Nitrogen fertilization on intercropping of lettuce and rocket

Abstract

The work was carried out at UNESP, Jaboticabal, São Paulo State, Brazil, from September to December 2006, to evaluate the effect of nitrogen fertilization on intercropping of lettuce and rocket. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design, with four replications, treatments being arranged in a 4 x 4 + 2 factorial design. The treatments were the result of a combination of four N rates for lettuce (0, 65, 130 and 195 kg ha-1) and four N rates for rocket (0, 65, 130 and 195 kg ha-1), plus two additional treatments, which corresponded to lettuce and rocket under single cropping. Veronica (lettuce) and Folha Larga (rocket) were the cultivars used. An increase in the N rate for both cultures, under intercropping system, caused fresh matter gains and higher yields for lettuce and rocket, maximizing the land equivalent ratio (1.84) at 127 kg ha-1 of N for lettuce and 195 kg ha-1 of N for rocket.