Morphological evaluation of lettuce genotypes grown under hydroponic system

Abstract

Crispleaf lettuce, which is a light green leaf lettuce, is the most popular leafy vegetable in Brazil. However, it is relevant to evaluate agronomic traits of lettuce with more intense green color leaves considering the increase in consumer demand. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate lettuce genotypes about the different chlorophyll contents and correlate with green mass production in a hydroponic system. Ten lettuce inbred lines and two cultivars (Vanda and Luiza) were evaluated for agronomic traits and chlorophyll contents in leaves. A randomized block design with four replicates was used. The chlorophyll content was variable among the genotypes, ranging from 43.3 (Luiza) to 20.8 (Vanda). The genotypes with the highest chlorophyll content were those who showed the lowest mass production, but no correlations were found between these variables, though.

Morphophysiology and postharvest quality of hydroponic lettuce cultivars grown under high temperature

“…The Olinda cultivar showed good productive performance, absence of inhibitions of biochemical and physiological nature, besides having characteristics of interest to the consumer market, such as the antioxidant potential, which contemplates a niche market that demands functional products with greater nutraceutical quality (Sala & Da Costa, 2012;Santos et al, 2021). The Cristina cultivar, on the other hand, represents a more traditional option for the consumer market in which demands for crisp lettuce with a lighter green color already exist (Sala & Costa, 2012).…”

“…The effect of global warming ends up being aggravated in thermosensitive crops, such as lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. -Asteraceae), since the high temperature results in productive and qualitative limitations (Holmes et al, 2019;Fortes et al, 2020). In Brazil, lettuce has great economic importance, with the crisp type being the most commercialized (Sala & Costa, 2012;Santos et al, 2021). Most lettuce plantations in Brazil are soil-based; however, hydroponic systems are being increasingly adopted by Brazilian lettuce growers, mainly due to the reduction in risks as a result of the possibility of implementing environmental control, reducing production losses due to the climate (Sala & Costa, 2012;Velazquez-Gonzalez et al, 2022).…”

“…In addition to the management of abiotic factors, the genetic material used for cultivation affects the adaptation of the crop to hot climates (Sala & Costa, 2012) and, consequently, the expression of early bolting. Thus, among the viable strategies for cultivation under hot climate conditions, the evaluation of cultivars with satisfactory production performance and environmental tolerance is indispensable (Holmes et al, 2019;Santos et al, 2021). Therefore, the objective of the present study was to characterize the performance of crisp lettuce cultivars in terms of their productive, physiological, and postharvest quality aspects when grown under hydroponic cultivation and high temperature conditions.…”