José Reinaldo Da Silva Cabral De Moraes

By Lucieta G. Martorano, Araya A. Berhe, José Reinaldo da Silva Cabral de Moraes, Ayllan Rayanne da Silva Lima, Douglas Cavalcante Costa, Aline Michelle da Silva Barbosa and Marcelo Coelho Marques

The challenge confronted by farmers during prolonged periods of soil water stress is to guarantee the restoration of water and maintain the productivity of agricultural crops. Even in regions such as Amazon, the variability in the precipitation regime should be considered in agricultural planning. There are regions in which 80% of annual rainfall is concentrated between December and June. It is exactly during this period of low rainfall that small-scale family-based farmers need technological assistance to guarantee that their crops remain irrigated in order to maintain their income in this rural environment. The IrrigaPot arises as an alternative that is able to access rainfall that has been stored since the rainy season and provide it to plants when the soil is dry. The pots are maintained full with 20 liters of water, and through capillary action the soil maintains them constantly humid. This technology does not require specific knowledge with respect to irrigation regimes and is necessary for the farmer to dedicate his time to replacing water. The technology is totally automated through a simple system using a float, tubes, and connectors that connect a rubber hose to the lids of the pots buried in the soil.

Part of the book: Soil Moisture

By Gelson Dias Florentino, Lucieta Guerreiro Martorano, Sandro Augusto Lima dos Santos, José Reinaldo da Silva Cabral de Moraes, Ires Paula de Andrade Miranda and Maria de Lourdes Pinheiro Ruivo

The use of Amazonian biodiversity has great potential to produce bioproducts in diverse production chains and segments of industry. The combination of public policies with biotechnological development represents an important indicator for the implementation of sustainable production chains that adhere to the Sustainable Development Objectives (SDO). The ceramic industries in the Amazon region represent activities that promote local economic development through the use of biological resources that can be transformed into bioproducts that are considered a reference for sustainable production in world markets. The operations of these industries have great potential to incorporate technologies that can be used for fabrication of ceramic products on a biological base that is compatible with bioeconomic guidelines. The principle of a bioeconomy is centered on the possibility of transformation of natural resources into bioproducts that aggregate technologies and contribute to increase incomes and reduce environmental impacts. In this way, the integration of different fields of science should be stimulated to incorporate new technologies that favor business models that comply with the premises of sustainability.

Part of the book: Ecosystem and Biodiversity of Amazonia