Agricultural systems basically depend on ecological processes and services provided by ecosystems. These ecological processes and services, called ecosystem services or environmental services, relate to the conditions and processes through which ecosystems sustain human life by supplying provisions (food, timber, fiber and fuel production), regulation (of water, of climate, protection against droughts, flooding, storms, spread of diseases and soil degradation, waste purification), support (hydro

Status: Completed     Start date: Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2012

Molecular genetics is an additional tool which provides information for the detection and exploitation of genes or chromosomal regions with large influence on economic traits. This comes from the development of dense maps of linkage disequilibrium among genetic markers for many livestock species. Although each type of genetic marker has advantages and disadvantages, the only polymorphisms with enough density to meet important requirements for gene mapping are the Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms

Status: Completed     Start date: Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2013

The use of nanotechnology has been putting nanoparticles and nanostructures in contact with live organisms in ways not yet fully understood. In agriculture, this interaction can occur on a large scale, such as in the applications of controlled release nanostructure-encapsulated pesticides whose toxicity inherent to the drug release system still requires continual verification. Cases like this have motivated the proposal of this project, whose objective was to evaluate the potential impact on liv

Status: Completed     Start date: Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2011

This project aims to propose viable technological alternatives for a competitive stockbreeding practice, making responsible use of the environment and regional resources and preserving the native flora and fauna of the Cerrado, Amazon and Pantanal. The beef cattle industry has an expressive social and economical role, being responsible for more than 6 million jobs and contributing with more than US$3 billion in the country's exportation activities. The Cerrado is currently the most important reg

Status: Completed     Start date: Tue May 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2007

This proposal seeks to facilitate technological solutions for competitive cattle farming, making rational use of the environment and regional resources while preserving the flora and fauna of the Cerrado, the Amazon and the Pantanal. The cattle industry plays a significant social and economic role, generating over 6 million jobs and contributing over $ 3 billion to the country's exports. The Cerrado is currently the leading region for livestock and at this moment there is an opportunity to estab

Status: Completed     Start date: Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2007

Brazilian native fruit species are excellent generators of income and job opportunities to family farmers and micro-entrepreneurs especially from the Northern and Northeastern regions of Brazil. Species such as the Platonia insignis, Myrciaria dubia, Byrsonima crassifolia and the Spondia mombin L. have been frequently cited as economically promising in the field of family farming, due to the myriad of business possibilities linked to the ever increasing demand of

Status: Completed     Start date: Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2008

Status: Completed     Start date: Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2012

Genetic Vegetable resources, globally, involve a number of around 300,000 identified species, of which 30,000 are edible and only 30 consist of foods that feed the world's population. However, from this total, only three species provide 50% of proteins necessary in a regular diet (rice, wheat and corn). This situation has been stimulating a great number of researchers in the quest to increase the number of species dedicated to feed the population. Brazil is considered the world's greatest source

Status: Completed     Start date: Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2009

Germplasm banks have as their main purpose to get together in one place part of the genetic variability (germplasm), in order to prevent the loss of genes or gene combinations (genetic erosion), thus ensuring a broad genetic basis for research programs. Germplasm banks are usually made up of local races (ethnovarieties), improved varieties and wild species of the same genus. And because they bring together genetic constitutions of different origins and different breeding levels, they can be grea

Status: Completed     Start date: Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2009

This project aims to develop, evaluate and validate the environmental and social sustainability of technical-economic milk production systems based on Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forest Systems (ICLFS), with the use of the main plant species silage corn, cowpea, Piata grass, eucalyptus, chestnut; and Dutch x Gir crossbreeds.

Status: Completed     Start date: Sun May 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2011