Productive and biochemical performance of curly lettuce cultivars under different growing environments

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the morphometric and biochemical characteristics of lettuce cultivars in a greenhouse and field in western Paraná. The experimental design was randomized blocks in a 2 × 6 factorial scheme, with four replications. The first factor consisted of the cultivation environment (greenhouse and field) and the second, six lettuce cultivars of the crispy typology (Camila, Isabela, Vanda, Vera, Pira Roxa, and Scarlet). The morphometric evaluations were carried out right after the plant material, being quantified the plant height, number of leaves, canopy diameter, the fresh mass of aerial part, the fresh mass of leaves, leaf area, and productivity. For the biochemical characteristics, samples of leaf tissue of lettuce cultivars were collected in each environment, duly identified, stored, and taken to the laboratory where chlorophyll content a, b and total, carotenoids, anthocyanin, titratable acidity, hydrogen potential, and soluble solids. There was no significant interaction between cultivars and environments for morphometric analysis. However, the cultivar Vanda had higher productivity compared to the others. Regarding the biochemical aspects, for the variables chlorophyll a and total chlorophyll, the highest means were observed for the cultivar Scarlet in a greenhouse. For anthocyanin contents, the Scarlet cultivar showed higher values ​​in the field, and in relation to the greenhouse, the Pira roxa cultivar showed higher carotenoid contents. The greenhouse cultivation provided better conditions for the cultivation of lettuce, promoting, in general, a superior response in the morphological and biochemical characteristics.