DIFERENTES IDADES DE TRANSPLANTIO INTERFEREM NO CRESCIMENTO DE MUDAS E PRODUÇÃO DE ALFACE TIPO CRESPA?

Abstract

Abstract - One of the most important agricultural stages of lettuce is seedling production. Technical recommendations prioritize seedling pattern in 200-cell Styrofoam trays 20 to 25 days after germination. The present work sought to escape these patterns through the use of larger containers for seed germination and seedling production, as well as to evaluate different transplanting ages up to 35 days after germination. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate the influence of transplanting ages and containers (200-cell trays or 80 ml disposable plastic cups) for the production of curly lettuce (cv. Vera) seedlings on seedling qualitative parameters, as well as on seedling parameters production. The treatments were: T1 (Styrofoam and 20 days), T2 (Cup and 20 days), T3 (Cup and 25 days), T4 (Cup and 30 days) and, finally, T5 (Cup and 35 days). Seedling development and production parameters of adult plants were quantified. The lettuce seedlings that were kept in larger containers for substrate accommodation and 35 days after germination (T5) did not change their germination percentage and stood out from the other treatments, because: (1) they were the ones that produced higher seedling height at the time of transplanting, (2) remained shorter in permanent planting beds, (3) presented higher values of fresh and dry mass of shoot and root of seedlings, (4) presented similar values of fresh and dry mass of the adult plant at harvest time compared to the traditional seedling production method (sowing in 200-cell Styrofoam trays), and finally, (5) had larger shoot diameter and leaf number of adult plants at harvest.