Development and production of curly and iceberg lettuce under the influence of different types of mulch

Abstract

Lettuce is a plant that develops and is produced under the influence of climatic conditions, competition with weeds, pests, and diseases. One way of minimizing these effects on the crop is to use mulch, which can be of plastic or vegetable origin. This study aimed to evaluate the development and production of lettuce subjected to different types of mulch. The experimental design used was randomized blocks, with a factorial of 2×4 and four replications, with two cultivars—“Vera” for curly lettuce and “Delícia Americana” for iceberg lettuce—and four treatments—mulch with coffee husks, grass straw, black plastic and the control (no mulch)—, totaling 32 plots. Each experimental plot consisted of 20 plants, and only the six central plants were evaluated. The highest temperatures were recorded when using black plastic for covering, which also resulted in better weed suppression and higher means for plant height, number of healthy leaves, stem fresh mass, stem diameter, and commercial fresh mass. It was concluded that the Delícia Americana cultivar and the black plastic mulch provided the best growing conditions for the crop, with the best means for the variables studied.