NGC), and forest (FRS). Soil losses in the treatments studied were below the soil loss limits (11.1 Mg ha-1 yr-1), with the exception of the plot under bare soil (NGC), which exhibited soil losses 30 % over the tolerance limit. Water losses on NGC, EUC, CRP, PAS, CFI and FRS were 33.8, 2.9, 2.4, 1.7, 2.4, and 0.5 % of the total rainfall during the period of study, respectively.

Com o objetivo de avaliar o comportamento de cinco cultivares de girassol em um Latossolo Vermelho argiloso, foram realizados quatro ensaios sob quatro níveis de saturação por bases (18%, 35%, 56% e 77%) obtidos com aplicação de calcário dolomítico. Os dados semanais de crescimento foram ajustados pelas funções logística, Weibull de três parâmetros e a logística generalizada de quatro parâmetros empregando-se o procedimento NLIN do SAS, bem como os processos interativos do método DUD. A função logística forneceu os melhores ajustes aos dados de crescimento. As cultivares foram categorizadas de acordo com o porte das plantas e tendências de crescimento a partir da análise de agrupamentos (cluster analysis), usando o método das ligações completas e a métrica da distância euclidiana. Todas as cultivares tiveram o crescimento reduzido quando o nível de saturação de bases foi de 18%. A cultivar M734 apresentou bom desempenho no nível de 35% de saturação por bases. Nos demais casos, os melhores resultados foram obtidos nos níveis de saturação por bases entre 56% e 77%. As cultivares EMBRAPA 122 e M738 tiveram redução de crescimento quando a saturação foi elevada para 77%. 'EMBRAPA 122' apresentou maior crescimento inicial e menor altura ao final do ciclo vegetativo.

In order to study the growth cycle of five sunflower cultivars, four experiments were carried out under four levels of basis saturation (18%, 35%, 56% and 77%), obtained with the application of dolomitic limestone in an acidic Red Latosol, clay texture (Tipic Haplusthox). Weekly growth data were fitted using the Logistic, three parameters Weibull and four parameters Generalized Logistic (a special case of Richards function) functions. Among the models used, the Logistic function obtained was the best growth data fitting. The NLIN procedure of SAS statistical package was used for fitting the data through the interactive process of DUD method. Cultivars were grouped according to final size and growth rates by a cluster analysis using the complete linkage method and by the Euclidian distance. Sunflowers growth reduced in all cultivars at 18% basis saturation level. At 35% basis saturation level, the best results were achieved for cultivar M734. In other instances, the best growth results were obtained between 56% and 77%. For cultivars EMBRAPA 122 and M738, growth rates were reduced when basis saturation was increased to 77%. The cultivar EMBRAPA 122 presented initial higher growth rate and lower plant height at the end of vegetative cycle.

A manutenção ou a elevação dos níveis de tecnologia no cultivo da soja no Cerrado é fundamental à produtividade econômica, a qual tem se revelado superior à obtida na Região Sul do Brasil. Entre as contribuições da pesquisa ao desempenho destacado da cultura da soja no Cerrado estão as novas cultivares, que representam papel fundamental para a estabilidade produtiva. A cultivar de soja BRS Celeste é uma opção para atender à demanda dos produtores. Apresenta ciclo semelhante ao da BR/EMGOPA 314 (Garça Branca), porém com produtividade superior, e com resistência às principais doenças, em especial ao cancro-da-haste (Diaporthe phaseolorum f. sp. meridionalis).

Maintenance or improvement of technology to soybean cultivation is necessary to reach economical productivity in the Brazilian Savannah, where it has shown to be superior to that obtained in the South of Brazil. New cultivars are among the contributions of research to high crop performance and yield stability. The soybean cv. BRS Celeste is an alternative to suit growers demand. It belongs to the same maturity group of cv. BR/EMGOPA 314 (Garça Branca), although it has higher yielding and shows resistance to the main diseases, especially stem canker (Diaporthe phaseolorum f. sp. meridionalis).