Abstract Biochar has been used to reuse the agro-industrial wastes and improve soil quality. Several studies have been carried out to show the impact of biochar on physical and chemical soil attributes. However, there are still gaps regarding the effects on as microbial biomass and enzymatic activities that are important to determine sensitive indicators to evaluate changes in management practices. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of two biochars on the chemical, microbial biomass carbon, and the enzymatic activities in an Entisol cultivated with bean. We evaluate two types of coffee biochar: ground and husks, four doses (4, 8, 12, and 16 Mg ha-1) and control. All treatments received organic fertilization with cow manure. Husks biochar increase the soil pH, Ca, and K, also contributing to the reduction of toxic aluminum contents and raising the concentrations of P labile. The treatments that received ground biochar showed higher soil organic carbon, microbial biomass, β-glucosidase, and fluorescein diacetate. Biochar produced from coffee residues increased sandy soil quality. We showed the first report on the beneficial impact of coffee biochar on enzymatic and microbiological quality of sandy soil cultivated with the bean.

ABSTRACT The conversion of native forests into intensive agricultural cropping affects soil quality and ecosystem functionality in tropical dry areas. Although many indicators have been used to assess soil quality, the most sensitive indicators are biochemical attributes. Absolute enzymatic activity (fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis, dehydrogenase, (-glucosidase, urease, arylsulfatase, and acid and alkaline phosphatases), soil organic C (SOC), microbial biomass C (MBC), and specific enzymes per unit of SOC and MBC were measured in forests and perennial (tomato, pangola grass, cotton passion fruit, and cashew nuts) and annual (bean, cabbage, pigeon pea, and fennel) crops. The changes in soils covered with perennial crops differed from those covered with annual crops as regards biochemical soil attributes. The multivariate analysis grouped the Entisols covered with annual crops far from the forest soils, which indicated that intensive management results in drastic changes in the biochemical quality of Entisols in tropical dry areas. The absolute (-glucosidase activity varied from 18.3 to 100.6 (g p-nitrophenol g-1 soil h-1. The tomato areas showed higher dehydrogenase activity with a value of 181.5 (L H g-1 soil. The absolute (-glucosidase, arylsulfatase, and alkaline phosphatase activity and the specific fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis/SOC, (-glucosidase/SOC, arylsulfatase/SOC, acid phosphatase/SOC, (-glucosidase/MBC, and acid phosphatase/MBC can be used as quality indicators of Entisols cultivated with perennial and annual crops. In addition, pasture soil could have a similar biochemical quality as forest soils in tropical dry areas.

RESUMO A incorporação de materiais vegetais no solo pode exercer influência sobre as populações dos patógenos e/ou suas atividades patogênicas. Este trabalho objetivou avaliar o potencial da adubação verde na indução da supressividade ao declínio de monosporascus em solo naturalmente infestado por Monosporascus cannonballus. Foram realizados dois experimentos, um em casa de vegetação e outro em campo. No primeiro, foram comparados 13 tratamentos considerando diferentes combinações do melão pele de sapo e os adubos verdes (Crotalaria spectabilis, C. juncea, Canavalia ensiformis, Cajanus cajan, Dolichos lablab e Stilozobium aterrimum) em quatro ciclos de cultivo. Os maiores valores de severidade da doença foram detectados nos plantios intercalados de C. cajan ou C. spectabilis com meloeiro, e nos cultivos sucessivos de C. ensiformis com incorporação, e meloeiro sem incorporação. Os maiores níveis populacionais de M. cannonballus nos solos foram verificados nos cultivos sucessivos de meloeiro sem incorporação, D. lablab, e nos cultivos intercalados de C. ensiformis, S. aterrimum, C. cajan, C. juncea ou D. lablab com meloeiro. As menores densidades obtidas ao final do experimento de casa de vegetação foram nos solos submetidos à adubação verde sucessiva de C. spectabilis, C. cajan, C. ensiformis, C. juncea e S. aterrimum e no plantio intercalado de C. Juncea. Em campo, o tratamento mais eficiente na redução da severidade do declínio de monosporascus e que apresentou, numericamente, maior número de frutos comerciais de melão foi o tratamento com S. aterrimum.

ABSTRACT The incorporation of plant material in soil can influence the populations of pathogens and/or pathogenic activities. This work aimed to evaluate the potential of green manure in the induction of suppressiveness to monosporascus vine decline of melons in soil naturally infested with Monosporascus cannonballus. Two experiments were carried out, one in greenhouse and the other under field conditions. In the first one, 13 treatments were compared, considering different combinations of melon ‘Piel de sapo’ and green manure (Crotalaria spectabilis, C. juncea, Canavalia ensiformis, Cajanus cajan, Dolichos lablab and Stilozobium aterrimum) in four growing seasons. The highest values of severity (SVD) of monosporascus vine decline were detected in interspersed cultivation with C. cajan or C. spectabilis with melon, successive cultivation of C. ensiformis with incorporation and of melon without incorporation. The highest M. cannonballus population levels in soil were observed in successive cultivation of melon without incorporation, D. lablab with incorporation, and in merged cultivation of C. ensiformis, S. aterrimum, C. cajan, C. juncea or D. lablab with melon. The lowest ascospores densities obtained at the end of experiment were found in soils submitted to successive green manure of C. spectabilis, C. cajan, C. ensiformis, C. juncea and S. aterrimum, and in merged cultivation of C. juncea. In field, the S. aterrimum was the most effective treatment in reducing the vine decline severity and presented, numerically, the highest number of commercial fruits of melon.

A murcha-de-fusarium, causada pelo fungo Fusarium oxysporum, vem-se tornando uma doença importante no meloeiro devido às grandes perdas em áreas de produção no Brasil e no mundo, razão pela qual o objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar a eficácia de extratos etanólicos de partes de Senna alata no controle do crescimento micelial de F. oxysporum isolado de plantas de meloeiro. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado, distribuído em esquema fatorial 4 x 6 + 1, sendo o primeiro fator partes da planta (caule, folha, raiz e vagem) e, como segundo, seis concentrações (0,25; 0,50; 50; 75; 250; 500 µg mL-1) mais a testemunha, com quatro repetições por tratamento. As variáveis avaliadas foram: taxa de crescimento micelial inibição do crescimento micelial e área abaixo da curva do crescimento micelial. Extratos etanólicos de todas as partes de Senna alata foram eficazes no controle de F. oxysporum. Extratos de raiz e vagem foram os mais eficientes em inibir o crescimento micelial de F. oxysporum, na concentração 500 µg mL-1.

Fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum fungi has become an important melon disease, due to great losses in the production areas in Brazil and in the world. Therefore, the objective of the present work was to evaluate efficacy of ethanolic extracts of Senna alata parts in the control of F. oxysporum micelial growth, isolated of melon plants. The experimental design was entirely randomized distributed in factorial scheme 4 x 6 + 1, being the first factor parts of the plant (stalk, leaf, root, and green bean), and as second, six concentrations (0.25; 0.50, 50, 75, 250, 500 µg mL-1), plus the control, with four repetitions per treatment. The variables evaluated were: rate of mycelial growth, inhibition of the mycelial growth (IGM) and area under the curve of the mycelia growth. Ethanolic extracts of all Senna alata parts were efficient in control of F. oxysporum. Extracts of root and string bean were most efficient in inhibiting the mycelial growth of F. oxysporum, in 500 µg mL-1 concentration.

O fungo Monosporascus cannonballus é um importante patógeno radicular do meloeiro na região Nordeste, onde causa a doença denominada colapso. Como não existem informações sobre os níveis populacionais de ascósporos de M. cannonballus em solos brasileiros, realizou-se este trabalho com o objetivo de comparar as densidades de ascósporos em amostras solo de 15 áreas não cultivadas de Caatinga e 15 áreas produtoras de melão do Rio Grande do Norte e do Ceará. Em todos os solos analisados foram detectados ascósporos de M. cannonballus, sendo que as populações nas áreas não cultivadas variaram de 0,18 a 18,30 ascósporos.g-1 de solo e nas áreas cultivadas com meloeiro de 0,50 a 26,04 ascósporos.g-1 de solo. Não houve diferença significativa (P=0,05) na densidade média de ascósporos entre solos não cultivados e cultivados. Entre as áreas cultivadas, a densidade média de ascósporos foi significativamente superior nas áreas com histórico de colapso causado por M. cannonballus, comparado às áreas sem histórico da doença. Pelos resultados alcançados há indícios que M. cannonballus não foi introduzido no Brasil por materiais de propagação, mas já era habitante natural dos solos de Caatinga antes da chegada da cultura do meloeiro.

The fungus Monosporascus cannonballus is an important melon root pathogen in the Northeast of Brazil, where it causes a disease called collapse. As information on population levels of M. cannonballus ascospores in Brazilian soils does not exist, this study aimed to compare ascospore density between soil samples of 15 non-cultivated areas of the Caatinga and 15 soil samples of melon producing areas in the States of Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará. Ascospores of M. cannonballus were detected in all soil samples analyzed. The density of the ascospores varied from 0.18 to 18.30 ascospores.g-1 of soil in non-cultivated Caatinga soil. Ascospore density in areas cultivated with melon varied from 0.50 to 26.04 ascospores.g-1 of soil. There was no significant statistical difference (P=0.05) in the ascospore average density between cultivated and non-cultivated soil. Among the cultivated areas, the ascospore average density was significantly higher in the areas with a history of collapse caused by M. cannonballus when compared with areas without a disease history. There is evidence that M. cannonballus was not introduced in Brazil by propagation material, but is possibly a natural inhabitant of non-cultivated soils of Caatinga.