Agronomic performance of lettuce produced in trays with different cell number and field spacings

The cultivation of lettuce is notable in the field of olericulture due to its worldwide economic and food importance. This study aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance of mimosa lettuce cv. Lavinia produced in a polystyrene tray system with different cell number and field spacings. Seedlings were produced in trays of 128, 200 and 288 cells and cultivated in a protected environment. Twenty-five days post-sowing, the seedlings were transplanted to beds with spacings of 30 × 40; 35 × 40; 40 × 40; and 45 × 40 cm. The experiment followed a split-plot randomized block design with four replicates. Harvesting was performed at 45 days after transplanting. Phytometric characteristics of the plants were evaluated after the crop cycle: number of leaves, plant height, stem length and diameter and fresh and dry weight of the shoot. Data were subjected to analysis of variance, and means were compared by Tukey’s test at p<0.05. The agronomic performance of mimosa lettuce cv. Lavinia is favored when plants are produced in trays with 200 cells and is not influenced by field spacings.   Key words: Lactuca sativa, mimosa, cultivar Lavinia, seedling production, phytometric characteristics.