Evaluation of different fertilization sources in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) cultivation

Everton de Araújo Arantes; Sabrina Santiago de Moraes; Elizabete Nunes da Rocha

doi:10.14295/cerrado.v3i2.892

Authors

Everton de Araújo Arantes UniBRAS University Center of Rio Verde, Rio Verde, Goiás, Brazil https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4092-2696
Sabrina Santiago de Moraes UniBRAS University Center of Rio Verde, Rio Verde, Goiás, Brazil https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3240-3959
Elizabete Nunes da Rocha 1UniBRAS University Center of Rio Verde, Rio Verde, Goiás, Brazil https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4025-1268

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14295/cerrado.v3i2.892

Keywords:

Lactuca genus, Chemical fertilization, Cattle manure, Foliar fertilization, Vegetable production, Plant biomass

Abstract

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is one of the most economically important leafy vegetables cultivated in Brazil, and the choice of fertilization source directly influences its growth and productivity. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of four fertilization treatments—control (without fertilization), organic fertilization (30% composted cattle manure by substrate volume), foliar fertilization (NPK 20–20–20 supplemented with micronutrients at 2 g L^-1, applied biweekly), and chemical fertilization (NPK 04–14–08 at 100 g m^-2)—on the growth performance of lettuce cultivated in pots under greenhouse conditions. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with four treatments and six replications, totaling 24 experimental units. At 45 days after transplanting, the following variables were evaluated: plant height (PH), number of leaves (NL), shoot fresh mass (SFM), shoot dry mass (SDM), and root system length (RSL). Data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA), and treatment means were compared using Tukey’s test at the 5% significance level in the R statistical software. Chemical fertilization resulted in the highest values for PH (22.83 cm), NL (33.17 leaves), SFM (415.33 g), and SDM (24.33 g), differing significantly from the other treatments for most evaluated variables. Organic fertilization showed intermediate performance but exhibited considerable variability among replicates (coefficient of variation up to 67.6% for SFM), likely associated with differences in manure decomposition and nutrient availability. Foliar fertilization alone did not significantly differ from the control treatment for any biomass-related variable. Regarding RSL, the control treatment produced the longest roots (30.83 cm), significantly exceeding those observed under chemical fertilization (19.00 cm), indicating root plasticity in response to nutrient availability. The results demonstrate that chemical fertilization with NPK 04–14–08 promotes superior shoot biomass production during short lettuce production cycles, whereas organic fertilization may represent a viable alternative when high-quality and homogeneous organic inputs are available.

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