Yield and content of nutrient elements in various cultivars of lettuce depending from production method

Abstract

In order to examine the influence of cultivars and to estimate how mulching and plant covering with agrotextile affects the content of P, Ca, K, Mg and Mn in lettuce leaves this three-year experiment has been established. In the experiment, black and white plastic foil were used for mulching prior to planting, and agrotextile for plant covering after planting. The effect of each of them as well as their combination on the content of nutrients and yield of lettuce leaves was examined. There were six treatments in the experiment: control, black foil, white foil, black foil and agrotextile, white foil and agrotextile, and agrotextile. Mulching had a significant impact on yield, as well as the content of P, Ca, K, Mg and Mn in lettuce leaves in the three-year experiment. The highest yield was registered in the cultivar Nizzi in treatment with black plastic foil, compared to all cultivars and treatments. The largest P content was registered in the cultivar Sunstar (0.71%), while the smallest content was registered in the cultivar Sunny (0.59%). The Ca content ranged from 2.59% (Sunny) to 2.84% (Nizzi). The Mg content ranged from 0.46% in treatment with black foil to 0.70% in treatment with white foil. The content of Mn in lettuce leaves ranged from 60.99 mg kg(-1) in the cultivar Zeralda to 81.79 mg kg(-1) in the cultivar Devonia.