Efeitos da utilização de insumos biológicos no desenvolvimento inicial da alface

Abstract

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is one of the most widely consumed and produced leafy vegetables globally, being of great research interest due to its rapid propagation and production cycle. However, modern agricultural production often relies on chemical inputs, which raises environmental and public health concerns. This study aims to justify the search for more sustainable alternatives, such as biological inputs. The main objective of this research was to analyze the effects of using biological inputs based on rhizobacteria and fungi (as plant growth promoters) on the plant emergence and initial growth of lettuce seedlings. To achieve this purpose, the study employed an experimental methodology. Seeds of two distinct varieties of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) were subjected to treatments with different commercial biological inoculants, and their development was compared to a non-inoculated control group. The initial development assessment included the plant emergence rate, plant height, and fresh mass of the aerial part. The results obtained demonstrated that the seed inoculation with the tested biological inputs, although showing numerical trends, did not produce statistically significant effects on the initial development of the two lettuce varieties. It is concluded that, under the specific conditions of this experiment, the biological inputs were not shown to be a superior or equivalent alternative to the control at the initial stage of cultivation, suggesting the need for optimization of doses, formulations, or testing at more advanced growth stages.