Root mass of Lactuca sativa (Asteraceae)cv. Ariel and cv. Rosanna grown in threedifferent substrates

Abstract

Lactuca sativa L. (Asteraceae) is a vegetable of high nutritional and economic importance. Its
crop is developed in hydroponic conditions in which the yield is affected by the type of substrate
employed in the first stages of growth. The objective of this research is to evaluate the root weight
in two lettuce varieties under three different types of substrates. The results demonstrate significant
differences in regards to substrate and variety. In regards to substrate, the plants grown in moss
showed higher root weight (8.13g) in contrast to moss+peat (6.55g) and peat (4.98g). Regarding
variety, plants of cv. Rosanna showed higher root weight (6.86g) in contrast to Ariel (6.25g). In
relation to the interaction of variety and substrate, it was observed that the substrates containing
moss induced higher root weight in both varieties, in contrast to the substrates with moss and peat
or peat; showing higher root weights in cv. Rosanna in contrast to Ariel. These results might be due
to the different physical and chemical properties of moss and the genotypic characteristics in the
variety Rosanna.