Performance evaluation of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) growth, yield and quality under subtropical climate

Abstract

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) belongs to the family Asteraceae and is known as a leafy salad vegetable. It is rich in vitamins like Vitamin A and C, and also a good source of minerals such as iron, sodium, calcium etc. It is more popular in temperate regions and also performing well under subtropical climatic conditions during the winter season. Therefore, the present investigation was carried out to identify the suitable variety of lettuce for higher yield and quality under subtropical climate. The experiment was conducted with five treatments replicated thrice. Seeds of these five lettuce varieties viz., Tango, Bingo, Summer Star, Grand Rapid and Black Rose were sown in portrays prefilled with a combination of media made of coco peat, vermiculite and perlite in the ratio 3:1:1. After thirty days plants were plugged out and transplanted under field condition to study the performance of lettuce varieties. Among the studied varieties, the maximum yield (191.44 q/ha) was recorded with the variety Summer Star which was at par (190.32 q/ha) with the Bingo variety, followed by (129.50 q/ha) in Tango and the least (85.51 q/ha) by Black Rose. However, vitamin C content and total carotenoid content were significantly found highest (15.98 mg/ 100 g) and 8.06 mg/ 100 g in the Black Rose variety, respectively. Tango variety observed maximum chlorophyll ‘a’ (5.85 mg/ g FW), ‘b’ (2.01 mg/ g FW) and total chlorophyll (7.85 mg/ g FW) content among studied lettuce varieties.