The Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA) regulations establish 12 hours as the maximum pre-slaughter fasting period for broilers; however, many processing plants have considered this time is not sufficient, and consequently return the birds to the farms, with consequent economic losses and welfare problems. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the possible effects of longer pre-slaughter fasting times. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of pre-slaughter fasting times longer than those established by MAPA on broiler welfare, breast meat quality, and intestinal integrity. Forty 42-d-old broilers were submitted to different pre-slaughter fasting times: group I: 6 hours, group II 9h, group III 12h, and group IV 15h. Bird welfare was assessed before slaughter. After sacrifice, intestinal samples were collected to assess their morphology and morphometrics, and the Pectoralis major muscle was analyzed for pH and color. There was no influence (p>0.05) of treatments on breast muscle pH or color.There were no significant changes in intestinal morphometrics (p<0.05). Bird behavior was affected (p<0.05), suggesting that welfare was impaired as fasting time increased, but no differences in the analyzed parameters were detected between broilers fasted for 12 or 15 hours. It was concluded that the behavioral differences between birds fasted for 12 and 15 hours are not sufficient to assert that those fasted for 15 hours were in worse welfare conditions.

Avaliou-se o desempenho de substratos compostos por areia, bagaço de cana-de-açúcar e casca de amendoim no cultivo do tomateiro do grupo cereja. O delineamento experimental adotado foi em blocos casualizados, com sete substratos e quatro repetições. Os substratos resultaram da combinação de proporções volumétricas de areia (A), bagaço de cana-de-açúcar (BC) e casca de amendoim (CA): S1 = A; S2 = 2/3 A + 1/3 BC; S3 = 2/3 A + 1/3 CA; S4 = 2/3 A + 1/6 BC + 1/6 CA; S5 = 1/2 A + 1/2 BC; S6 = 1/2 A + 1/2 CA e S7 = 1/3 A + 1/3 BC + 1/3 CA. As variáveis avaliadas foram submetidas à análise de variância e as médias comparadas pelo teste de Tukey a 5% de probabilidade. Os valores de densidade (D), espaço de aeração (EA) e água facilmente disponível (AFD) dos substratos foram estatisticamente diferentes. Os substratos apresentaram valores de D entre 790 e 1604 kg m-3, EA entre 2 e 21% e AFD entre 14 e 25%. A produtividade do tomateiro cultivado nos diferentes substratos foi estatisticamente igual, variando entre 8,5 e 10,7 kg m-2. O bagaço de cana-de-açúcar e a casca de amendoim podem ser utilizados na composição de substratos à base de areia, para o cultivo do tomateiro do grupo cereja, cultivar Sindy, em casa de vegetação.

Cherry tomato growth was evaluated using substrates composed of sand, crushed sugar cane and peanut bark, in Jaboticabal, São Paulo State, Brazil. The experimental design was the complete randomized block with seven substrates and four replications. The seven substrates were made up of different combinations of sand (S), crushed sugar cane (CSC) and peanut bark (PB): S1 = S; S2 = 2/3 S + 1/3 CSC; S3 = 2/3 S + 1/3 PB; S4 = 2/3 S + 1/6 CSC + 1/6 PB; S5 = 1/2 S + 1/2 CSC; S6 = 1/2 S + 1/2 PB e S7 = 1/3 S + 1/3 CSC + 1/3 PB. The evaluated parameters were submitted to a variance analysis and averages were compared by the Tukey test, at 5% probability level. The bulk density (BD), aeration space (AS) and easily available water (EAW) values were different. Bulk density ranged from 790 to 1604 kg m-3; AS, from 2 to 21%; and EAW, from 14 to 25%. No difference was observed among the cherry tomato yield obtained from the different substrates, which varied from 8.5 to 10.7 kg m-2. Both crushed sugar cane and peanut bark can be used to compose the substrates based on sand for the cherry tomato growth.