The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa - Portuguese: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária) is a state-owned research corporation affiliated with the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. Since its inception on April 26, 1973, it has been devoted to developing technologies, knowledge and technical-scientific information aimed at Brazilian agriculture, including livestock.Their mission is to "develop research, development and innovation solutions for the sustainability of agriculture, for the benefit of Brazilian society".Embrapa's organizational structure is composed of 46 centers that can be divided into Research Units or Service Units, and of 17 Central Units that comprise the corporation's headquarters. Such research centers are distributed throughout the country in nearly all Brazilian states. The corporation currently employs over 9,790 people, of which 2,444 are researchers.Embrapa is part of the National Agricultural Research System (SNPA - Sistema Nacional de Pesquisa Agropecuária), which also comprises federal and state public institutions, universities, private companies, and foundations, which cooperate to conduct research in different geographical areas and fields of knowledge.
The growing reliance on fertilizers for global food production, combined with low nutrient-use efficiency, highlights the need for new, sustainable fertilizers derived from local sources. This study evaluated the release dynamics and leaching potential of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) in sewage sludge biochar-based fertilizers (BBF) enriched with mica-schist (Mica) or phonolite (Phon) and varying concentrations of oxalic acid (OA) (0, 0.33, 0.67, and 1 mol L−1). Incubation (60 days) and leaching column (6 days) experiments were conducted, and P and K release was described using non-linear kinetic models. The addition of OA increased P and K release in the soil. K release exhibited biphasic behavior—a rapid initial phase followed by gradual release—whereas P was released predominantly during the initial phases. Fertilizers synthesized using biochar produced at 300 °C showed higher P and K release. Despite the increase in the soluble fraction, the BBFs exhibited lower K leaching compared to the conventional fertilizer (KCl), while P leaching was low across all fertilizers due to its limited mobility in the soil. The developed fertilizers demonstrated potential as slow-release nutrient sources, with OA concentration playing a decisive role in modulating release kinetics and the availability of P and K in the soil.
Effective pest management requires accurate and continuous monitoring. This monitoring helps assess population dynamics and guides the development of integrated pest management strategies. Traps used to capture insects are an alternative applied to various crops. However, the identification and manual counting of specimens are time-consuming, require taxonomic knowledge, and depend on the expertise of specialists. Automation could reduce costs, increase accuracy, and enable scalable analyses. Current computer vision and artificial intelligence techniques can quickly and accurately identify objects in digital images. This study presents a systematic review of literature retrieved from multidisciplinary and specialized databases (Scopus, ACM, Web of Science, IET, DBLP, Springer, and ScienceDirect), focusing on the intersections of agriculture, ecology, and computer science. We found 284 studies published between 2020 and 2025. Among them, 57 fulfilled the eligibility criteria, considering applied computing solutions for insect identification and counting using digital images of specimens collected via traps or photographed in situ on plants, in both field and laboratory settings. The findings highlight the use of electronic traps for real-time data collection and improvements in convolutional neural networks, with visual transformers and attention mechanisms for multi-species and fine-grained recognition. They also indicate opportunities to leverage microscopy resources, overcome limitations in the large-scale deployment and integration of electronic trap networks, and integrate real-time monitoring data with forecasting models using weather predictions to promote early warning systems for integrated pest management.
Soybean (Glycine max L.) is the most widely cultivated oilseed globally due to its nutritional value, versatility, and economic importance. It accounts for nearly 25
This study evaluated the long-term effects of contrasting crop systems on soil physical properties in a tropical Planosol after 12 years of continuous management. The experimental design included a Crop–Livestock–Forest Integration (CLFI) system, two monocropping systems (MFS1 and MFS2), and a natural ecosystem (as reference), with soil samples collected at three depths (0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm) to assess the interaction between management and profile position. A comprehensive set of physical attributes was measured, including texture, bulk density, compaction indicators, macroporosity, total porosity, water-filled pore space, mean weight diameter, and water-stable aggregates. The results demonstrated strong interactive effects between crop system and soil depth, with the surface layer being the most responsive to management-induced changes. The CLFI improved porosity and aggregation while reducing bulk density relative to the conventional system, particularly in the upper 10 cm. Subsurface layers exhibited more conservative behavior, with weaker structural development and limited response to management. Multivariate analyses (PCA and Canonical Discriminant Analysis) revealed clear separation among systems, with native vegetation forming a distinct structural signature characterized by higher macroporosity and aggregate stability. A Soil Physical Quality Index (SPQI) synthesized multiple indicators and confirmed the superior structural condition of CLFI when compared with monocropping system, while both the MFS1 and MFS2 exhibited the lowest physical quality across all depths. Diversified systems promoted improvements in soil physical functioning by enhancing biogenic porosity and aggregation processes. These findings highlight the importance of integrated crop–livestock–forest strategies for sustaining soil physical quality in semiarid tropical environments and demonstrate the value of multivariate approaches for detecting complex management effects.
Abstract Phosphorus (P) is an essential macronutrient for plant growth, but its availability to plants is often limited in acidic tropical soils by iron (Fe) and aluminum (Al) (hydr)oxides, which strongly adsorb and immobilize phosphate. This study evaluated soybean (Glycine max L. BRS 7582) growth in soil amended with biotite schist and a soluble potassium (K) source, potassium chloride (KCl). The experiment involved pots with dystrophic Rhodic Haplustox soil; treatments were composed by control, as KCl (KCl-T), 1% biotite schist (BSO) and biotite schist + 150 mg K kg⁻¹ as KCl (BS + KCl), with all treatments receiving 100 mg P kg⁻¹ as calcium dihydrogen phosphate [Ca(H₂PO₄)₂]. Results showed that KCl-T promoted greater shoot growth than the other treatments, presenting 9.0%, 11.9%, and 41.1% higher dry mass production compared to the BS + KCl, BSO, and control treatments, respectively. Across all sampling times, K concentration in soybean shoots was significantly higher in treatments receiving soluble K (KCl‑T and BS + KCl) than in the control (p < 0.001). Values ranged from 11.3 to 19.4 g K kg⁻¹ in KCl‑based treatments, whereas the control remained below 6.7 g K kg⁻¹ at all evaluation times, with BSO showing intermediate values. Notably, on the 47 day after planting, plant P uptake was statistically similar among BSO, BS + KCl, and KCl-T treatments (2.15 g P kg− 1; p < 0.0001). Soil P extractability, measured by Mehlich-1, after 37 and 47 days, increased 15.29 and 22.62% (both p < 0.0001) in the presence of biotite (BSO and BS + KCl), as compared to treatments without biotite (KCl-T and control); this pattern is consistent with an increase in oxalate‑extractable, poorly crystalline (short‑range ordered) Fe released during bioweathering, which may have contributed to P adsorption and Mehlich-extraction compared to crystalline iron/aluminum oxyhydroxides.
