Influence of lettuce cultivar on morphological properties and yield

Abstract

Lettuce, or Lactuca sativa L., is a leafy vegetable from Asteraceae family, that has great nutritional value and it is beneficial for human health. Leaves of this annual plant are great source of fiber in addition to bioactive compounds and are mostly consumed fresh, whereas in some cultures stems are also being prepared as meals. Cultivars of this cool-seasoned vegetable differ by the leaf number, color, size, shape and edges, stem and rosette development, etc. In this study, five lettuce cultivars were analyzed in order to inspect their impact on morphological properties and yield: Aleppo (type Lollo Bionda), Carmesi (Lollo Rosso), Murai (Red Oak leaf), Kiribati (Green Oak leaf) and Tourbillon (Crystal). The experiment was conducted in plastic greenhouse, using the method of randomized block design, where each of four repetitions consisted of eight plants. The analyzed traits were: number of leaves, fresh leaves weight, stem weight, diameter and height of plants, rosette diameter and height, whole plant weight. Statistical analyses pointed out significant differences for each examined morphological aspect. The largest diameter of the rosette was measured in cultivar Crystal (26.6 cm), as well as the diameter (25.9 mm), weight (7.3 g) and the height of the stem (44.6 mm). Further, cultivar Green Oak leaf was formed the largest number of leaves (39.7) in addition to greatest fresh leaves weight (343.5 g) and whole plant weight (347.0 g). Cultivar Lollo Rosso was achieved the highest rosette (18.5 cm) among others, whereas the lowest values in all parameters were obtained from Red Oak leaf cultivar.