A bitter cup of coffee? Assessing the impact of climate change on Arabica coffee production in Brazil.

Brazil, the world's largest producer and exporter of Arabica coffee, faces increasing challenges from climate changes. To maintain the sustainability of this commodity, innovative management techniques will be essential. This study aimed to assess the impact of climate projections, considering two CMIP6 emission scenarios (SSP2-4.

Southeastern Brazil inland tropicalization: Köppen system applied for detecting climate change throughout 100 years of meteorological observed data.

Many regions around the world are facing climate changes, with substantial increase in air temperature over the past decades, which is mainly related to continental and global warming forced by the higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The objectives of this study were to use the Köppen climate classification to detect local climate change based on a historical series of 100 years and to assess if such change is related to those that are occurring in other spatial scales as a likely consequence of increasing GHG. This paper brings a content full of innovative results.

Microclimate of grass canopies and biomass accumulation are influenced by the use of caged exclosures in grazing research.

Exclosure cages are often used for estimating biomass accumulation on continuously stocked pastures in grazing experiments. The microclimate inside the cages may affect the estimates of biomass accumulation, but this has not been previously identified or quantified. We evaluated how the exclusion from grazing for 21 days in Mulato II brachiariagrass (Brachiaria brizantha × Brachiaria decumbens × Brachiaria ruziziensis) pastures affected canopy air temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) and how this related to biomass accumulation.

Assessing the performance of two gridded weather data for sugarcane crop simulations with a process-based model in Center-South Brazil.

High-quality measured weather data (MWD) are essential for long-term and in-season crop model applications. When MWD is not available, one alternative for crop simulations is to employ gridded weather data (GWD), which needs to be evaluated a priori. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of weather data from two GWD sources (NASA and XAVIER), in the way that they are available for end users, on simulating sugarcane crop performance within the APSIM-Sugar model at traditional sites where sugarcane is grown in Center-South Brazil, compared to simulations with MWD.

On-farm assessment of eucalypt yield gaps - a case study for the producing areas of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The concept of yield gaps provides a basis for identifying the main sources of production losses, caused by water or management deficiencies, which may help foresters and forest companies to better plan and make decisions in their areas. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify the magnitude and the major causes of yield gaps of eucalypts, being this the most planted forest genus in Brazil, in different producing regions of the state of Minas Gerais that has the largest planted area. To these ends, potential (Yp) and attainable (Ya) yields were simulated using the agroecological zone model (AEZ-FAO) adapted and calibrated for Brazilian eucalypt clones.

Performance and Profitability of Rain-Based Thresholds for Timing Fungicide Applications in Soybean Rust Control.

Soybean rust (SBR), caused by the fungus , is the most damaging disease of soybean in Brazil. Effective management is achieved by means of calendar-timed sprays of fungicide mixtures, which do not explicitly consider weather-associated disease risk. Two rain-based action thresholds of disease severity values (DSV50 and DSV80) were proposed and compared with two leaf wetness duration-temperature thresholds of daily values of infection probability (DVIP6 and DVIP9) and with a calendar program, with regard to performance and profitability.

Silvopastoral system with Eucalyptus as a strategy for mitigating the effects of climate change on Brazilian pasturelands.

The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of Eucalyptus trees in a silvopastoral system on the microclimate and the capacity of that to mitigate the effects of climate change on pasturelands. This study included an open pasture of Piatã palisadegrass and an adjacent pasture that contained both palisadegrass and East-to-West rows of Eucalyptus trees, with 15 m between rows, 2 m between trees within rows. The micrometeorological measurements were collected at several distances from the tree rows and in the open pasture.

Correction to: NASA/POWER and DailyGridded weather datasets-how good they are for estimating maize yields in Brazil?

The original article was published with errors found in the "Material and Methods" section, as well as the "Results and Discussion" section and Tables 5 and 6.

NASA/POWER and DailyGridded weather datasets-how good they are for estimating maize yields in Brazil?

The low availability of high-quality meteorological data resulted in the development of synthetic meteorological data generated by satellite or data interpolation, which are available in grids with varying spatio-temporal resolution. Among these different data sources, NASA/POWER and DailyGridded databases have been applied for crop yield simulations. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of these two datasets, in different time scales (daily, 10-day, monthly, and annual), as input data for estimating potential (YP) and attainable (YA) maize yields, using the FAO Agroecological Zone crop simulation model (FAO-AEZ), properly calibrated and validated.

Biology at Different Temperatures, Thermal Requirements, and Ecological Zoning of Opogona sacchari (Lepidoptera: Tineidae).

The banana moth, Opogona sacchari (Bojer, 1856), is a polyphagous pest that causes serious damage to different crops around the world, particularly to bananas in southern Brazil. The insect is designated a quarantine pest in several countries including Argentina, the main consumer market for bananas produced in southern Brazil. To provide support for the management of O.

Weather-based coffee leaf rust apparent infection rate modeling.

Brazil is the major coffee producer in the world, with 2 million hectares cropped, with 75% of this area with Coffea arabica and 25% with Coffea canephora. Coffee leaf rust (CLR) is one of the main diseases that cause yield losses by reducing healthy leaf area. As CLR is highly influenced by weather conditions, this study aimed to determine the best linearization model to estimate the CLR apparent infection rate, to correlate CLR infection rates with weather variables, and to develop and assess the performance of weather-based infection rate models to be used as a disease warning system.

Sugarcane yield gap analysis in Brazil - A multi-model approach for determining magnitudes and causes.

Brazil is the largest sugarcane producer in the world playing a pivotal role on global ethanol production. The sugarcane yield levels across the producing regions of the country vary substantially, resulting in yield gaps of different magnitudes, which represent a huge opportunity for increasing sugarcane and ethanol production. According to that, the present study aimed to investigate the sugarcane yield gap in Brazil, their magnitude and causes (water deficit or crop management), considering a multi-model approach.

Vineyard microclimate and yield under different plastic covers.

The use of plastic cover in vineyards minimizes effects of adverse weather conditions. The northwest of São Paulo State is one of the largest grape producing regions in Brazil; however, few studies investigate the effects of different plastic covers on vineyards in this region. This study compared the effect of black shading screen (BSS) and braided polypropylene film (BPF) on BRS Morena vineyard microclimate, grown on an overhead trellis system in the northwestern São Paulo.

Evaluation of leaf wetness duration models for operational use in strawberry disease-warning systems in four US states.

Leaf wetness duration (LWD) plays a key role in disease development and is often used as an input in disease-warning systems. LWD is often estimated using mathematical models, since measurement by sensors is rarely available and/or reliable. A strawberry disease-warning system called "Strawberry Advisory System" (SAS) is used by growers in Florida, USA, in deciding when to spray their strawberry fields to control anthracnose and Botrytis fruit rot.

An agro-climatic approach to determine citrus postbloom fruit drop risk in Southern Brazil.

Postbloom fruit drop (PFD) causes lesions on the petals of citrus flowers and induces fruit abscission causing severe damage to production when the flowering period coincides with intense rainfall. The aims of this study were to develop a phenological-climatological model for citrus PFD occurrence and, together with weather data series from several locations, to determine and map the agro-climatic favorability of PFD occurrence in the state of São Paulo, Southern Brazil. A phenological flowering model was developed to identify when citrus flowering occurs.

Modeling sugarcane ripening as a function of accumulated rainfall in Southern Brazil.

The effect of weather variables on sugarcane ripening is a process still not completely understood, despite its huge impact on the quality of raw material for the sugar energy industry. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of weather variables on sugarcane ripening in southern Brazil, propose empirical models for estimating total recoverable sugar (TRS) content, and evaluate the performance of these models with experimental and commercial independent data from different regions. A field experiment was carried out in Piracicaba, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, considering eight sugarcane cultivars planted monthly, from March to October 2002.

Agro-climatic zoning of Jatropha curcas as a subside for crop planning and implementation in Brazil.

As jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) is a recent crop in Brazil, the studies for defining its suitability for different regions are not yet available, even considering the promises about this plant as of high potential for marginal zones where poor soils and dry climate occur. Based on that, the present study had as objective to characterize the climatic conditions of jatropha's center of origin in Central America for establishing its climatic requirements and to develop the agro-climatic zoning for this crop for some Brazilian regions where, according to the literature, it would be suitable.

Development of ramulosis disease of cotton under controlled environment and field conditions.

Colletotrichum gossypii var. cephalosporioides, the fungus that causes ramulosis disease of cotton, is widespread in Brazil and can cause severe yield loss. Because weather conditions greatly affect disease development, the objective of this work was to develop weather-based models to assess disease favorability.

Leaf wetness duration measurement: comparison of cylindrical and flat plate sensors under different field conditions.

In general, leaf wetness duration (LWD) is a key parameter influencing plant disease epidemiology, since it provides the free water required by pathogens to infect foliar tissue. LWD is used as an input in many disease warning systems, which help growers to decide the best time to spray their crops against diseases. Since there is no observation standard either for sensor or exposure, LWD measurement is often problematic.

Spatial variability of leaf wetness duration in different crop canopies.

The spatial variability of leaf wetness duration (LWD) was evaluated in four different height-structure crop canopies: apple, coffee, maize, and grape. LWD measurements were made using painted flat plate, printed-circuit wetness sensors deployed in different positions above and inside the crops, with inclination angles ranging from 30 to 45 degrees. For apple trees, the sensors were installed in 12 east-west positions: 4 at each of the top (3.