Efeito de diferentes fontes de nitrogênio no cultivo de alface crespa

Abstract

Nitrogen fertilization is an essential factor for the development of crops, providing increased production and quality of plants. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is one of the main leafy vegetables in Brazil, and among the vegetables it is the one that stands out the most in the country. The objective of this work is to evaluate the production performance of crisp lettuce with different sources of nitrogen. The lettuce cultivar used was Vera, from the crespa group of cultivars. The experiment was developed in the field, located in Linha Limeira, municipality of Pinhalzinho/SC, and was conducted in a randomized block design (BCT), with four treatments and five repetitions. The treatments were: T0 (control): Lettuce cultivation without fertilizer application; T1: Lettuce cultivation with the incorporation of organic fertilizer (poultry compost) at the recommended dose; T2: Lettuce cultivation with the incorporation of chemical fertilizer (urea source) at the recommended dose and T3: Lettuce cultivation with the application of calcium nitrate (diluted in water) at the recommended dose. The evaluated characteristics were: fresh mass (g); total productivity (g); commercial productivity (g) and number of leaves per plant. The data were submitted to variance analysis and comparison of means by the Tukey test (p<0.05) using the SISVAR program. The best results for the production of lettuce, cultivar Vera, in the conditions of this research, in general, were found with the application of organic fertilizer. With this study, we conclude that lettuce responded positively to organic fertilization, with satisfactory results for all the variables analyzed, and with good productivity, becoming a good alternative for cultivation.